Solar Arch

[Concerto]

An alternative solution is one I am about to fit to my Fulmar. I have a 50W flexible panel to fit on the main hatch box and then plug in an additional 2 panels as needed.

If you have a sprayhood, you could consider having this reinforced and fit some solar panels on the top. These could again be fitted so they could be removed so the sprayhood could be folded or removed.

 

[PaulRainbow]

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.

How do you fit a cockpit bimini made from solar panels on a ketch like the OPs ?

 

[rogerthebodger]

This is the solar arch on my current boat and it can be seen that the foward end of the arch is only just forward of the aft egged of the transom

My previous boat which was a ketch had a very similar design of solar arch except my previous boat only had 2 solar panels where as my current has 4.

On my previous boat there was also a fixed cover over the cockpit which wa under the mizzen boom.

https://flic.kr/p/WYNUiH

I dont have a pic of my previous boat with the solar arch fitted.

 

[sailaboutvic]

FYI a decent solar arch, made and fitted by a stainless fabricator will set you back between £2K and £5K

More like the 5k mark Paul , I ask for a simple Bimini frame and they wanted 3.5k
i think my smile given them a clue that they wasn’t going to get the job .
a job for me to start on once back .

 

[geem]

More like the 5k mark Paul , I ask for a simple Bimini frame and they wanted 3.5k
i think my smile given them a clue that they wasn’t going to get the job .
a job for me to start on once back .

Pal had one made last year in the Caribbean. 57ft boat. Big solar arch. £15k!!

 

[Kelpie]

I've heard that Tunisia is a good place to get this sort of work done.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I've heard that Tunisia is a good place to get this sort of work done.

Yes it is but even there the prices are going up year on year , mostly because of stupid people who go on telling them about how cheap it is there

 

[Kelpie]

Yes it is but even there the prices are going up year on year , mostly because of stupid people who go on telling them about how cheap it is there

That's how the free market works

 

[KeelsonGraham]

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.

Or a sprayhood.

 

[Graham376]

Our gantry ovehangs the stern and would most likely be clear of mizzen boom.

 

[Tranona]

Look at the photo in post#7. The boom already overhangs the stern.

 

[Graham376]

Look at the photo in post#7. The boom already overhangs the stern.

So mount the gantry at a lower level for the boom to clear it. Obviously one panel would be in shade unless the boom can be parked out of the way when not sailing.

 

[rogerthebodger]

So mount the gantry at a lower level for the boom to clear it. Obviously one panel would be in shade unless the boom can be parked out of the way when not sailing.

Exactly the mizzen sheet could also be attached to a track on the forward edge of the solar arch so can b located out of the way.

My main boom overhangs my cockpit solar panels a little and I have a boom support that located my main boom out of the way of the solar panels when not sailing and does not cover the panels when sailing except when beating hard into wind

 

[geem]

Our gantry ovehangs the stern and would most likely be clear of mizzen boom.

I don't think so. The mizzen boom is normally the same height as the main boom. You then have a mizzen sheet to deal with. The gantry would need to be lower than the boom and far enough aft to ensure reefing lines etc, don't snag as the boom swings

 

[rogerthebodger]

I don't think so. The mizzen boom is normally the same height as the main boom. You then have a mizzen sheet to deal with. The gantry would need to be lower than the boom and far enough aft to ensure reefing lines etc, don't snag as the boom swings

Tere iss no problem with a Ketch but may be more os an issue with a Yawl where the mat is farther aft

I know my previous boat was a ketch and I built and fitted a solar arch

 

[Tranona]

I don't think so. The mizzen boom is normally the same height as the main boom. You then have a mizzen sheet to deal with. The gantry would need to be lower than the boom and far enough aft to ensure reefing lines etc, don't snag as the boom swings

That is correct if you look at the photo of the W33. The boom overhangs the stern and is sheeted to transom just inside the pushpit. The boom is low, although in the photo it is raised with the topping ;ift to aact as a ridge pole for the awning. Doubt there is enough height to get a decent arch underneath the boom with a track running across it for the sheet. The back end of the boat is already "busy" - it is after all only 33' into which is crammed an aft cabin, centre cockpit and ketch rig!

 

[geem]

Tere iss no problem with a Ketch but may be more os an issue with a Yawl where the mat is farther aft

I know my previous boat was a ketch and I built and fitted a solar arch

There is no way I could fit one on my 44ft ketch. The boom extends behind the transom. We have our swim ladder on the transom, Windpilot and Duogen. We have 720w of solar on the guardrails and and additional 200w of roving panel capacity. No need to make life complicated.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Different strokes for different folk's

 

[B27]

It looks like big money to have a hefty frame made.
Then you need to find some strong points on the hull to attach it to.

If you look at the 'A frame' things they fit to RIBs, it seems as soon as you make a metal frame, people expect to climb on it, tow skiers from it etc etc.
The American Hunter boats are an example of what you can do with gantries and booms sticking out the back, so there may be solutions for ketches, but obviously that mizzen is going to shade the panels some.

Personally, all I want is to hold some <=50W solar panels in place. I'm happy to take them down for winter, or if a named storm is forecast.
Also I've found it would sometimes be nice to be able to rig some sort of bimini or shade the cockpit more easily than trying to rig a pub umbrella to the stanchion.
Again, no expectation of leaving that up when we're putting the third reef in.

What cheap and cheerfull solutions have people done and seen?
What other features are worth considering?

It seems to me that if you put something at the back of the cockpit, people will always grab it if they think they might lose their balance, and these things often look like natural handholds for boarding the boat,, so you don't want something they will break and take overboard with them. But surely there's a compromise between 'flimsy' and massive stainless scaffolding?

Maybe materials other than SS? something that might bend if you abuse it but not break?

 

[geem]

It looks like big money to have a hefty frame made.
Then you need to find some strong points on the hull to attach it to.

If you look at the 'A frame' things they fit to RIBs, it seems as soon as you make a metal frame, people expect to climb on it, tow skiers from it etc etc.
The American Hunter boats are an example of what you can do with gantries and booms sticking out the back, so there may be solutions for ketches, but obviously that mizzen is going to shade the panels some.

Personally, all I want is to hold some <=50W solar panels in place. I'm happy to take them down for winter, or if a named storm is forecast.
Also I've found it would sometimes be nice to be able to rig some sort of bimini or shade the cockpit more easily than trying to rig a pub umbrella to the stanchion.
Again, no expectation of leaving that up when we're putting the third reef in.

What cheap and cheerfull solutions have people done and seen?
What other features are worth considering?

It seems to me that if you put something at the back of the cockpit, people will always grab it if they think they might lose their balance, and these things often look like natural handholds for boarding the boat,, so you don't want something they will break and take overboard with them. But surely there's a compromise between 'flimsy' and massive stainless scaffolding?

Maybe materials other than SS? something that might bend if you abuse it but not break?

We run 4x180w solar panels on the guardrails. Swap some guardwires to guardrails and you have a great mounting location. Super easy to fit 50w panels