As most of you are aware, because I beat the drum so often, I abhor cluttered decks on offshore boats, and one of my pet peeves is huge arrays of solar panels, particularly if they are clamped to pulpits or stanchions like so:
One wave strike, or even just a gale force wind, and this will end badly. Plus it’s just ugly and looks, and is, un-seamanlike.
But now there’s a carbon fibre panel that solves the problem:
Another interesting, even earlier days (i.e. not yet available), also from Canada solar option that recently caught my eye: https://openwaterssolar.com/products/floating-solar
Floating solar arrays have been a thing at larger scales for awhile, but this is the such first product that I have seen targeted at the recreational marine market.
Hi Mark,
Again, interesting. That said, the thought of that thing banging against the boat as she swings at anchor, or when it goes calm and there is tide, does not appeal to me, so I think I far prefer the other two alternatives.
Yup, I basically agree that the concept is interesting, but would require additional elements (such as as booming or poling it away from the boat) to work, and I have concerns about how well it will work in less than perfect weather and sea state, in crowded or otherwise active anchorages, etc.
Hi John,
That first picture makes it look like they added a piece of stainless tubing in addition to the lifeline to have something to put the panel on. Smaller boats or boats with a lot of clutter may not have enough straight section on the bow or stern pulpits to mount these. But for those that do and have the self control to actually stow them, I can see how this could work well.
One thing that has been frustrating to me is that mid size (150-250W) rigid panels are not common so there is very little selection. Land based applications have standardized on 350-400W panels which are much bigger than many of us need and I don’t want that amount of weight or windage and we don’t need the output. Every few years a very small outfit will show up using high efficiency cells in this size range but they don’t seem to last long. Some people use the semi-flexibles and build frames for them but that is expensive and inefficient too. I look every few years as I would like to improve (less windage and weight) our setup and haven’t seen anything to make me pull the trigger yet.
Eric
Hi Eric,
As you said, a lot of the case here depends on having the discipline to actually stow the panels, but then that applies to most all seamanship tasks.
And good point that smaller rigid panels are not readily available. I had not really thought about it, but that is another explanation for some of the truly scary installations I see on boats out there.
I know the you tube site (7) Alluring Arctic Sailing – YouTube is using these on their trip across the Northwest Passage, I think he was sponsored but I’ll reach out to see if he has any feedback.
Hi John, Hi Eric,
Since rigid panels are not readily available in smaller sizes, why not consider flexible panels? There are lots of quality flexible panels available in many combinations of power and dimensions to suit a wide range of needs. We have opted for that on KaliX, both for the “fixed” panels and for a pair of mobile ones, with good experience over the last 6 years.
I find this to be a viable alternative for mobile panels, with additional benefits: we can locate them anywhere around the boat, using soft shackles (lifelines, deck, pulpit or pushpit, bimini structure…) such that they track the sun in the horizontal plane; they are light and easy to store (we hang them vertically on a partition); you pay for the panel, not for gear surrounding it. We do have the discipline to move them around during the day, and to store them away at night and in any weather situation that suggests we should. Once you’ve optimized the system, it’s fairly quick to install and move around.
Electrical cabling may not be as neat as a short cable allows, but there is only one cable, with no through-deck passage: the long, suitably gauged cable is stored in a cockpit locker (together with the shore cable) and we lead it cleanly to wherever the panels are. When not in use (most of the time), there is no visible trace of the installation.
Interestingly, whilst the fixed “horizontal” bimini panels of the same brand total 390 Wp, we often get more power from the 288 Wp mobile pair because they track the sun more effectively and stay away from any shading.
JL
Hi Jean-Louis,
Sure, that’s an option. I think a lot depends on the configuration of the boat. The other benefit of the Lightleaf is that if the wind comes up they won’t move around. I also suspect, that, all other things being equal, they will be more reliable over time since they are not subjected to flexing. And I’m guessing they will be a bit more efficient than a flexible on the deck because of better airflow.
I’m not an electrician but a sailor and have a couple of questions about the solar panel installations shown here and would appreciate feedback.
