Mobile solar panels
We have no space on deck for permanently installed solar panels. Nevertheless, it's nice to be able to top up the battery at anchor with solar power. So we sewed two thin solar panels without a frame onto a piece of canvas. We left a ten centimetre wide strip protruding from one of the longer sides and sewed on Velcro and fleece tape so that this strip acts as a strap for fastening over the railing wire. We reversed the tabs on both parts so that they can also be velcroed together. This means that the panels can not only be hung on the railing, but also stretched between the sprayhood and backstays as a sun awning or simply lashed to the foredeck. Flexible and with double benefits. Michael Rinck, Jork
Flexible solar generator
The disadvantage of the sliding hatch garage as a mounting location is that the solar cells are practically never optimally aligned with the sun. For this reason, we have fitted the panel with hinges on two sides. The axles of the hinges were replaced by eyebolts. These bolts are held in place by a rubber strip stretched between them. In the harbour or at anchor, depending on the position of the sun, one side of the panel can now be detached from the garage, folded up and aligned. Fred Sommer, Hamburg
Clever tarpaulin
To give our dinghy some protection against the sun or rain, we made ourselves a tarpaulin. To begin with, this is just a rectangular piece of tarpaulin fabric that is laid over the main boom. The small roof gets its stability from four continuous tent poles. A 15-centimetre hem remains at the edges, into which we hammered thimbles. Jochen Peschke, Hamburg
Awning for the cockpit
If the sun is too bright, an awning stretched over the cockpit can provide relief. To ensure that the entire cockpit is in the shade, it must be as wide as possible and tensioned to the shrouds. There are usually no suitable attachment points at the stern. The boat hook provides a remedy. We tie it to the permanently mounted mast support. Alternatively, the backstay can also be used for this. This creates attachment points that are far outwards. Bernhard Uhrmeister, by e-mail
Do you have any advice for other sailors?
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