Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 40

Shop Talk Exterior
Here's an example of a rigid solar
panel setup designed for DIY and professional
marine solar installations.
Elegant rigid solar panel
installation made easy
By John LeMole, MFC
A
n increasing number of jobs
at Gemini Marine Canvas
& Marine Products (GMP)
in Rockland, Maine, begin with
clients bringing in rigid solar panels.
Rigid panels remain a fi rm favorite
among boaters looking to augment
their onboard electricity supply due
to their higher effi ciency, longer life
span, greater durability and lower
cost than their fl exible solar cousins.
Mounting rigid panels is not
diffi cult if you have the right gear.
Frustrated that available hardware
options fell short of the mark, we created
our own and launched that part of
the business in 1996. Now we offer a
line of innovative 316 stainless steel
fi ttings made with solar panels in mind.
We've learned that carefully choosing
components that can be moved and
redeployed can also help future-proof
client investments.
40 Marine Fabricator | March/April 2023
Panel installations need to be sturdy,
easy to deploy and avoid output-killing
shade. We use two basic installation styles
customized to meet each job's needs. Here
are my top tips for building attractive,
cost-effective and ocean-rugged marine
solar installations on either dodgers or
bimini tops. [See page 36 for Gemini
Marine Canvas & Marine Products' 2023
MFA Excellence Award-winning project.]
Style 1: Up and over
This style (see Photo 1 on page 42)
suits clients who need to take down their
canvas from time to time while leaving
the panels in place (like cruisers who
periodically run into heavy weather).
This frame uses 90-degree slip-Ts
to hold arches in place, and eye ends
attach outboard of existing structures.
The canvas is unaltered, so there's no
need to disassemble anything to remove
it. Our offset sliding or hinged mounts

Marine Fabricator March/April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator March/April 2023

Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - Cover1
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - Cover2
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 1
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 2
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 3
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 4
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 5
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 6
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 7
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 8
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 9
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 10
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 11
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 12
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 13
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 14
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 15
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 16
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 17
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 18
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 19
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 20
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 21
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 22
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 23
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 24
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 25
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 26
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Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 30
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Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 40
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 41
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 42
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 43
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 44
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 45
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 46
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 47
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 48
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - Cover3
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - Cover4
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