Moving mast & equip. to clear solar shadow

The previous owner had installed two solar panels, radar, sat TV, antennas and you name it on the tired pilothouse roof, and in the last year, I've stripped all the equipment off, re-cored and re-skinned it to support nothing but solar panels. Now that I've dedicated the space to solar, I have to move the mast and other equipment to avoid solar shadow as much as possible. I've Photo-Shoped three possible arrangements to facilitate the cause, but when you do this concentrated work, it becomes difficult to stand back and gain any objectivity on how it really looks.

So at the risk of opening myself to massive critique, can you tell me which one you think looks best? I know I don't have a good looking vessel and much about it has already received negative commentary, but I'd rather not add additional imbalance, if you know what I mean. To meet my Admiral's needs regarding a workable MOB plan, the old mast and boom are gone in favor of the swinging davit shown on the boat deck. Thanks for your input.

I like the one on the right side best.

I like the one with the radar forward

The last photo, moving the radar and sat antenna high on the aft part of the pilothouse makes the most sense to me.

I like the lines in the last photo best...hopefully it's not too heavy to easily lower.

I find the first pic is the most pleasing - least chance of a shadow too!

Number 3 if you can live with the height... Number 1 if you can't.

4 to 2 for image 3...

I also like the third option with both on a mast. I would like the second, but is there an issue with the TV mast interfering with the lift? I assume the radar needs that height to "see" over the brow of the pilothouse.

THD said:

I also like the third option with both on a mast. I would like the second, but is there an issue with the TV mast interfering with the lift? I assume the radar needs that height to "see" over the brow of the pilothouse.

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Correct. Spec sheet says this radar needs 12.5 degrees of clearance down and up for optimum performance. Of course, the higher it is the more that it can see out there. The swinging davit you see is on the port, and the post for the Sat TV would be starboard, so no problem there. With the radar set in front of the pilothouse, fwd. looking would be good, but at the sacrifice of 150 degrees rearward, and I'm not sure about the effect on the compass at 1 meter.

Number 3

I like the looks of #3 also but I have just been through cutting 5' off my mast to get under fixed bridges so depending on where you travel may depend how high you want to go.

I like # 2 or the middle pic the best in terms of a balanced aesthetic. #3 looks to Rube Goldberg.

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#3. Boat looks nice, not ugly.

I notice in shot number one the absence of framing on the windows, both pilot house and cabin.

Can that be skewing the opinions of those who find it less attractive?

LaBomba said:

I like the looks of #3 also but I have just been through cutting 5' off my mast to get under fixed bridges so depending on where you travel may depend how high you want to go.

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The mast in #3 will be fold down from a hindge just below the back window, so no problem with that either. I'll still gain a few inches on the hardtop with adding the solar panels and a bit of air space beneath, but overall bridge clearance with mast down should still be under 14 ft.. The pivoting davit crane is also easily removable.

CPseudonym said:

I notice in shot number one the absence of framing on the windows, both pilot house and cabin.

Can that be skewing the opinions of those who find it less attractive?

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I don't know....it was late and I probably darkened too much. Part of the plan for the pilothouse is changing out the old sliding windows, but this time the frames will be powder coated and the glass on the side will be more tinted, so I just included the treatment in the Photoshop renditions. There will be more changes in the pillars too, but from a distance, it should look pretty much like this.

I think photo 3 looks the best. If you have bridge clearance issues where you boat photo 3 is probably not a good idea. But photo 3 looks like you did it on purpose where the other two look like you just sort of stuck stuff where it would fit and the end effect is rather hodge-podge.

If photo 3 doesn't work for you for clearance reasons then I think it's six of one, half dozen of the other as far as photos 1 and 2 are concerned. Whichever one is easiest to do would be the one.

#3

First post on the forum here . I like the tall mast idea if you dont have clearance problems anywhere you go. I think you have a very pretty boat. Like mine, I think it suffers from the shape of the lower windows a bit. I'm playing with mine in pics online, shading in around the windows in front and behind the windows using black....and I've found I can really change the look. I may end up painting to recharacterize the window shape making it LOOK like the windows are shaped differently. You can also paint some of the lines on your hull.....by doing that you accentuate the length of the hull and take away from its height.


Women have been doing the same thing in clothes for years using shapes and lines to accentuate or hide waist, hips, etc. lol


Here is a pic of my recent purchase so you see what I mean about dull looking windows. lol

Aren't there panels and controllers that can deal with shadows now?

Yes , for decades , BUT the output per sq foot is always lower.

With loads of space and shadows the lower output might be compensated for .