Hey everyone, I’m Jake, part of the team at our catamaran supply company—we sell all kinds of new and used multihulls, and get nonstop questions from folks looking to upgrade their boats this summer. One that’s popped up at least once a week lately is, “Can you install solar panels on a catamaran?” Honestly, I get why it’s such a big ask. If you’ve spent any time on a cat, you know we’ve got more deck space than monohulls, but we also need power for everything from refrigerators to navigation screens, and no one wants to fire up a noisy generator just to top off batteries while anchored in a cove. Let’s break this down like we would over a post-sail beer—no fancy engineering jargon, just real cat stuff. Catamarans
First, let’s talk catamarans vs. monohulls for solar, because that’s the big difference. Most monohulls have a narrow, curved deck that makes mounting panels a headache—you’re forced to cut custom brackets, deal with uneven weight, and often only get a few small panels squeezed in. Catamarans? We’ve got two hulls, a wide flat deck (especially on the bridgedeck or forward cockpit areas), and more structural real estate than you can shake a tiller at. That’s not just extra space—it’s intentional. Catamarans are built for stability, so adding solar doesn’t throw off that center of gravity like it would on a monohull. I’ve seen guys cram 800 watts of panels on a 38-foot cat, and it barely registers on the stability scale. Monohull guys get jealous when they see that much sun power sitting out in the open without weird bends or brackets.
But wait—installation isn’t just bolting panels to the deck. There’s actually more to it than that, especially on cats. First, you’ve got to figure out how much power you actually need. I can’t tell you how many new buyers call up asking for “max solar” only to find out they run a mini-fridge, a laptop, and a GPS, and only need 200 watts. Oversizing solar is a waste of money, and undersizing leaves you stuck running the generator too much. On our recent mid-size cat demo, we ran a full test: no generator, just 400 watts of panels and a 200Ah lithium battery bank. We ran the fridge 24/7, charged two phones, and used the navigation lights every night—even on overcast days, we only needed a 10-minute generator run once a week to top off, which is way better than running it 2 hours a day.
Next, mounting style. This is where cat-specific knowledge matters, which is why as a catamaran supplier, we only work with installers who specialize in multihulls. There are three main ways to mount solar on a cat, and none of them are one-size-fits-all. The easiest is flush-mount, where you bolt the panels right into the deck. But you’ve got to be careful here—cat decks are usually fiberglass, so drilling holes means using the right sealant (boat-specific, not just silicone) to keep water out. I’ve seen a newbie botch a flush-mount on a 42-foot cat and end up with water in the bridgedeck locker that smelled like mildew for months. We always recommend using backing plates when drilling into cat deck cores, too—those keep the fiberglass from cracking under the panel’s weight, especially when waves slam into the deck.
Then there’s adjustable mount, which is perfect if you sail in areas with super different sun angles. Like, if you split your time between Florida (low sun all year) and the Pacific Northwest (low sun and rain in winter), adjustable mounts let you tilt the panels to catch more light. On a cat, you can mount these on the forward deck or even the hardtop over the bridgedeck—most modern cats have a hardtop already, so you don’t have to add extra structures. The only downside is adjustable mounts are a little bulkier, but if you’re serious about maximizing sun, it’s worth it. We put these on half the demo cats we sell, and the owners swear by them for cross-ocean trips.
Third, portable panels. A lot of newer cat buyers love these because they’re easy to move around—you can set them on the foredeck when anchored, or stow them when you’re sailing, so they don’t get in the way of nets or deck lines. But don’t sleep on portable panels for long-term use—we’ve had customers take a pair of 100-watt portable panels on a 6-month Caribbean cruise, and they never once touched their generator. The trick here is using a quality charge controller, because portable panels can put out a lot of power, and you don’t want to fry your batteries. We always throw a set of 200-watt portable panels as an add-on when we sell a cat, and it’s one of our most popular upsells.
Now, what about the actual solar equipment? Let’s keep this real—you don’t need the most expensive gear, but you do need stuff that’s built for marine use. Regular home solar panels will corrode in salt air, so you need marine-grade panels, which have a sealed frame and corrosion-resistant wiring. Charge controllers are non-negotiable, too—MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controllers are way better than the old PWM ones, especially on cats where you might have multiple panels spread out across different parts of the deck. I’ve seen a guy on a 40-foot cat use PWM controllers, and his panels were only putting out 60% of their capacity because the wiring was long and stretched between the two hulls. MPPT fixes that, so you get every last watt.