I’m looking forward for replies from experts.
thanks ahead
charley on s/v Hongvi
Hi Charley,
Some thoughts:
I had an experience with flexible panels that I am willing to share. Needing battery charging for a leaky Friendship Sloop while at anchor and not attended I purchased a flexible Renogy panel that provided 110W per panel and technology that allowed for non-shaded cells to continue to generate current. In order to avoid shading as much as possible, I deployed the panel over the boom, guyed to fixed points and kept the arc of the panel only slightly curved. The manufacturer claimed the panel would tolerate a 270 degree curve on a solid surface. The first panel melted (in Maine) where in contact with the boom, indicating a defect in the panel. The company paid only after I contacted the Attorney General’s office. I replaced it with an identical panel, deployed identically and matched with a Victron MMPT. Panel cost $150. The second deployment has been trouble-free, wind tolerant, stores under a berth, and easily keeps my two batteries at full charge in Maine weather despite a bilge pump which turns on every 3 minutes. That is another story.
Summary: cheap flexible panels are available which offer tremendous flexibility (sic) in deployment and storage. They also provide as much work-around as is currently available for the shading problem. My experience suggests that there are quality-control issues with Renogy but at that Chinese price-point I guess that is to be expected.
Hi Bruce,
I agree with your conclusions, but just wanted to mention that Renogy has built a reputation for its poor products and service level. It’s perhaps the worst of the well known names in this market, which is no small accomplishment… 🙁 When you can still get good functionality out of it, that proves that there are interesting possibilities in the market, if we look around and are comfortable with some level of McGyvering.
I would be quite careful with bending most types of solar panels significantly, though, no matter what vendors claim is possible. At least they need some support to hold them relatively fixed to that final bend. Hanging across the boom sounds like it would give significant movement and flex in wind. Panels are still mostly silicone based, which does crack and kill off cells.
Thanks for the write up. I had not seen these before and they are interesting for sure. Any rigid panel like this is subject to load forces from wind and this one with its mounting system looks like a flying wing. I’d rather have a standard rigid panel that I flip up and which has attachment at top and bottom. I wouldn’t put this one out unless I was sure the winds were light.
Hi Kevin,
I generally agree with you on any sort of windage.
But, first off, my base case for these panels would be that they be removed if bad weather coming, or going sailing. Second they are a lot smaller that the huge panels you see on lifelines, and also in those cases I can’t see how one would really attach it top and bottom, and if one did we are still faced with the removal issue. And most of the standard rigid panels are so large they probably won’t go down the companionway. So, add it all, I still like these a lot better than rigid panels on the lifelines.
My personal experience with 100w solar panel is that the flexible one are about only 60 to 70% as efficient as the rigid one. my setup is with 2x100w rigid and 2x100w flexible on the Bimini. All 4 are side by side, and each pair have their own Victron MPPT controller. So this is easy to compare output.
I know the rigid panel are from china, so not the top best, still CE certified but still they produce much more than the 2 flexible panel, from ESP Watt Mobile.
there a price to the flexibility.
I have two rigid Phaesun SPR 110W panels mounted to the guardrails with NOA adjustable mounts. The mounts cost as much the panels. Have not had any issues. This includes some robust sailing and F9/F10 gusts on the mooring. Been on for five years. Work well with a Victron 75/15 MPPT. Would do it again or go bigger.
I have had semi-flexible 50W panels on the coach roof for eight years. They have been replaced due to delamination and the next lot are on their way out too. Not sure I will bother again.
Oh. I pole them out with a wooden T piece made from a broom handle.
Hi Greg,
Each to their own, but I like the ability to quickly remove anything attached to the lifelines. This is the classic low probability, but high consequence, situation that we are so often faced with when going to sea. So, having seen green water board over the rail (usually to leeward) quite a few times in my years at sea, and given that damage and dangers of getting things back under control after such an event, with bent stanchions and possibly even a base loosening or ripping out of the deck, I just don’t want stuff on the lifelines at sea. The good news is that your panels are smaller than the ones I see that really scare me.
I too have been watching these. As to the mounting on smaller vessels. We have replaced the last section of our life lines from the gate to the push-pit with a solid SS tube. We did this to add security and strengthen the gate stanchion. We had the tube ends welded so they attach to the push-pit with a clevis pin the same as a life line fitting, so the fabrication was simple and required no onboard work. But it also would help with adding solar for in port use.
