I'm just starting to dig into the idea of a custom panel build. What do I mean?
Well, I've got this:
Which I've built using finished nidacore panels. It's the new hard bimini for my sailboat. It rocks in at 8 ft by 12 ft!
I've got three 550 watt panels I was planning to stick on here. I'll end up with the rear most hanging off due to the need for the shaped front end.
I am probably adding a small window/hatch toward the front so I can see the sail, but otherwise the front shaped area will be sans solar panel.
When I was in engineering school way back when, we had a solar car team.
This is just an example, but this is the kind of custom shaping that I'm interested in.
I'm interested in panelizing the forward area of the bimini. I may not bother, but it seems like a bit of fun to be had here.
I figure I could use the top as a mold, make up a fiberglass/resin backer that would mount perfectly on the bimini, and then build the array on that and build in some tabs to bolt it down. That would allow me to remove it if it fails without trashing my bimini - and it would actually let me build the custom array at home in my garage instead of in the boat yard.
Well, I've got this:
Which I've built using finished nidacore panels. It's the new hard bimini for my sailboat. It rocks in at 8 ft by 12 ft!
I've got three 550 watt panels I was planning to stick on here. I'll end up with the rear most hanging off due to the need for the shaped front end.
I am probably adding a small window/hatch toward the front so I can see the sail, but otherwise the front shaped area will be sans solar panel.
When I was in engineering school way back when, we had a solar car team.
This is just an example, but this is the kind of custom shaping that I'm interested in.
I'm interested in panelizing the forward area of the bimini. I may not bother, but it seems like a bit of fun to be had here.
I figure I could use the top as a mold, make up a fiberglass/resin backer that would mount perfectly on the bimini, and then build the array on that and build in some tabs to bolt it down. That would allow me to remove it if it fails without trashing my bimini - and it would actually let me build the custom array at home in my garage instead of in the boat yard.
