solar power on a kayak?

I've been considering doing a 5 to 7 day kayaking/fishing trip, where there would be no access to the electric grid. I'd want to use my FF/GPS for about 6 hours each day, and recharge GoPro batteries, and maybe charge a cell phone too. So, I was looking at the possibility of adding a solar panel to charge my FF/GPS battery, then using that battery to charge the other gadgets.

Hobie sells a waterproof, flexible, lightweight solar panel that, under ideal conditions, generates about 22 watts. According to my calculations, it looks like that would be sufficient for what I'd like to do, even with less than ideal conditions. One down side (and it's a big one...) is that it sells for $639:
http://www.austinkayak.com/products/10279/Hobie-eVolve-v2-Solar-Panel.html

So, I've got a couple of questions... Assuming I spent the money and got the Hobie panel (or something equivalent), could this actually work? That is, could I be off the grid for a week and keep my electronics going? And, if so, are there any plausible options that are significantly cheaper than the Hobie panel and could actually survive when used on a kayak?

Did a quick search and saw this one that can save you some Mola...

http://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Foldable-Technology-Blackberry-Bluetooth/dp/B00G6CDTGS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1423466066&sr=8-9&keywords=best+solar+charger

Did a quick search and saw this one that can save you some Mola...

http://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Foldable-Technology-Blackberry-Bluetooth/dp/B00G6CDTGS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1423466066&sr=8-9&keywords=best+solar+charger

This looks like the ticket. I already visualized the adjustable deck to mount these on. Description said nothing about these being all weather, better check on that.

I didn't see anything about the Hobie panel having an adapter, but Badass little waterproof soft panel. Looks like there's a hole here in the market that needs to be filled.

this has a better price, is more efficient, weighs less   Just saying


http://www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Efficency-Charging-Technology-Dual-Port/dp/B00NGKPX4Y/ref=dp_ob_title_wld

this has a better price, is more efficient, weighs less   Just saying


http://www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Efficency-Charging-Technology-Dual-Port/dp/B00NGKPX4Y/ref=dp_ob_title_wld

Better price --> yes, but the output power is only 20W compared to 28W on the other one.

this has a better price, is more efficient, weighs less   Just saying


http://www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Efficency-Charging-Technology-Dual-Port/dp/B00NGKPX4Y/ref=dp_ob_title_wld

Better price --> yes, but the output power is only 20W compared to 28W on the other one.

Also the output is only 5 volts.  You cannot charge your ff battery with this one.  I would suggest having two batteries.  Use the solar charger to charge the spare and swap them out when needed.

Did a quick search and saw this one that can save you some Mola...

http://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Foldable-Technology-Blackberry-Bluetooth/dp/B00G6CDTGS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1423466066&sr=8-9&keywords=best+solar+charger

That does look good---thanks for pointing it out. And, it's less than 20% of the cost of the Hobie panel, so it would be worth some time/effort/money to try to figure out how to waterproof it...

I saw that Hobie (Torqeedo) panel couple weekends ago at the SF Boat show.  My friend is the rep.  It is a large panel.  Short of an AI with tramps, this would not fit on any kayak.

Did a quick search and saw this one that can save you some Mola...

http://www.amazon.com/ALLPOWERS-Foldable-Technology-Blackberry-Bluetooth/dp/B00G6CDTGS/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1423466066&sr=8-9&keywords=best+solar+charger

That does look good---thanks for pointing it out. And, it's less than 20% of the cost of the Hobie panel, so it would be worth some time/effort/money to try to figure out how to waterproof it...

This panel is 18v output.  Your very likely to destroy your battery without some form of regulator or charge controller installed.

I would suggest having two batteries.  Use the solar charger to charge the spare and swap them out when needed.

Maybe I'm missing something but I can't see any problem with using a batter and charging it simultaneously. It might simplify things somewhat to have 2 batteries, but I'd much rather carry just 1 battery...

This panel is 18v output.  Your very likely to destroy your battery without some form of regulator or charge controller installed.

Yes, it's definitely not a plug-and-play solution, but neither is the expensive Hobie panel, at least not for this application...

We looked at solar options for our Lake Powell camping trip that we went on last year.  After doing the math, it was clearly evident that bringing multiple batteries was a much easier solution.  When it was all said and done, I used one FF battery for the entire week (~5 days).  I don't remember what my buddy had for GoPro options but I think he brought multiple batteries as well. 

Solar requires too much area to be real effective on a kayak.  Need an AI/TI with a sail made of solar cells!

Solar requires too much area to be real effective on a kayak.  Need an AI/TI with a sail made of solar cells!

Now there's a thought...

Multiple batteries is an option, and for 2 or 3 days it'd be a no-brainer. But for 5 to 7 I'm not (yet) convinced. I also like to travel light (pun intended...), so maybe that's factoring into my thinking.

 

  That panel he linked to apparently claims 23 watts or almost 2 amps (1.91 at 12vdc) that's a fair bit of current.  Now, in order for any solar to work, the solar must produce more energy than the load (Load is anything you want to charge) the FF battery, may take a few hours of direct sun.  The open circuit voltage will be close to 19-22vdc, this will drop when you connect your charge load to the panel.  There's not enough current to fry the FF battery.  Phone batteries maybe, if directly connected to panel.

Check out this video of some random fellow's 5-day yak fishing trip on the Devils River:



It's a decent video, and the guy uses a neat wood burning generator to charge his electronics.

I don't have any personal experience with the gadget he uses, but your thread reminded me of watching this...