On 23/03/2026 at 18:39, IanD said:

 

Looks tidy. 

On 23/03/2026 at 17:40, IanD said:

I have the bonded-down 160W semi-flexible panels (x13, properly fitted) on a series hybrid boat, and they started to delaminate during the second winter -- I know several other boats have had the same problem, including from other boatbuilders. OTOH some people have reported no such problems even after 5 years, so this may be a batch problem.

 

However though the supplier will supply FOC replacements under guarantee (3 years at purchase) they will only guarantee the replacement panels for 12 months... 😞 

 

 

On 27/03/2026 at 14:11, IanD said:

For an example of what can go wrong with semi-flexible panels, here are pictures I took this morning of two boats built by the same builder in the same year (2023) with two different batches of the same panels from the same supplier.

 

The delamination is obviously a manufacturing fault, almost certainly some failure in process/quality control. I have been told that other boats and boatbuilders have also sometimes seen the same problem with these panels, which suggests it was *not* a one-off problem with one batch.  The problem is not even an entire bad batch, I have 13 panels all from the same batch (adjacent serial numbers), 2 are absolutely fine (like the first picture) and 11 have completely delaminated, the top protective film has lost adhesion and can be simply lifted off, as my hand shows... 😞 

 

OTOH I also know there are boaters out there with the same panels on boats more than 5 years old with no problems (and the other boat I photographed) -- and also boaters who have had similar delamination problems. I'm not willing to trust that the manufacturer has found out what the problem is (I believe they deny that one exists) and has fixed it (especially since they're only offering a 12 month warranty on replacements), and don't want to re-enter the good/bad panel lottery -- so am going to replace them with rigid panels even though this is a major PITA.

 

But this is very disappointing.

 

Obviously other panels from other manufacturers may well perform very differently. 

1 hour ago, DHutch said:

Looks tidy. 

 

But this is very disappointing.

 

Obviously other panels from other manufacturers may well perform very differently. 

Indeed they may -- or may not... 😞

 

Given the way that the failures on mine progressed -- first winter all fine, second winter 5/13 delaminated at the edges and 8 perfectly fine, second winter 11/13 completely delaminated but 2 still perfectly fine -- it seems there's no way to predict which panels are going to fail. Some other boats with the same panels have had the same problem, some haven't. The fact that the manufacturer will only warrant replacements (or now, new panels?) for 12 months gives me no confidence that they know what went wrong, or that it won't happen again.

 

To his credit, Ricky has offered to replace them with rigid panels under the Finesse boat guarantee, but if they're replaced with the same semi-flexible panels instead and then they fail after 12 months replacing them a second time with rigids would be at my (considerable!) expense, since I would have knowingly accepted the risk of doing this. Given this I'm just not willing to enter the flexible panel lottery for a second time, and risk a re-occurrence... 😉 

 

Other people may well make a different decision, for example I know some people are still having them fitted to new-build boats after having been warned of the problem, presumably thinking they won't get any bad panels -- which is of course perfectly possible, given that plenty of boats haven't had this problem.

 

Well, yet... 😉 

We are very soon, hopefully starting this week, having our 9 year old boat (the first built by Finesse as it happens) repainted and don't expect the 2x  stick on Photonic Universe 250w panels to survive the process. The panels are still working fine although I suspect their peak output is now reduced. I'm thinking to replace them with CIGS panels something like these https://www.eossolarsolutions.co.uk/product/cigs-solar-panel-500w/. I think there is room for two of them on the roof so that will be a doubling of our stated power output which would be very nice. We now have 460 ah at 24v lifepo4 battery capacity so hopefully this doubling in output will get them to full charge quicker. Incidentally were @IanD's failed panels CIGS? 

