Installing Solar Panels

One of the first things we did was purchase two Renogy 160 Watt 12V Monocrystalline solar panels and the needed connectors. Our boat had come with a single solar panel that didn’t function particularly well and we needed more consistent power that wouldn’t be interrupted by shadowing.

We decided to mount the two panels on the top of our dinghy davits, which would mean that they could get sun almost all day long without shade from the boom or mast. At the time, we mounted them flat using a combination of U-bolts and zip ties, which somehow, miraculously, worked for a VERY long time.

After experiencing the joys of having osprey families trying to build nests on them over and over again (so much blood, guts, and fishbones all over the place), scratching the panels with sticks and claws, we’re going to be putting them on swivels and revisiting their placement.

For solar panels bought on Amazon rather than someplace fancy, they are absolute beasts. Sadly, I don’t think you can get the exact same ones anymore, but there’s probably a new version if we find out the final score was Osprey -1, Panels -0.