60ft eX race yacht to cruiser conversion.

[groper]

Sure , it’s just the usual PVC foam core and carbon laminate is;
200gsm woven
450gsm uni directional
450gsm dbias

Also worth noting is we’re using a high Tg vinyl ester resin so the sunlight won’t soften it when it gets very hot as black finishes get in tropical sun .
we used a layer of peel ply in the mold first as we’re going to clear coat after touching up any blemishes and tidying up the edge treatment where the 2 halves meet.

there’s extra uni layers on the main posts and cross beams , just a single layer on the rest of them - however not seeing the full design this probably isn’t clear yet…

 

[groper]

Finally got the new deckhouse installed - whilst on anchor of course !

Came up nicely I think, suits the hull style we think

 

[BlueDogOz]

Sure , it’s just the usual PVC foam core and carbon laminate is;
200gsm woven
450gsm uni directional
450gsm dbias
…

thank you
it top does suit the boat very well IMHO

 

[groper]

Building integral tanks for water and diesel where the old water ballast tanks used to be. We managed to reuse the bottom part of the ballast tanks including the baffles, but had to seal up a bunch of holes and make a new landing flange for the new tank lid which forms the bunk tops. Another bunk support platform will land on cleats to the centre engine box which will extend the single bunks into a queen berth each side. Tank under half and storage under the other half.

The carbon solar hard top over the cockpit will begin once this inside stuff is completed- you can see in thr pic we had to tape in a small bulkhead to provide some structure for the vertical posts of thr hardtop to come thru the deck and land on.

 

[BlueDogOz]

, lot of good work and planning there. very interested in the solar hard top

 

[groper]

4x Carbon posts to support the solar roof weigh in at 2466grams per linear meter . This one is 1.5m long.

overall Section size is 150mm x 60mm.
put peel ply into mold, then;
200gsm woven
400gsm dbias
400gsm uni x2 layers
25mm PVC foam x2 layers

Run the completed halves thru table saw to trim the daggy edges down to size then glue to 2 halves together with the short sides overlapping .
Flood coat with UV stable epoxy , sand down smooth, then finish with a 2k clear PU coating .

Repeating this process for the perimeter facia beams and central longitudinal beam. the curved transverse beams will be hand laid over PVC core as I can’t be bothered making a curved mold for only 2 beams….

 

[groper]

Diesel and water tanks completed ;

Finished the hardtop vertical posts for the solar hardtop

 

[groper]

Installed the posts into the boat. Cut holes in deck , inserted them and glassed them onto the bulkheads so they won’t move or wobble.

Now I can move onto building the hardtop from more of these beams and aluminium frame bifacial solar panels at home as a single piece. Then it will be lifted onto these posts and bolted . Thr reason for bolting like this is so we can remove it easily for hauling the boat out on a typical 35tonne travel lift. If we can’t drop the boom down then we can only haul out on an 80 tonne lift which limits our options in remote places . So I’ll include permanent lifting points on the hardtop aswell….

 

[groper]

Started building tbe crossbeams which fit between the above posts .
PVC foam sheet glued into a box hollow beam shape with foam bulkheads every 300mm;

some extra plates to spread the point load where the bolted connections to posts are;

started laminating the carbon , 3 layers 400gsm uni and 1x 400dbias;

same again on the opposite side except there will also be a final layer of cloth for aesthetic finish on the visible surfaces ….

 

[groper]

Just mocking up a jig so I can measure out the central catwalk beam. I’ll use this jig to glue the beams together once I’ve finished clear coating the carbon.
4 glass PV panels in total , 2 down either edge with central catwalk.
The vertical posts we’ve installed into the boat will land under the transverse beams near the end connections.
I’ll add a curved brow to the front end which will serve to attach clear curtains down to the deckhouse.
Total weight in these 4 beams is 28kg.
The central catwalk will add another 10kg or so, the front brow another 5-6kg.
then the 4 glass bifacial panels - 88kg!

 

[groper]

Bolting solar modules to the beams and made molds for the catwalk and front brow ;

Next lay them up and glue them on !

Also a little side project - made a new foil board with the leftover carbon

 

[groper]

Finished the solar hardtop;

 

[groper]

 

[Cymen]

Are you happy with how your hard top is in practice? How much light comes through the bifacial panels? Is it ever too much light (and if so, what do you do)? Can you see the sails through it?

We need a new hard top for our catamaran and I'm debating building it around six 440w bifacial panels (3 on each side with a walkway down the middle to get to the back of the boom for the stack pack). I was initially not excited about going this route because I worried about a panel failing and so forth. But they really do cover the majority of the roof and it seems silly not to take advantage of that and also reduce how much fiberglass work needs to be done. It also seems like it might be really nice in practice.

 

[groper]

Are you happy with how your hard top is in practice? How much light comes through the bifacial panels? Is it ever too much light (and if so, what do you do)? Can you see the sails through it?

We need a new hard top for our catamaran and I'm debating building it around six 440w bifacial panels (3 on each side with a walkway down the middle to get to the back of the boom for the stack pack). I was initially not excited about going this route because I worried about a panel failing and so forth. But they really do cover the majority of the roof and it seems silly not to take advantage of that and also reduce how much fiberglass work needs to be done. It also seems like it might be really nice in practice.

hi mate ,

So far I’m very happy with it . It has given us all thr benefits of a hard top in terms of rain and sun shelter no different to a fiberglass hardtop.
The solar panels are almost opaque so you cannot see thru them . I can see the sails by moving to the aft end or to either side of the cockpit which is where all the winches are. The hardtop only covers the seating area and helms if you stand inboard on the wheels. From the outboard side of the wheels you see around the hardtop and can see everything so it gives me options in bad weather to stay undercover or go out in the sunshine ….
the biggest issue we could face at some point in future is if a panel needed replacing it could be difficult to find a replacement that fits . I chose panels are that are a common size in today’s market but that could change in future as solar wafer sizes are evolving . For now - it’s no issue I can easily get a replacement anywhere in the world . It’s rare this type of panel would simply fail on its own , unlike those those cheap flexible panels which are renowned for it.
I think the biggest risk is possibly breaking a panel and perhaps personal injury if you had to go up there in bad weather and you end up falling through the glass. It’s really the only thing that worries me about this whole system . Another issue on mine is it’s possible to snag a reefing line on the corner of the hardtop if they are left hanging loose and the booms is left to flog around . Good seamanship solves this but people can and do make mistakes especially those that are unfamiliar with the boat and it’s nuances.

would I do it again? I’m not sure - there are other options such as a lightweight sandwich core roof and flexible panels on aluminium rails to provide ventilation under them which maintains their performance. Certainly be safer this way eliminating all the glass.
Until something bad happens - beleive me I well aware of plenty of things that could go wrong with it - I’m ok with it . . It’s given us a lot more usable energy onboard aswell. We’ve got enough electrical power for anything we want to do including induction cooking watermaker and dishwasher etc .