Solar Arch

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Brabs

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Hello Everyone

I am looking to install a solar arch on my westerly 33 ketch, can anyone recommend a company that could fabricate and install this for me, obviously cheaper the better :)
 
Pete7 said:
That could be challenging, be interesting to see the solution.

Pete
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I had a solar arch on a ferro ketch which was overhanging the stern of my boat such that the mizzen boom ended just before the arch started.

Depends on the length of the mizzen and how much does it overhang the stern of the boat
 
rogerthebodger said:
I had a solar arch on a ferro ketch which was overhanging the stern of my boat such that the mizzen boom ended just before the arch started.

Depends on the length of the mizzen and how much does it overhang the stern of the boat
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A 33ft boat with the weight of the solar arch and the solar panels hung so far aft will sink the stern, a lot. It will also look hideous.
It's so much easier and cheaper, to just fit them on the guardwires and you will get 15/20% more performance by tilting them to follow the sun
 
Brabs said:
Hello Everyone

I am looking to install a solar arch on my westerly 33 ketch, can anyone recommend a company that could fabricate and install this for me, obviously cheaper the better :)
Click to expand...
FYI a decent solar arch, made and fitted by a stainless fabricator will set you back between £2K and £5K
 
geem said:
A 33ft boat with the weight of the solar arch and the solar panels hung so far aft will sink the stern, a lot. It will also look hideous.
It's so much easier and cheaper, to just fit them on the guardwires and you will get 15/20% more performance by tilting them to follow the sun
Click to expand...
My previous boat had the same hull as the OP. I had a lightweight stainless arch with 2 100w panels and it worked well. But the mizzen boom extends as far as the transom on the ketch, if not a little farther. So i'd agree with it looking hideous. It will also cost a significant amount of money on a boat worth circa £25K. Guardwire mounted panels make sense to me.
 
One February 6 years ago we bought a cheap second hand rib A frame from a boat yard in Cowes and bolted a 150w solar panel to it. Worked brilliantly. Then increased it to 300w so we could add a small Alpicool freezer, which was good and in Nov 22 upped the solar to 600w. Panels weight 34kgs and the frame about another 15kgs. The weight is off set by not carrying a pair of 11Kg Calor gas cylinders around. We are careful not to carry lots of other junk on the arch or stern apart from the little Honda 2.3hp. She still sit on her marks.

The last reiteration did raise some eyebrows, particularly when I said I planned to plug into the pontoon shore power sell the surplus power back to the club. Meanwhile we cook on sunshine. However, it took an awful lot of searching over some years to find a frame that would fit and at a sensible price.

Pete
 

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Pete7 said:
One February 6 years ago we bought a cheap second hand rib A frame from a boat yard in Cowes and bolted a 150w solar panel to it. Worked brilliantly. Then increased it to 300w so we could add a small Alpicool freezer, which was good and in Nov 22 upped the solar to 600w. Panels weight 34kgs and the frame about another 15kgs. The weight is off set by not carrying a pair of 11Kg Calor gas cylinders around. We are careful not to carry lots of other junk on the arch or stern apart from the little Honda 2.3hp. She still sit on her marks.

The last iteration did raise some eyebrows, particularly when I said I planned to plug into the pontoon shore power sell the surplus power back to the club. Meanwhile we cook on sunshine. However, it took an awful lot of searching over some years to find a frame that would fit and at a sensible price.

Pete
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It's not a ketch.
We run 920w of solar on our ketch with no monkey bars🙂
 
Pete7 said:
Yes I am aware of this, hence the picture in post 7.

However, just needs a bit more framework to support the arch off the back :unsure:

Something like this perhaps? after all he did say cheap as possible:


Bei Facebook anmelden
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There is a boom in the way. There is the mizzen sheet in the way. How do you propose to install a frame? Every aspect of the frame would need to be supported behind the transom. It's a huge cantilever. If you are in a marina, you can expect to pay for the 3ft? Extra boat length. For the amount of solar such an arrangement would provide, you can install it for almost free on the guardwires. No impact on CofG or loading the stern up.
 
Yes, hence my comment about it being challenging in post 7. Its probably a none starter on cost grounds alone. However, he asked about an arch, so we should explore that option for him even if it then leads him to a change of mind and decide on an alternative like your guard rail solution.
 
It won’t be cheap but Phoenix 316 in Plymouth do arches with their eyes closed. They did mine back in the 90s and still doing them today.
 
Another option is to put panels above the cockpit.
Makes sense in hot climates because you'll need a bimini anyway, but I appreciate that in the UK you might actually want to see the sun when it dares to appear.
I spent around £500 on my setup which carries 730w of solar. The stainless and the panels were all secondhand which explains the price. I needed around £150 of welding and £100 worth of tees, clamps, etc, to assemble it all.
 
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