Solar Panel Project Part 1

This past weekend, we mounted two solar panels on top of the bimini. We had done a survey a while back, and due to the location of our backstays, decided that that the Kyocera 135 watt panels would fit nicely in between. Between the survey and the purchase date, Kyocera came out with 140 watt panels that are the exact same measurement as the 135s, but 5 watts more per panel. Also, the solar panel frame has been reinforced a little. We bought the panels along with aluminum mounting brackets, and they fit perfectly. We had put the mounting brackets onto the panels, and were in the process of adjusting the crossbars, when one of the stainless steel screws on the bimini seized up and broke, so we decided to remove all the screws on the rails and put lanocote on the screws to prevent that from happening again. We wanted to be perfectly happy with the solar panel mounting situation before running any cables, so now we can go on to part 2, which is running the cabling from the panels to the charge controller, and from the controller to the batteries. We thought long and hard about where to locate the charge controller, and finally found a place in the lazarette that is completely useless otherwise. We mounted a 9" x 12" pice of wood to the fiberglasss using West System Epoxy adhesive for fiberglass and wood. We really like this adhesive. It has a mixing nozzle, turns to gel in 40 minutes, and completely cures in 5 hours. We used in a few months ago on the bowsprit, and it's holding up really well. We were able to keep the wood flush to the fiberglass with duct tape. So far this project has been really fun. Maybe it just seems that way after the sanitation hose : ). We were able to get out on the water this weekend too. After putting the autopilot back together, we had to do the sea trial adjustment and settings. We were able to do most of the test, but had to leave auto adjust for another day. The auto adjust takes over the helm, and does a series of S turns to auto adjust the autopilot. We also have to test the autopilot under sail. With spring chinook salmon in full swing the river is elbow to elbow with fishing boats, so we had to skip that part. Otherwise the autopilot works well now. We are so happy about it, since we are not looking forward to hand steering up to Puget Sound in the summer!