How To Install Solar Panels on the Roof of a Narrowboat in UNDER AN HOUR

Awesome DIY install of two giant solar panels on the curved roof of a narrowboat.
Love Swans? Get an awesome swan / narrowboat shirt of your very own: annamaries.art/...
Going to do this yourself? Watch this video before you start: • 5 THINGS YOU MUST THIN...
Below are links to everything used in this video. All Amazon links are affiliates links - this means that if you purchase anything from Amazon using these links, we will receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Solar
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Solar Panels: www.bimblesola...
Mounting Brackets: amzn.to/3dAiYZn
Washers (I used M8): amzn.to/359Ya79
Spring Washers (I used M8): amzn.to/3dCbk0U
Nyloc Nuts: amzn.to/3lSmt0n
Feet I bought: www.bpfonline....
Feet I could have bought: www.bpfonline....
Other feet: sunworks.co.uk...
Sikaflex: amzn.to/37eo7Fx
Butyl Tape: amzn.to/2T2nnuN (not the one featured in the video but another roll I own!)
MPPT Charge Controller: amzn.to/3454n51
PV Cable: www.bimblesola...
Cable from MTTP to battery: midsummerenerg...
Tools
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Titanium Coated Drill bit (I used 6.8mm): amzn.to/37h10Kq
Oil: amzn.to/3j4kJiF
Tap and Die set in the video: amzn.to/2T55ZFE
Tap set I wish I had bought: amzn.to/3lUxVZb
Fish tape: amzn.to/2T56dwu
Helpful Video Links
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Never Enough Cruising Solar Setup Video: • #39 Narrowboat Vlog -...
Minimal List Winter Solar Video: • HOW WELL HAS OUR NEW S...
Cruising The Cut Winter Sun: • 76. Is solar power suf...
Gone With The Wynns Series vs Parallel + Shading: • Sailboat Solar Power -...
RV with Tito - Series or Parallel?: • How To Connect RV Sola...
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Our blog - www.narrowboate...
Anna also wrote a short book available on Kindle.
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US - tinyurl.com/hwv...
CA - tinyurl.com/z23...
Australia - tinyurl.com/zxu...

[@simao_bacamarte]

Dear Annamarie and Kath, I am a Brazilian who traveled around the world for decades for business and pleasure. Those travels took me to both England and Australia several times. In 2020 I am living that inconvenient but unavoidable pause caused by the pandemic. I have just finished binge-watching all the episodes of The Narrowboat Experience, and it was delightful. You have shown me an England different from the one I know - luxuriously green, tranquil, hiding history in the form of small bridges, locks, aqueducts, picturesque villages at every corner of the many canals you navigated through. A cat lover myself (I have five cats at home), it was endearing to see Munchy and Alice in every episode. Your channel is informative, relaxing, great photography, Annamarie's artwork is just beautiful, and the highlight is the sweetness and caring you show each other. For all that, I thank you. I will always be waiting for your next video. Stay safe.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thank you so kind of you to say x

[@andrewwmitchell]

You say it's easy Cath but I don't think it would have been for me. Your ''easy" is due to your meticulous research, planning, forethought and calm, unhurried execution. Well done to both of you. You did yourselves proud.

[@Goldie644]

A tip when tapping - for every half turn clockwise, do a quarter turn anticlockwise to clear the metal cuttings. Makes it a lot easier 😉

[@etheroar6312]

And when tapping aluminium, use WD-40 to lube the tap. Works better than oil.

[@billmielke7395]

All about feel, that's a through hole so you can tap a lot deeper before needing to break the chip.

[@jonny7491]

In this mad, mad world at the moment I find your videos reassuring that not everyone has gone totally nuts.😄

[@erikandreassen6531]

You guys are awesome, your cat's have fascinated me. There are not many that love water. Precious. There are times I wish I'd been born elsewhere Love you guys and take care

[@andrewhilton8142]

‘Easy’ she said lol. Great vlog, even for those of us who struggle to make a cup of tea let alone go at the roof with a drill.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

I was worried about being on the roof. It’s my least favourite spot!

[@TheTezz100]

Certain parts aren't people's favourite job. But in this, research & planning help's loads. Kath maybe a little like me. Tad technical minded when it comes to gadgets & gizmos like this. Planning & research help's to get the job run tad smother 👍

[@Martin-se3ij]

The real forward thinking was your mooring spot, I'm impressed.

[@keithpeacock6048]

To say I'm impressed with your DIY skills would be an understatement. The pair of you work so well as a team and your meticulous planning and preparation is amazing. Fantastic work ladies.

