A watertight new roof creates an obvious opportunity for solar power, but attaching more than 2,000 watts of panels without drilling a collection of potential leak points through it turns a seemingly straightforward installation into a substantial fabrication job. Making custom aluminium brackets, adding rivnuts and planning a glued installation gives the work a clear practical rationale, while the desire to keep the panels removable for cleaning and maintenance adds another useful constraint. The explanation of why aluminium fasteners are preferred around the aluminium frames also shows how much thought is going into details that could easily be overlooked.
Getting those brackets made proves considerably more troublesome than expected. A second-hand sheet-metal machine requires adjustment, suffers a broken component and contributes to a frustrating stretch in which equipment problems consume far more time than the tiny brackets seem to justify. Rather than hiding that aggravation, the presentation makes it part of the project, eventually arriving at 32 usable brackets after repeated cutting, bending and drilling. The process can become repetitive, particularly when so much attention is devoted to fabrication minutiae, but the finished batch provides satisfying evidence that the effort actually accomplished something.
Weather then disrupts the expected progression and produces one of the more revealing sections. With wind preventing solar work and deteriorating conditions making the exterior bulwarks an unattractive project until warmer weather, Simon and Gemma openly struggle with what to tackle next. Their discussion about needing a substantial job rather than a collection of disconnected chores gives the episode more personality than a simple construction update. The broader comments about struggling, talking to people and finding meaningful work are sincere, although the conversation wanders considerably before the engine room emerges as the obvious winter project.
That decision immediately delivers the kind of physical work the episode had been missing. Removing old ballast exposes heavy blocks, miscellaneous metal and filthy spaces beneath the engine-room floor, with one piece alone weighing 48 kilograms and the pair estimating at least 200 kilograms in the cleared section. Importantly, they explain that the ballast is being relocated rather than simply discarded. Discovering blocked limber holes, accumulated dirty water and surprisingly good-looking framing beneath the plywood also makes the cleanup feel worthwhile rather than merely unpleasant spectacle.
The engine room offers a promising longer-term direction because it combines cleanup, inspection and eventual finishing with clearly defined practical needs. Plans include better lighting, washing the area, dealing with the fuel tanks, collecting rainwater for fresh-water washing and eventually creating a bright red-and-white finish. Questions such as what paint may be appropriate around an engine room are presented as unresolved rather than answered with false certainty, which is preferable to presenting casual assumptions as technical guidance. At the same time, the sheer number of future ideas makes this middle portion feel more like an evolving project meeting than a tightly structured build sequence.
Returning to the solar installation brings the episode back to a concrete objective. Measurements from the boat's 1979 drawings are used to mark the future flybridge footprint, ensuring that today's panels do not obstruct a later stage of the restoration. The sequence of bringing panels onto the roof, checking the available space, aligning them with a string line, masking the bracket locations, preparing the surfaces and bonding the mounts makes the installation easy to follow. Gemma's insistence on trimming a visibly protruding bracket may seem obsessive beside the larger engineering concerns, but it neatly illustrates the attention to finish that runs throughout the project.
Five panels ultimately fit into the available area, and their claimed combined 2,150-watt capacity gives the episode a tangible endpoint even though the electrical installation is left for later. The custom glued mounting system is presented as the builders' chosen solution rather than a universal prescription, and the unfinished wiring keeps this from pretending the solar project is complete. Between fabrication setbacks, ballast removal, personal discussion, future planning and roof work, the episode is undeniably sprawling, but that messiness also captures the reality of a large restoration in which weather, equipment and priorities constantly reshape the day's plan.
Pros
- Explains the practical reasoning behind custom solar brackets, glued mounting and avoiding unnecessary penetrations through the new roof.
- Shows fabrication setbacks and repetitive preparation rather than skipping directly from concept to finished installation.
- Uses the original boat drawings to preserve space for the planned flybridge while determining the solar layout.
- Engine-room ballast removal reveals meaningful cleanup and inspection work while clearly explaining that the weight is being relocated elsewhere on the boat.
- Simon and Gemma's candid discussion about motivation and finding a substantial winter project adds a personal dimension to the construction work.
- Finishes with a visible milestone as five panels are successfully positioned and bonded to the roof.
Cons
- The bracket fabrication occupies a substantial amount of time for a relatively small component and occasionally becomes repetitive.
- Frequent shifts between solar work, weather problems, painting, future plans, personal discussion and engine-room cleanup make the episode feel loosely structured.
- Several engine-room ideas are discussed at length before the actual restoration work there has progressed very far.
- The solar installation stops before wiring, leaving the main electrical side of the new 2,150-watt array for a future installment.
A troublesome bracket job develops into a broader and surprisingly personal restoration update, with the successful solar mounting providing a satisfying payoff after numerous distractions and setbacks. The presentation meanders as priorities change, but the willingness to show those complications makes the work feel authentic, while the newly adopted engine-room project gives the restoration a clear direction for the colder months.
