So, another project. (I know, ...damned engineers!)

I've had solar panels on Mabrouka for years. Not long after I first bought Mabrouka I moved to a mooring ball by Shelter Island in San Diego, so did not have access to utilities. Without getting into all the technical details of power ratings, etc., I installed two solar panels that supported enough of my electrical load that I only had to run my generator every few days. These were hinged like wings from the belaying pin bars that clamp to my aft shrouds.

Sadly, even though the original panels were only around ten years old, their life was cut short one bright Memorial Day weekend by a crazed power boat driver who misguidedly felt compelled to maneuver his 50ft cruiser in haste between Mabrouka and the sea wall while exiting from the Seattle Ship Canal locks. He didn't fit by just about the width of my port solar panel and turned it into a collection of scattered glass and twisted aluminum. My daughter will attest to the epithets that accompanied that incident.

The engineer in me could not, of course, resist using the opportunity of new solar panels to improve upon the installation. The drawing above shows you the result. Primarily, where the first panels could be tilted athwartships via a simple piano hing attached to the belaying pin bar, the new setup adds a pivot so the panels can be rotated fore and aft as well. Securing the panels in position are a set of adjustable lifts and downhauls.

This has yet to be tried out at sea. If I have a misgiving about the arrangement, it may prove to be too fragile. However, I don't expect solar panels to be much use in inclement weather, at which time they can be secured against the shrouds, either up or down. We'll see.


Here's a photo of the finished installation. Note the control lines going up and down from the outer corners. Each one, upper and lower, is a continuous loop. As you can see from the different port and starboard settings, the panels can be adjusted until they look as cockamamie as hell!