[@rmsflorida]

Me as a Machinist ,You did a excellent job!....Robbie

[@johngreen1741]

Well done ladies- I’ve watched many other videos re installing solar panels, particularly on a sloping roof! Yours is clear filming and the commentary showed me for the first time that you used adjustable feet to compensate for the sloping roof which was brilliant for me. Thank you. Your commentary is slow, considered clear and very useful. Well done and thank you

[@curtisemery807]

Just brilliantly done. Easy to do if you've installed 100 or so before, but an excellent, well-planned job for a couple of enthusiastic tyros. You should be proud of yourselves. A job very well done.

[@tangowhisky14]

I think your brave drilling and tapping into the roof of your boat. Well done.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks.

[@ST-jq]

Normally I will not watch these DIY episodes, which is probably why I am so hopeless at such tasks. However your easy to watch style has appeal, so you must be doing something right. I am looking forward to your update on how the solar panels are performing and all the pro's and con's as you find them. Meanwhile keep up the good work, I look forward to your vlogs.

[@thewunder-lusters9644]

'Measure thrice and cut once' is a handywoman's mantra. :) ... cue Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin belting out, 'sisters are doing it for themselves.' :)

[@ralphwood9865]

This illustrates how analyzing the whole installation makes the rest a piece of cake .Well done ladies another feather in your caps. Cheers from Canada

[@lesleysilverstone2868]

Well done you two. And a big thank you to Munchy and Alice for their supervisory efforts. Hugs.

[@rotinkerbell]

you two are really impressive individuals. I love the variety and depth of your vlogs. xx

[@richardclark148]

Easy if you have Cath to organise it....and Alice to supervise everything......great paint job on the roof Anna Marie...didn't you all do well....what a team

[@skinteastwood2358]

Hi Cath next time you have to tap holes, put the tap tool into your battery drill and proceed in slow drilling. x

[@itzel1735]

“Link to the tool I wish I’d bought” Thank you. This is my life too.

[@ralphwest8156]

Great job, very thorough and meticulous' ...well done with the tapping, that will be a very solid fixing. Roof in cream has made a world of difference and enhances the panels, very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing, take good care.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks. We like the new colour and it makes a difference to heat in summer.

[@alan-sk7ky]

@@TheNarrowboatExperience A bit reflective to look over all day perhaps?

[@jadawin01]

Good planning ahead of time is always a good idea, clearly your research paid off.

[@MrBblhed]

I like that Alice supervised and only stood on you once, but I am not really happy with the lack of Munchy in this video. Also I would recommend coming up with an inspection schedule for the hose that is protecting the wire that runs through the mushroom cap.

[@PupsandpawsNetRosie]

Good work Kath. Planning the task seemed to be the key.

[@thelastpilot4582]

You ladies (wives) amaze me you tackle these jobs that I would find quite daunting. Pity we don't have a canal near us as I have a few jobs you could help me with. Ha Ha.

[@terryrigden4860]

Well done ladies, another excellent technical video. Looking forward to hearing how the panels perform especially if one is partially shaded, as well as the comparison with the flexi panel. I expect you will stay cooler next summer with the lighter coloured roof. We certainly noticed when we repainted our roof a lighter colour.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Excellent, we have some performance vlogs coming up.

[@susanmcnamara1173]

OMG what a star you are Cath well done 👍🤗

[@jonnyjones5201]

Always good to see diy vlogs, is anna painting the entire topside cream, i didn't notice any tape but lots of wonky lines 😁

[@yonatanbenavraham6598]

Both of you ladies are remarkable and talented. Great DIY Vlog, I am sure many narrowboat captains will be encouraged by your get your hands dirty attitude. Wishing there was another Vlog before next week!

[@grh6439]

Excellent job (and no bolts in the canal!). I think your video will give many boaters a lot more confidence to install panels themselves. Thank you.

[@donnybigboy]

Well done. It can be a scary process fitting either solar or turbine systems. You made it look easy and thank you for sharing.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

Nice installation. Well done. I do a lot of metal work, including tapping holes in aluminium and steel. The tap handle you were provided is far too short, even for aluminium. FYI if you need to tap into steel in the future, there are several types of taps, straight flute - least expensive but require most force, spiral point a bit more expensive but not as much force required and spiral flute, the most expensive but the least force required. I have been able to tap into some steel projects with the spiral flute tap but not the straight flute. Good idea to be able to tilt the panels. Solar panels are not very efficient and need all the light they can get. If the sunlight is at too low an angle, the light will reflect off and reduce the efficiency even more. Well worth the cost and added installation for the frames. The handles to lock the frames seem small which may be a problem on cold days with cold fingers. Consider replacing the handles with regular bolts with hex head and use a socket on a cordless drill. So much easier on the hands in the cold weather. Dave.

[@Martin-se3ij]

Dave, isn't there also a back and forth movement for tapping also, cleaning out the threads as you go?

[@martinworrall5888]

A very professional and neat job,well done ✅

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks

[@CB71SS]

Wonderful job, well done. I would suggest that after a couple of months to check on the fuel line you used at the vent to see if there is any significant wear on it, just to be on the safe side. A rocking boat, wind and weather ( rain or snow) could cause it to move just enough to wear. Look forward to the next weeks video.

