Can we live TOTALLY OFF GRID? [Ep17 RED SEAS]

It's time for a major boat project as we install 1400 Watts of flexible solar panels on our Leopard 47 sailing catamaran to change our lives and live off the power of the sun. We also collect our new dinghy to replace Sir Sinkalot....at last!
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⏰ Time Stamps ⏰
00:00 Coming up
00:12 Intro
00:31 Installing solar panels
03:55 Collecting our new dinghy
11:35 Wiring the solar panels
16:25 Outro & bloopers
🎵 Music 🎵
[THEME SONG] Arrows & Bullets - Big Idea - • Big Idea
Wataboi - Cali - • Cali
The Mini Vandals - Burkinelectric - • The Mini Vandals featu...
Atch - Over You - • Atch - Over You
Ryyzn - The Clock - • RYYZN - The Clock [Lim...
Atch - First Light - • First Light - Atch (No...
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📖 Our Story 📖
We're Iain and Brioni, a couple of ginger Scots who sold everything we own and moved to the Caribbean to buy a boat that we could call home. We have a habit of finding ourselves in the most unusual circumstances, but that’s what makes life interesting! We love to travel, we love the sea and we love sharing inspiring stories about inspiring people. So hit subscribe and join us on this adventure!
Track: www.noforeignland.com/boat/re...

[@stevenclarue7802]

Y’all are so cute. I appreciate Brioni’s sense of self. No need for exploitation. Just very interesting content. Scotland forever!

[@RedSeas]

Ain’t nobody wanting to see these two bodies on screen 😂 we figure there is enough excitement in our adventure as it is. Pleased to have you following along. Hope you are having fun catching up on the episodes. A LOT is still to come! 😊

[@mandyrosello4036]

Going Green 💚 with sunshine ☀️

[@RedSeas]

The Reds go Green out in the Blue!

[@latitudeash]

Instead of drilling 16 holes, I think I would use plastic conduit and channel the wires in it and pay be put one or two hole in.

[@RedSeas]

Yeah, we actually bought some conduit to do just that but the irregular shape of the hardtop made it a bit of a challenge to fit around everything. We have a bit of a plan to clean it up but not sure when we will have time for it. I’m a fan of hiding cables and the solar ones are just a bit too obvious for me.

[@secondstartotheright]

Lol you guys need a skateboard to put under and dolly the back end (heavey end) of the dinghy around. I hope you guys allow for folding wheel for your dinghy the ppl that have them swear by them.

[@RedSeas]

Linc the Dink is a beast for sure. We have a bit of a creative springy stern anchor arrangement at the moment meaning we can dinghy to the beach and then he pulls himself back out past the breakers. When we are ready we pull him back to the beach and hop in. Flip down wheels would be a huge bonus tho as he is pretty heavy to drag up when we have to. 😁

[@latitudeash]

A flat bit should be used 90 degrees on and for wood. No good for fibreglass as it will rip the hole and may get jagged edges. Basically you will not get a nice round hole. Also the edges will be sharp and likely to chafe the wires. . You needed a hole saw bit and you also need sleeping on the wires that enter each hole.

[@RedSeas]

That would probably have helped. The flat bit was to attack the bulsa core that the hardtop is sandwiched in but it was a case of using what we had available….isn’t it always. Lol. We actually did sleeve the cables but forgot to show it in the video. Good call

[@fcguy7]

Individual charge controllers? Could you have not done some series parallel combos?

[@RedSeas]

We totally could but our sim was to ensure minimal effects of shading on any given panel as they are not diod protected. Some panels will “adapt” when a single cell is shaded but these aren’t so we split them out to each their own mppt. We actually add a bit more solar a little later on and those panels are paired up.

[@josephrosello8806]

Looking sooo good!

[@RedSeas]

I’m sure you mean to Reds but the solar panels look pretty good too 😂

[@RichieKeane]

Nice dinghy and engine combo… ye smuggling people out there 😂

[@RedSeas]

Linc is an absolute beast of a dinghy. We can carry 3 divers with full gear on the plane at 20 knots. Take on big waves and even use him to anchor Indioko!

[@RichieKeane]

@@RedSeas Yes she is been @shopping@ for a year will end up with a 260/280 and a 6... can fit a 3.3m on bow but too big for the mast haulyard... be safe what happened to midhsipmen? all got to busy?

[@RedSeas]

Smart thinking to check the halyard loading. Midshipmen/Admiralty was a shame. We are thinking about restarting something but need to see what happens there.

[@RogerWilco1]

One thing you can do different if you ever have to put the panels down again is to get corrugated plastic (its like cardboard but made with plastic, so its thicker and hollow) and put the panels on that. The hollow area lets air flow under the panels to lower their temperature, and they make more power at lower temperatures.

[@RedSeas]

Yes we thought about that but we’ve heard so many stories of panels being blown off in strong winds, we wanted the profile to be as low as possible. We’ll cross our fingers and see how long they last like this 🤞🏻

[@RogerWilco1]

@@RedSeas Interesting, hadn't heard of panels being blown off.

