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| Courtesy IQSolar |
| IQSolar has equipped Craig Horsfield's Mini 6.50 prototype Skyweb Express with a 90-watt solar panel mounted off the transom and a 45-watt panel integrated into the companionway slider. |
The Mini 6.50 class has long been a training ground for top-notch solo sailors, producing legendary skippers like Ellen MacArthur and Michel Desjoyeaux. It's also fertile territory for technological innovation, as the folks who race these 21-foot rocketships across the Atlantic are constantly looking for ways to cut weight, improve performance, and avoid breakdowns. (For one example of Mini-inspired technology, see
Low Friction Rings by Antal. )
When it comes to powering their electrical systems, Mini racers increasingly rely on solar panels, in particular, the lightweight, durable variety purveyed by the Washington-based company IQSolar.
The typical solar setup found aboard a Mini includes one or two solar panels mounted off the transom, a charge controller, and a battery bank for storing the charge generated by the panels. The charge controller regulates the voltage to prevent overcharging the batteries and keeps the solar panel from draining the batteries when the sun goes down.
What makes IQSolar's panels attractive to the Mini set are the products' light weight, efficiency, and durability. The 90-watt "racing" panels measure 47 inches long by 21 inches wide by 1/3 inch thick and weigh less than 9 pounds. IQ Solar's mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells convert up to 17 percent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity (which is pretty efficient, considering that far more expensive cells convert at a rate of about 20 percent.) Aluminum honeycomb backplanes keep the heat-sensitive solar cells well ventilated, and glass-free construction makes the panels ideal for use in the marine environment. In fact, when the Mini Store's Jeffrey Dingle introduced the M65, the first production Mini to be built in the United States, he chose IQSolar as the sole provider of solar panels for the boats.
Courtesy IQSolar |
| The 45-watt solar panel integrated into the companionway slider of Skyweb Express is strong enough to walk on, thanks to glass-free, laminate construction. |
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Courtesy IQSolar |
| A 90-watt solar panel mounted off the transom provided the bulk of the electrical power for this Mini 6.50. |
IQSolar powered Spain's Alex Pella in the 2007 Mini Transat, and the company is helping Seattle's Craig Horsfield achieve his goal of racing in the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Mini Transat. Prior to the 2008 West Coast Mini 6.50 Offshore Race, which Horsfield won, IQSolar's Chris Menefee helped the burgeoning Mini racer outfit his prototype
Skyweb Express with a solar array. In addition to mounting a 90-watt panel off the boat's transom, they also developed a custom companionway slider with an integrated 45-watt panel. "We made a template of his slider then built a new one and laminated our materials onto that," says Menefee. "Going forward, we'll be doing a lot more with integrating solar panels into decks and cabin tops."
Horsfield's 90-watt plus 45-watt solar array generated about 68 amp hours each day, which was more than enough to meet his average daily consumption of 49 amp hours, used to run nav instruments, VHF radio, AIS, radar, lights, autopilot, even a stereo system. (To download Horsfield's power budget grid, click
here.)
In May, Horsfield finished the Mini Pavois and qualified for the 2009 Charente-Maritime/Bahia Mini Transat. Come September, he'll be on the starting line in France and IQSolar will be charging his batteries.
IQ Solar's 90-watt racing panel costs $1100. The 45-watt model is $800.
www.iqsolar.com