 

On Facebook I just happened to see that someone with a Swift caravan is having the same delamination problem on their solar panels

36 minutes ago, Alway Swilby said:

We are very soon, hopefully starting this week, having our 9 year old boat (the first built by Finesse as it happens) repainted and don't expect the 2x  stick on Photonic Universe 250w panels to survive the process. The panels are still working fine although I suspect their peak output is now reduced. I'm thinking to replace them with CIGS panels something like these https://www.eossolarsolutions.co.uk/product/cigs-solar-panel-500w/. I think there is room for two of them on the roof so that will be a doubling of our stated power output which would be very nice. We now have 460 ah at 24v lifepo4 battery capacity so hopefully this doubling in output will get them to full charge quicker. Incidentally were @IanD's failed panels CIGS? 

 

Just looked at the link... is that price usual?  seems awfully expensive - £1,000 for 500w of solar?

18 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Just looked at the link... is that price usual?  seems awfully expensive - £1,000 for 500w of solar?

 

The appeal of those particular panels is 500 watts from one panel. Others are available, I will investigate further.

3 minutes ago, Alway Swilby said:

 

The appeal of those particular panels is 500 watts from one panel. Others are available, I will investigate further.

 

I would prefer to have pairs of smaller panels, the kind that look smart.

Site them like pigeon hatches on a yacht.

This is a nod to the triangular look of the original work boats.

If you need more solar you could have the panels all pointing to the sun, but its a lot of faff, just add another pair.

1 hour ago, Alway Swilby said:

We are very soon, hopefully starting this week, having our 9 year old boat (the first built by Finesse as it happens) repainted and don't expect the 2x  stick on Photonic Universe 250w panels to survive the process. The panels are still working fine although I suspect their peak output is now reduced. I'm thinking to replace them with CIGS panels something like these https://www.eossolarsolutions.co.uk/product/cigs-solar-panel-500w/. I think there is room for two of them on the roof so that will be a doubling of our stated power output which would be very nice. We now have 460 ah at 24v lifepo4 battery capacity so hopefully this doubling in output will get them to full charge quicker. Incidentally were @IanD's failed panels CIGS? 

 

No, they were mono silicon, with an ETFE protective film which is what has come unstuck.

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

On Facebook I just happened to see that someone with a Swift caravan is having the same delamination problem on their solar panels

Link?

The only thing i can say, is when you look at the technology,  0bb, half size cells, 3 bypass of 108 cells, often bifacial,  the 500w rigid these days fir about £100 take some beating.  

8 minutes ago, WulfNut said:

The only thing i can say, is when you look at the technology,  0bb, half size cells, 3 bypass of 108 cells, often bifacial,  the 500w rigid these days fir about £100 take some beating.  

Indeed, if you don't mind having a massive flat panel which sticks up a long way from the curved roof at the edges.

 

Personally I'd rather spend (considerably!) more*** and get two rows of smaller/narrower panels which fit much closer to the curved roof and are less visually obtrusive, but that's just my choice... 😉 

 

*** still cheaper than the flexible ones though 🙂 

Edited April 23Apr 23 by IanD

46 minutes ago, IanD said:

No, they were mono silicon, with an ETFE protective film which is what has come unstuck.

Link?

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EkkfwuJjX/

There you go.

See I didn't make it up

26 minutes ago, Tonka said:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EkkfwuJjX/

There you go.

See I didn't make it up

Thanks -- I didn't think you were making it up, I just wanted to see if they were the same panels as mine -- and they're not, they're different.

 

Having said that the cover film looks similar to mine, so maybe there's a more general problem keeping ETFE film securely stuck down long-term to the silicon solar cells on these semi-flexible panels -- at least, in some batches of panels... 😞 

 

The worrying thing is that until the panels fail they look absolutely fine, and the progression is quite rapid -- as I said, over 3 winters I went from 13 good to 8 good/5 part-fails to 2 good/11 complete fails, but the boat near me with the same panels fitted a few months earlier has no fails -- well, one significant bubble on one panel, see photos. Will my remaining 2 also fail if left? Will theirs start fail over time or stay good? What would replacements do, stay good or fail?

 

No way to tell, until they fail they look exactly the same... 😞 

 

Edited April 23Apr 23 by IanD