[@RedSeas]

@@RogerWilco1 Yes, it’s worryingly common in higher winds.

[@glennedwards1449]

@@RedSeas Actually this comment got in ahead of mine where I was going to be Mr Know it all and suggest exactly the same thing. Since you are using 4200 that stuff is strong and I would not be worried regarding winds. However since you have already installed your panels it is not worth worrying about. Note I doubt the increased efficiency would be more than 10% . Cost wise since you would need to attach the panels to the Solar panels then to your roof this doubles the amount of 4200 and that stuff is not cheap.

[@gr4yz4]

Love the crossover between boat work and classroom crafts. Prit stick and glitter really isn't that different from fitting solar panels :-o

[@RedSeas]

…or so I (Brioni) tried to argue. Not sure Iain was so convinced though 🤪

[@MrBobVick]

Keep making comments as I think that gives your channel better exposure. Back in 1980 some people towed a Hobie Cat to me in Kuwait as it was assumed I was the only person in country that could sail it. Think many were surprised a Texas cowboy could fly a hull.

[@RedSeas]

Ha appreciate it! As it happens I (iain) grew up in Oman. Not a million cats out that way back then.

[@MrBobVick]

@@RedSeas The wife & I used to race with sometimes 400 other cats all in different classes here in the US. Learned why the women dress the way they do in the ME as there are no bushes, so instant port a potty. Also the female group pee thing was so they would form a circle & just a wet spot was left when they left.

[@latitudeash]

Do you not need to bottom paint the new dinghy?

[@RedSeas]

Actually, we haven’t had to worry about that yet. The aluminium has kept quite clean and we zip along fast enough that it’s rare we get any real growth. Just slime occasionally.

[@johnmcneilly7287]

I dont know why you have so many charge controllers . You could have put all port panels on one and starboard panles on one charge controller. Or all hooked to one charge controller. best of luck to you guys

[@RedSeas]

Great question and one we played around with quite a lot before installing. As you imply from your comment, there is no one way to do it right so we had to pick our preference. The short answer is simply to avoid shading issues. With rigging, boom, stack pack and mast all throwing shadows on the surface, we decided to give each panel its own controller. This means that any one panel can be shaded (dropping its efficiency) and all the others will continue to deliver their best performance. The longer answer includes a fail safe. Flexible panels have a reputation for failing over time (as all panels will). Rather than letting a failing panel bring down all the others, we isolated each panel. This means that if one is damaged or overheating or anything, the other panels are not effected by a short circuit or over voltage. Many panels offer some in built protection for this but we wanted to be over prepared should anything ever arise. Finally, it means that if an MPPT charge controller fails while we are off grid, we can require panels together and bypass that controller to still make power.

[@lighthouse1431]

What brand are the pannels?

[@RedSeas]

We chose Renogy 175W semi flexible panels. They have been producing pretty well (against what others say about flexible panels) but time will tell of course.

[@greatpix]

Just wondering if you tested each panel's output before installing? My understanding is they can vary, and you might get a defective, or under performing panel. Also, you can't count on specs to be that accurate even on top brands as testing has shown on some other YT channels.

[@RedSeas]

Yeah, we metered each panel before installation to check performance and in case of any shipping damage. Results were pretty accurate and not too wide spread so we were happy to push ahead. Solar panel manufacture has been improving rapidly and efficiencies are getting higher all the time. 21% is around the best we were looking at when ordering ours

[@steveking6204]

Is that a sufficiently dry place to locate your victron controllers? If the locker is locked, I imagine so. But does one ill timed wave or bucket of salt water ruin your whole set up?

[@RedSeas]

Yes, with the locker closed there are drains around the lid that run any surface water out onto the deck so no water gets into the locker. In over a year of sailing the Leopard 47 we have never had a wave enter the cockpit, so even if we were opening that locker underway it would still be well protected.

[@bayanicustodio3998]

I was wondering, how much would the temp be lowered if there was glitter on the gel coat? Wouldn’t the glitter reflect the light away from the surface? I do put them on cars? 👍🙂

[@RedSeas]

I like your thinking! Maybe I’ll get some scientific research to back up my request next time we think about adding more panels! 🤣 * Brioni

[@bayanicustodio3998]

@@RedSeas just thought it would be fun thing to try out, even that chroma additive that makes the paint look a different Color depending on the viewing angle. 🙂 doubt it would work with gel coat though. A different kind of bling.

[@RedSeas]

Hey, if you can arrange it, we would love to see Indioko get a chroma paint job. That would be so 😎

[@jacquelynekinsey7374]

Curious as to where you got the solar panels from? We are headed to St Martin (on a Leopard 43!) shortly…did you have them shipped in?

[@jackechan1311]

[@RedSeas]

Love it that those panels are still going strong to this day (much like your binge. I’m impressed!)