As to the SeaLeaf panels, with their gentile curve I think they may also be well suited for bimini and dodger mounting. Light weight and easy to store but about 4x the cost of an equivalent ridged panel half cell bifacial.
We try to reduce the effect of partial shading by using panels with a high buss count (which essentially breaks the panel up into multiple panels) and using multiple solar controllers(IE port and Stbd) so that a shaded section does not reduce the efficiency of the entire array.
We installed two LightLeaf panels on our HR 412 last year and have been very satisfied. To mount them, we simply added a SS tube below the lifelines, forward of the pushpit, using standard bimini fittings. Although this worked just fine, we will add a welded-in pushpit extension for the upcoming season.
The panels themselves are of excellent build quality as is their output. As mentioned, lack of shading is a great plus. We left them mounted all season without issues other than slight interference with aft-led sheets (using an appropriately-placed barber haul may cure this for us). We find that simply securing the panels to lifeline stanchions with a bungee keeps them from rattling around in a breeze while they are stowed flat. In a moderate breeze, we are able to deploy them under sail. All in all, we are very pleased with the product and the responsiveness of the company to inquiries.
(Submitted by Cecil North)
Hi Nan,
Thanks for the first hand report, always the best information.
After some preliminary sales to check them out, we’re now stocking & shipping the LightLeaf rail-mount panels (from Maine, USA). The build quality is really impressive. I’ve even ordered 4x extra to put the corners of my own van conversion, and am planning for at least 2x on my boat Improbable, when the restoration project gets further along.
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for coming up on this. Can’t have a much better endorsement than that.
John, I found an alternative to these last year. I was very close to buying the Lightleaf panels for our Rustler 42 but couldn’t fit them without modifying the lifelines. Our pushpit rail is too short so there was not enough space and I didn’t want to replace lifeline with more rail.
Instead we bought from Flinsolar in Germany.
https://flin-solar.com/flinrail
They’ve designed a simple way to attach the panels to lifelines instead of tube and vary the angle with the sun. The panels are quick to remove and very light. Best of all we didn’t have to change anything except route the cables. We take them off whenever we feel the need and store them below.
After 6 months of use we are delighted.
Panels are also 100W with bifacial cells and the manufacturers claim of greater efficiency is certainly true comparing to our other 100w flexible panels which we have on the Bimini and spray hood.
Both Lightleaf and Flinsolar are expensive compared to mass market panels but in my opinion they are worth it for all the reasons you make. Andrew
Hi Andrew,
That does indeed look like another interesting solution, as long as we are disciplined about taking them off when appropriate, as you say. I guess I kinda prefer the rigid mount, but then, like you, I would not want to add that to my lifelines, so this seems like a good answer. Thanks
I have four of these, two on the dodger and two on the bimini. They are mounted to stainless rails that span across to the handholds. The curve is a close match to the curve of the canvas, they have a very low profile, and there is space for ventilation. This seemed far better than attaching flexible panels to the canvas. With a Victron controller, the output is okay, though I don’t have a full season on them yet.
Hi John,
I had not really thought of using them quite like that, but it does indeed sound like a good way to go, particularly with these high efficiency cells and the added ventilation. Thanks
We added 4 of the life leaf solar panels last year when we left Nova Scotia for the Caribbean in 2024, we have been totally happy with them and they fold down and out of the way when needed (docking, rough weather etc) and have held up well.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the first had experience, always the best information.
Hi Hope you are feeling better. I have 4 LightLeaf panels on my Westsail 32. 2 on the cockpit lifelines that have pipe and 2 on vertical fiberglass poles clamped to the boomkin pulpit that rotate and articulate in order to track the sun. The rail model’s are not quick release as they appear to be. The lever allows you to loosen and tighten to orient the panel. In order to remove the panel from the rail you must remove an Allen screw from both clamps. It’s a solid system but requires three hands when removing it at sea In order not to drop the bits and tools overboard.
Hi Thomas,
I wondered about that, so thanks for the clarification. That’s disappointing, I had really hoped the clamp would allow easier removal. Bummer.