Solar for days

Tiamat got the first of her major pre-departure refits completed in February: 2.6 kilowatts of solar panels! The new panels are LG bifacial panels, meaning that the absorb light from both sides, which is a nice feature when surrounded by reflective water and a white boat.

These bifacial panels let a nice dappled light through between the cells.

The new panels are larger and do overhang the stern more.

This is the culmination of a multi-month saga, which featured having a full set delivered only to find that they'd been scratched at the warehouse. Getting replacements required waiting for new panels to arrive from Asia, as well as lots of fun logistics with the freight company. It all worked out in the end, and we're very happy with how they ended up.

Chris Evanoff and his team at the metal shop at Svendsen's Bay Marine in Richmond, CA built a new stainless frame to support the much larger panel area, attaching it onto the existing stern arch. The new construction is very study and we're confident that it'll hold up well to the rigors of cruising.

A lot of stainless work went into making this sturdy.

Next Tiamat is heading to KKMI Richmond where Pete Rowland will be carrying out a major refit of the electrical and charging systems, so that we can make good use of all that power coming from the solar panels. The yard will also be helping us replace the salon windows, and installing a new high-capacity water maker.