How to Mount Solar Panels on a Sailboat

Add solar panels to your sailboat.

Sailing has long been a popular pastime as well as a mode of transportation. Sailboats range from huge, multi-crewed giants to small, one-man daysailers. These days, many people live full-time on their sailboats. One of the issues they have to address is where to get electrical power. They will usually have a generator and batteries for use when they are sailing or at anchor, and will often tie into power at the places they dock. But many prefer to reduce their operating costs as much as possible. One way to do this is to mount solar panels on the exterior of the boat.

Instructions

1. Decide on your needs. If you just want to get a few watts of power to run a light bulb, you can purchase an inexpensive kit that will let you do this without taking up too much room on your deck. If your power needs are greater and you would like to use the panels to change batteries, you will need to invest in something larger.

2. Choose the type of solar cell panel that you want to use. The three types are single-crystal, poly-crystal and amorphous. The single-crystal is more efficient and costs more, while the amorphous is the least efficient and costs the least. The poly-crystal is the middle choice for both cost and efficiency.

3. Choose a location on your boat for your solar panels. On a smaller boat, you can mount them on the handrails. If you have larger boat, you may have space forward where you can mount them. Or if you have a hard-top bimini, you can mount them on that.

4. Connect the solar panels to your electrical panel using cabling that greatly exceeds the maximum current you might expect, since you don't want to overheat the lines and have a fire.

5. Install a voltage regulator on the line leading from the panel to the batteries. This will offer protection and allow you to safely let the batteries charge even when you are not present.

References

• Sail Magazine: Installing Solar Panels