Messages

Dave Sanner (Webmaster) had modified these several months ago when we launched the new homepage.  Seems like something broke/changed since then.  I see Stu has asked Dave to look into it.

There was an issue with the link in the emails being generated by the owner database system.  Those emails had an incorrect link in them.  If your link looked something like this

http://c34.org/?page_id=1778&pid=XXXX.

You can change it to this and it should work just put the pid that was in your original link in place of the XXXX in the link below.

http://c34.org/owner-edit-page/?pid=XXXX.

Sorry for the confusion.

I have put something in place to display the word "hidden" instead of the email address of the person.  I am still asking for the email as this is needed to let everyone self manage there own info.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough in my first post on this.  You do need to re-enter your info, we felt that some of the older databases where out of date and that we should just start from scratch.

With the new website design we consolidated several older member databases into a new tool. We no longer use this boat on the map link. We now have the owner database here

http://c34.org/owner-database/

Sailrite sells all the parts to either remake yourself or to have someone make them for you.  I just remade mine this past summer.  They even have a newer easier way to sew on the tabs.  Instead of sewing each one individually which is VERY time consuming. they sell this tape http://www.sailrite.com/Snap-On-Tape-for-Curtains and carriers http://www.sailrite.com/Snap-On-Carrier that makes this much quicker.

The advantage I see of leaving the hard panel above the bimini is if you can leave that frame up in the winter (I see you are in CT so not sailing in the winter)  you could keep your batteries topped up all winter with that.

I have the same system but did not put a on/off switch in the system.  Did you put this between the panel and controller or between the controller and battery?  When I installed my panel, the feedback from this site was that I did not need to disconnect the solar panel when plugged into shore power.  Interested in your thoughts.

Our switch is between the controller and the battery.  It is a circuit breaker switch which acts as a fuse to protect the battery from the whole system.

I've toyed with the idea of putting some kind of a stiffener under the flex panels but I worry about heat build up. How has shading been on the bimini?

In terms of a stiffener, that would not really solve the issue.  The problem is the area needs to be as close to flat as possible or you won't be able to hold them flat to secure them to the bimini.  In terms of shading, there is not really anything except maybe the line of the backstay at certain angles that is an issue and we did not find that to be an issue in the heart of the summer.

Honestly though if we had davits installed, we probably would have opted for a rigid panel across the davits.   Fairly easy to install, cheaper for the panel itself and you can get more AMPS from the solid panels. Also, in the winter (not sure where you are) you could leave the rigid panel up charging the batteries on the hard. 

We are actually in the midst of selling our C34 and the new boat we have purchased has 4 - 100W rigid panels on it.  One is on the davits - the others are on a solid arch.  They are left up all winter and we are able to monitor the batteries via a remote monitoring tool.  As of this moment (2:06 PM EST on a cloudy day after 2 solid days of rain, the batteries are at 14.08V. 

Does your bimini have the center bow and did you just go right across it?

- Yes we have a center bow and we did go right across it.  Initially based on our setup, the bimini had a pretty steep peak at the center bow and it was causing the panels to not lay flat.  We were able to adjust the bimini so that the center bow did not stick up so high by adjusting a bunch of the fittings to change the angles.  This may not work for everyone as it may cause too much tension on the bimini zippers.  We did pull out some stitching on one corner as a result and I have had to resew that zipper end.

I took the liberty of posting an article to the tech wiki about our experience installing flexible solar panels this summer on the bimini of our 1987 Mark 1.

Totally worth the money which has already paid for itself in saved transient slip fees. - Total cost $680.05

Of course it helps that I was able to do all the sewing modifications to the bimini which I had made myself during the winter of 2014.

http://c34.org/wikiwp/?rdp_we_resource=http%3A%2F%2Fc34.org%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DFlexible_solar_panels

Up here in CT we have also used the Pettit prop paint for the last 2 years and have had good luck with it.  Few to no barnacles attached although the paint does not look great (uneven) when the boat is hauled at the end of the season.  Just use a Scotchbright pad and reapply in the spring.

I have a 1987 MK2 #272.

Jib winches are Lewmar #46 - I believe they are called Wavegrip self tailing winch 46ST

Cabin top winches are Lewmar #30 - I believe they are called Wavegrip 30ST

We used the k&n R1080

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00062YNHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The RC 2540 was too tall. 

Per your other note It was not difficult. I chose a K&N which fit vertically and the diameter of the intake pipe.

I used a nylon "L" shaped barbed fitting. Drilled a hole in the top of the filter, screwed in the barbed fitting and connected the hose.   This can be found at Home Depot or a hardware store.

We just took off the original "oil can" type intake.  Before I toss it does anyone want it?  You pay only shipping.   

I adjusted how this disclaimer is displayed as I do think it is related to zooming.  See how it looks now.

Sue