Batteries matter too, and this is where cats have a leg up. Most new cats come pre-wired for lithium batteries, which are lighter than old lead-acid batteries and hold a charge way longer. On a cat, weight is important (even if we have two hulls), and lithium cuts down on how much weight you’re carrying low in the hull, which boosts stability. We always advise customers to go with lithium if they’re doing solar—we installed a 300Ah lithium bank on a 36-foot cat last year, and the owner hasn’t run the generator at all in 8 months of sailing the Bahamas. That’s the real win here.
Wait, but what are the pitfalls? No install is perfect, right? The biggest one on cats is wiring between the two hulls. Because cats have two separate hulls, you have to run wiring from the port side panels to the starboard side panels, and all that cross-deck wiring can lose power if it’s not the right gauge. We tell our customers to run 8-gauge or thicker wire for solar, and never skimp on that. Another pitfall is mounting panels where they’ll get shaded by the mast, radar arch, or even the bimini. On a cat, the forward deck is usually the best spot because it’s free of overhead obstructions, but some guys want panels on the side of the cabin, which gets shaded when the sun’s low. We map out sun paths for every cat we sell, so we can point owners to the best mounting spots before they even buy the boat—small stuff, but it makes a huge difference.
What if you’re buying a used cat? Can you add solar to an older model? Hell yes—most pre-2000 cats don’t have a lot of power setups, and they’re perfect for retrofitting. I’ve helped a friend install 500 watts of panels on a 1999 38-foot Hunter Cat, and he did it for under $1,500, including parts. The key here is to check the deck’s weight rating—older fiberglass decks aren’t as strong as new ones, so you don’t want to overload them with too many heavy panels. For older cats, flush-mount with backing plates is usually the safest bet, because it distributes the weight evenly. We’ve retrofitted over 20 used cats in the last two years, and every single one of them is running on solar now—no more generator noise, no more being tied to docks.
Let’s talk real-world use cases, because that’s what matters. We had a customer last year who bought a 42-foot Leopard cat from us, wanted to sail from Miami to the Caribbean, and was dead set on no generator. We installed 600 watts of flush-mount panels and a 250Ah lithium bank. He sent us updates every week: anchored in Bimini, no generator; snorkeling in the Exumas, no generator; even when he hit a week of rain, he only ran the fridge for 2 hours that day, then made up the rest on the next sun. He came back and said the biggest mistake he made was not adding more panels—he’s going to install another 200 watts this winter. Another guy, a liveaboard on a 34-foot cat, has 700 watts of adjustable panels on his hardtop. He uses the extra power to run a washing machine and a small air conditioner—something I thought was impossible until I met him.
So, to answer the original question: yes, you can definitely install solar panels on a catamaran. In fact, it’s one of the best upgrades you can do, because cats have the space, stability, and structural real estate to make solar work way better than it does on monohulls. The only caveat is that you can’t treat it like a home solar setup—you need to work with people who know cats, not just regular solar installers. That’s where we come in, since we’re catamaran suppliers who work with trusted local installers across the US and Caribbean, and we’ve got years of experience matching the right solar setup to each cat, each owner, and their sailing habits.
If you’re thinking about adding solar to your current cat, or you’re in the market for a new or used cat and want one that’s already pre-wired for solar, hit us up for a chat. We don’t do pushy sales stuff—we’ll just walk you through what works for your sailing style, whether that’s a small portable setup for weekend sails or a full-off-grid system for long trips. The goal is to get you out on the water, no generator noise, no worrying about power, just you, the wind, and the sun. That’s what catamarans are all about, right?
Patrol Boats References
Catamaran Construction and Structural Loading (2021). Marine Industry Technical Bulletin.
Marine Solar Power Systems: Best Practices for Multihulls (2022). Sail Magazine Guide.
Lithium Battery Performance in Marine Environments (2020). Powerboat Magazine Engineering Report.
Longkou Jinda Shipping Co., Ltd.
With abundant experience, we are one of the most professional catamarans manufacturers and suppliers in China. Please feel free to buy high quality catamarans made in China here from our factory. We also accept customized orders.
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