Trojan Boat Forum

It’ been over 20 years since I bought our F26 HT and I’ve always thought the hardtop would be a perfect place for solar panels. Problem was other priorities (job, kids, etc etc) and cost of solar. Things change (retirement, kids off and married, etc, etc) and solar costs have come way down. During the quarantine period here in upstate New York I spent a lot of time pricing out, googling, and you-tubing solar equipment and panel sizing for the hardtop. Last month I pulled the trigger and bought 2 170 watt panels with max amps at >9 a, a Victron solar controller and assorted solar wire, fuses, terminals, etc.. Total cost was $745. Today I finished all wire routing for panels, controller, fuse, etc as well as hooking the Victron (100 v/30 a) controller to my house bank of 2 110 ah flooded cell batteries. Next week I’ll mount the 2 panels in parallel to give me max 18-19 amps of power to my house bank if the sun is shining......I’m taking pictures as I go forward and will be happy to share these and any questions you may have. We like to get off the dock and unplug for stretches of 2-3 days out on our lake. The plan is to have old man sun keep the house bank loaded during the day so we can keep the beer cold in the fridge! I went with the higher priced Victron because of the Bluetooth enabled app that shows charger and battery information in real time as well as history.....and besides I think it’s cool!

I've wondered the same since I've got the hardtop too. Yes, let's see pics and if you can, a schematic of your setup.

Sail boaters have been doing it for years , with good results . Me I will stay with my genset Nothing like the smell sound of diesel in the AM while brewing coffee


With that said watch th amps/drain like I do the fuel gauge . LEDs are a great help in reducing power use . Have a battery just for engine staring and life will be good .

Just sent a reply to drudodson with info. I’ll try to send pics now.

Thanks for email and the pics, great info! Looks like a clean and neat install. Interested to hear how it handles the frig load. Manual or electric head? Going to do LEDs on interior lights? Very cool.

I left the boat two days ago, after the install, with power only from the solar panels. Shore power turned off. Today I went back to redo some grounding wires and take a look at what was what. Victron Connect is a Bluetooth enabled app that can be used via iPhone or android, and shows you solar and battery conditions as well as all sorts of charts, info, etc. The charger was in “float” mode, showing a trickle charge of 13.4 V and no amps going into the batteries (I have 2 110 ah deep cycles wired in parallel for a house bank, and the solar charger is only hooked up to this bank. The starting battery is on a Blue Seas ACR and isolated. I turned on the whole shooting match in the boat: Norcold AC/DC fridge (original and till working fine), stereo, cabin lites (all are LEDs), nav lites (also all LEDs) VHF radio, water pump, and spotlight. I then watched as the Victron Connect app on my iPhone showed me the solar panels going from 0 to 320 watt with 21 volts and the charger pumping in 14.7 volts and 10 amps with room to pull another 7-8 amps from the panels into the house bank. So, that’s me maxing out all DC loads from the house bank. Using a 50% capacity for the house bank that gives me 110 amp hours before the batteries are going to be screwed. At the full 10 amp draw that lets me have about 11 hours before that happens. But, the fridge is one of the biggest draws on the system at 3.8 amp, and it does not run constantly, more like 30 minutes each hour when it’s hot in the cabin. The LEDs are minimal users of amps, and I never have them all on at the same time. When off the dock and on the hook the anchor light (LED) is one and drawing <1 amp. All in all, I think my system will keep up with demand without need for shore power - so long as the sun shines, but the panels should have enough power even in cloudy conditions. Time will tell. By then way, I’ve been using Walmart Everstart MAXX 29 batteries in the boat since I bought it in 1999. These are about $100 each and I replace them every 4-5 years, periodically checking the water level in them. A lot of our boat time is off the dock, as we like to anchor out or glom off a restaurant dock when available (none have power), and we’ve taken the boat on a 2 month cruise on the Erie Canal so it’s set up for comfortable cruising on protected waters, and that’s the way we like it!

Almost forgot....going back in a day or two to route and clean up the loose wires. We’re at a coop yacht club in upstate NY and it’s nice to get away from the reality of Covid19 for a while. Our members are all pretty good about wearing masks when necessary and we’ve been very careful about indoor use in the clubhouse....no groups together, limiting number of people in the heads, closing off the public areas like kitchen, meeting room, etc. Our area is going into phase 4 next week but still lots of limitations. Lake George up here is starting to gradually open up but it’s still a worry for some as many folks from out of the area come there for vacation. We’re going up the northern end of the lake for our annual family reunion with our kids and their kids, and I’ll know we’ll all be very careful about hugging, etc. Strange times, for sure. Stay safe, stay well. Randy

really nice story and follow up results.

Can't do this on my 10 meter, no hard top plus i run the fridges (1 with an icemaker) and the air conditioner all the time here in Florida.

We cook eggs on the stove, use the toaster oven and the microwave

In winter we run christmas lights, with the old fashioned C-9 bulbs along the bow rail

Like Prowlerfish, I also run a diesel genny burning .25 - .33 gallons per hour

But I'd bet its a nice slice of life to be out on the hook on your boat in a quiet secluded cove with no humming at all.

RWS

Very nice! I have an F 26 flybridge and installed a solar system this Spring. My shore power pedestal will trip its breaker frequently when it rains so if the forecast calls for rain I plug in the solar. In my case I have more confidence in my solar especially if my freezer is full. I can even run the AC for short periods of time if its sunny.
Very good investment!

Gotta say, I am loving this new solar system. When I leave the boat at the dock for a few days away I’ll plug into shore power as it keeps the old “never cold” AC/DC fridge running off AC (it’s original to the boat from 1977 and I keep wanting to replace it, but it just refuses to die.....Zombifridge!). I have always cheaped-out on batteries - use 2 group 29 Walmart MAXX 20 deep cycles in parallel for house bank and one for starter. Replace every 4-6 years. The house bank is connected to the solar controller and it keeps them fully charged in all phases (bulk-absorption-float) while we’re off the dock, including the Nevercold, which is the biggest draw when it’s cycling. Blowers are a big draw, as is the small inverter (600 W) but both of these are never running long term. My Victron controller is Bluetooth enabled so I can track real-time results as well as a 30 day history of what’s happening. And, you’re right, now genny running and oh so quiet. I admit it’s more of a indulgence but it was a fun project with a lot of satisfaction attached.