More Solar Power!

We are moving ahead after our near sinking by adding more panels to the array!  We now have installed 8 of the total of 12 panels and I am PLEASED to announce that we are totally reliant on solar power for the house power!  This is a huge milestone for us.  No more stinking generator! 

It turned out to be a fairly breezy day but not enough to stop the planned activities.  The panels have to go up starting today because we must make a very necessary trip to the marina soon.  Thankfully we had no mishaps.

Day 1 - February 26th  -  Port Side

This is where we left off...2 panels on each side.  In this picture you can see the scoffolding that Carter set up for himself to use during the installation.  The panel must be in the full upright position in order for Carter to get the bolts in, so scaffolding is a must.

Introducing our new neighbor, Cracker Jack.  He's such a cool boat dog.  His owner passed away and our neighbor Pat saved him from the pound, where the family was going to put him!  Pat's a lucky man.

Getting ready for panel #3.  Carter called in our friend Garrett to assist with the heavy lifting.

Panel #4 coming aboard.

Panel #4 goes up.  There will be 2 more panels to lay horizontal in the center but those will be mounted later because the support stucture will need to be beefed up.  The wood canopy structure will  be removed as it is being replaced with much stronger aluminum support structure. 

As always, Carter is making this up as he goes along trying to utilize the matterials at hand so there are some trials and errors. 

Despite the never ending challenges, Carter is  having a good time constructing his dream,

a ship that never stops for fuel,(NSF^2) and doesn't care which way the wind is blowing.

End of Day 1

What cha doing Diane?

Dinner?  Can I stay?

Even Momma Gater was seen cruising by the grill hoping for an invite for dinner! 

Ha!  I don't think so...

Day 2 - February 27th  -  Starboard Side

Started off the day by putting the existing 2 panels in the full upright position.

8 panels up!

Port side is lifted slightly to get maximum benefit of the position of the sun.

The last two panels  will be mounted in the center slots on each side at a later date once Carter has beefed up the support stucture a bit.

It was back to the metals shop for more of the aluminum for the support system.  As I stated earlier, most of the wood support is coming out.  Also, we will be installing linear actuators next to raise and lower the panels remotely from the cockpit.