[@vbart1776]

Good job. Yes as a solar engineer never have the pv cables in a rubbing situation since the pv if shorted is a low voltage arc welder and cannot be turned off unless you disconnect the mc4 connectors. Most pv fires are the “homerun” to the solar electronics and not the electronics. In America drilling your solar panel frame voids the warranty.

[@brodie2711]

I'm totally naff at anything like that but I do remember one pearl of wisdom from an old friend and she would always say Measure three times before you cut once or in your case drill once, and it looks like you did that. I'm really impressed with your DIY well-done guys

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks

[@nbflyingfox4672]

Excellent professional job and the Finished installation looks brilliant.. Nice job..

[@abefrohman1759]

Excellent job on the installation and the explanation of the installation.

[@countyman100]

WOW,Very professional,also like the way you finished painting the sides of your roof (very neat)which i thought you had missed.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks

[@MrFroglips69]

As always, two very talented and entertaining women. Well done, well done indeed.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks

[@ianofsjkartwork]

Amazing work girls......well explained and brilliant workmanship......stay safe........thanks for sharing

[@oletrenner]

Great work, very impressive! I was a bit surprised that you used only two bolts per panel and just glued the adjustable feet to the roof. But I am terrible at estimating how many fasteners are actually needed :) Anyway, the panels look great! Thanks for sharing this with us. Best, Ole.

[@AndyCutright]

Cut once, measure twice. Well done Kath.

[@britz3864]

Goood job ladies. Can't wait to see how well it works for you and how much power you can actually use from it. Thanks so much .

[@sharon2180]

Handy girl really enjoyed.

[@philanderson5138]

great work! it must be so disconcerting to drill into your roof!

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

I am a big fan of watching your vids. I prefer panels in parallel as in series if one panel fails you lose the whole solar energy as power through one panel goes through the series next one, or doensnt if panel fails. Failure of panels is normally caused by vibration. But Narrowboats dont suffer with this problem but motorhome do caused by road potholes and rough roads. Cheers from grumpy George

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks for watching. I keep such a close eye on power coming in that I would notice fairly quickly if suddenly there was no power coming in and run out to test the panels and rewire if necessary. So I wasn’t too worried about one panel failing!

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

@@TheNarrowboatExperience Cheers guys. Jane's brother built his own boat. But not the metal shell. It's called Still Water and it's based around Derbyshire? 👍👫🐟

[@jrodd999]

Looks great ladies! Thanks as always for the video.

[@alanpeart2367]

Thanks for the comprehensive information. Really helpful 👍

[@starman9921]

Good job well done your planning was 👍 meticulous and impressive.

[@michaelhiggins7365]

A truly awesome job Anna and Kath, well done ! Now you can beam with pride over your DYI accomplishment, including repainting the roof first, a most wise choice.

[@ynys_mon6928]

It only looked easy because of your meticulous research and prep. Good job!

[@paulsedman7876]

Great video, yet another one to save.

[@barrylytle5118]

Great vlog! GIRL POWER!! Way to go ladies! I wouldn't have known where to begin. Roof colour looks great!

[@johnmehaffey9953]

Very impressive ladies and I heard in the background the gulls queuing up to decorate it for you and to show off your polishing skills, take care ladies and stay safe

[@19friday55]

Great job ladies....I know this will make a huge difference....you've come a long way!!!!

[@davidselby1754]

Great job and video as always. Also Odin in the background 😍

[@andybennett2457]

Without doubt the best solar video I have seen and I’ve seen them all . What was the reason for wiring in series? The roof looks much nicer too , you are a great team and a inspiration thank you

[@etheroar6312]

Very nicely done. Kudos to you both.

[@c2c0rider]

Excellent video - thank you!

[@DonP_is_lostagain]

Glad you subscribed to the "measure twice, cut once" school of thought. Always makes things go more smoothly. Great job on the installation. Cheers! DonP

[@pfalzgraf7527]

As I am relatively new to the channel, I’m watching the current videos and some pretty old ones (for catching up) at the same time. I have to say, lady, you’ve learned some camera presence since the beginning, I’m impressed! And even though I currently have no practical use for the info from this video gives me, it was interesting and I watched the whole thing. So, all in all: thanks, good job, and I hope to see much more from you (both)!

[@DonaldF73]

Busy bever girls always doing great things

[@christinehammell6365]

I am in awe of you Kath. Annamarie too ofcourse. Great job .

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks Christine

[@davidsedlickas8222]

Superb planning before fitting paid off in gold. Excellent work well done to you both. Keep safe and dry and virus free

[@mid-niteryders5523]

The old measure twice cut once seems to be what you did, nice job.

