Re: [electricboats] Floating PV Hazard Potential?

Based on the electrical specs, I'd guess this panel is about 4ft x 2ft. If it is to be used in the marina, at anchor or on a mooring, then that means it will be stowed while underway. So bad weather is not an issue - one more step when securing the boat before a storm is to stow the solar panel.

I don't know how effective a floating panel is, compared to one mounted above the water. It seems to me, the lower the elevation, the more chance of shadows. Also, lots of flotsam floats through some of the marinas and anchorages around here - bits of driftwood, seaweed, garbage. All of that may end up on your floating panel and reduce the output.

I can say that flexible panels can keep working for at least 6 years on a small boat in salt water. My poor panel (similar specs) gets splashed and even washed over while sailing my little trimaran, and even spent several hours fully submerged when the boat it was on previously turtled. Rain is a welcome relief! If the connections are all sealed very well, and the panel is supported to minimize flexing (I'm guessing that there could be eventual leakage due to delamination of the structural layers around the PV cells), then it should keep working. 

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