[@johnsanders2266]

"Proper Job" Gals! Well done!

[@hellyavard8552]

Very good Kath you are a wizz!

[@SoItGoesCAL34]

Good job! Very neat and tidy. The lighter color roof paint will be much cooler for barefeet.

[@zameed1]

A job well done. Bravo to you both and I'm even speechless after seeing you both install those solar panels. Kudos to yoy both.

[@robtheplod]

Great video. I like how you've kept the panels below the mushroom height so no issues with tunnels etc.... :)

[@charanvantijn541]

And again a professional job! You are so wonderful. Although the 'under an hour' obviously excludes all your prep work.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks. 🤫

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

good up date on the cut

[@martinwise2898]

We love watching your travels😃❤️ and hello from Queensland Australia👷🏽&👨‍💼

[@grahamlewis3387]

Great job girls! Looks good.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thank you so much 😀

[@terrykunst3883]

Very impressive!

[@AhmedKhoga]

thank you

[@theoldhobbit3640]

Brilliant install and very well planned. Well done to you both.

[@karlasabineweber]

The colour of the roof does look wonderful. Now back to the vlog :-)

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

It’s amazing the difference the colour makes.

[@andrewwest7934]

I am very impressed by your knowledge and practical skills. Well done and thanks for such a descriptive series of videos.

[@alanm1725]

Well done! A very good informative video looking forward to the next one x

[@ae-ribae6426]

Great vid Kath, you made it look easy. It's looked rather daunting to me. I'm sure your new light roof will help keep the boats interior cooler come next summer. I'm now looking forward to the comparison vid.

[@kenkeats]

good job

[@kellinigh2398]

Well done you!

[@eyeswideopen627]

I'm impressed.. I have trouble changing out the tt roll so I'm really impressed. Good work guys!!!

[@robertbray8590]

Guess the next mod will be putting 'actuator' on the frame so can just push a button to lift and low them. Great vlog

[@michaelpeters5056]

Nice job Kath! Kudos for finding the perfect mooring along that quay, making that jig, and using butyl tape. I’m giving you this week’s overkill award for using Nyloc nuts on the assembly. Your roof is now the same color as my boat. We just got a fleeting look at Annamarie’s roll and tip technique; if you have the footage, I’m sure many would appreciate a roof painting episode - paint used (2-part urethane?), grit used for sanding, roll and tip technique, etc. Just an observation, if that is a 2-part urethane, you really should wear an organic vapor respirator. The isocyanates in the catalyst are really nasty.

[@funnysoroush1631]

Thanks

[@richythin]

Nice job 👍

[@guypidsley1572]

Brilliant. Guy

[@billmielke7395]

You could have drilled that a lot faster. The tap set you bought was high carbon steel, the one you wished you bought was high speed steel. You always want HSS in a tap, you can also buy coated taps, which for the purposes of hand tapping in mild steel probably doesn't have huge benefits but I would likely buy a TiN coated tap, they are usually just slightly more than uncoated. Unless I was tapping something exotic I would not buy a more exotic coating lik AiTiN or TiAiN. I'm a machinist, I cut metal every day.

[@nathanisip]

Another solar video, you spoil us! Gotta love Victron gear, their manuals are so nicely detailed and fun to read, though that’s probably just me. Great new roof colour too!

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

You read the manuals ? 🙀😉

[@nathanisip]

They’re great for bed time! 🤣

[@Wairoakid]

@@TheNarrowboatExperience Instruction manuals are great bedtime reading.

[@moejaime2654]

Great job ladies . I wish I had your skills !

[@MistyandMewithFreedom]

great vlog really informative with some great advice...kind regards Misty and Me

[@timothyquinntully881]

Good job well done. Stay safe and warm in these crazy times.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks you too.

[@CrazyPetez]

Nice work!👍

[@colmornane5684]

Hi Annamarie and Kath, another great video, well done on the fuel hose to stop chaffing of the cables, something more robust might be needed if the fuel hose protector is actually in contact with a sheet metal edge of the mushroom vent, or secure the cables sufficiently to ensure they cannot rub along the edge. You girls are the best. I have started clicking the bell icon again for all the channels I am subscribed to to try and get notifications via email again. Here is hoping! Stay as safe as you can in these difficult times. Regards a fan from Aus.

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

I honestly don’t imagine any damage being done to the cables. Our old boat had cables going into the mushroom vent that had been there for years and years and showed no damage. KZbin have stopped emailing people notifications. The bell will only give you a pop up I think if you use the KZbin app on a phone or tablet.

[@AlisonFort]

Great job❤️

[@drtydawg73]

well done girls.

[@kathpitman2202]

Well done you two very clever ladies some talent you have, you must need a break from it all this and fighting rivers. Take care cats and all

[@TheNarrowboatExperience]

Thanks! We’ve had a big rest and ready for more projects and cruising!