Among the many hobbies and recreational activities that exist in the world of today, none feature the passion and enjoyment that is possessed by boating. Boating aficionados pour generous amounts of effort and interest into maintaining this hobby, not to mention the amount of money needed to buy, clean, repair, and stock a boat. However, in exchange for all these, a boat owner receives an experience that cannot be replaced by any monetary or material benefit: that of enjoying the beauty of the sea. Today, many people are enjoying the benefits of a fully-furnished boat to call their own, often using it for several leisure trips.

For a veteran boater, keeping a boat in tip-top shape can prove to be very expensive. Like cars, trucks, and other vehicles, a boat must be kept refueled in order to function. However, this may prove to be very high-priced for some boat owners, which may force them to limit their use. With this in mind, the time that could have been spent cruising the seas or lakes in one's boat is cut down in order to defray costs for fuel. As a result of the price and scarcity of fossil fuels, scientists and environmentalists throughout the globe are scrambling to develop a new source of energy to power appliances, houses, and the like. Solar power has been considered as one of the possible sources of energy, and is currently being used in different areas throughout the globe, from houses, to specific appliances, and even in satellites.

With this advent in solar power use, it was not long until engineers and scientists managed to transfer the power of the sun into a form useful for transportation. While solar cars such as the Mazda Demio EV are currently being produced to reduce the use of fossil fuel energy in vehicles, boats are also benefiting from this innovation through the use of marine solar panels to serve as auxiliary power sources. Marine solar panels absorb the sunlight and convert it into one of two things: electricity or heat. Marine solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity are called photovoltaic technologies. Silicon is one of the main components of solar panels – atoms trapped within the silicon are charged by the sunlight, generating a small amount of electrical current. However, the current created by a single solar panel is marginally small, thus requiring a group of panels to generate a substantial amount of electricity.

The addition of marine solar panels can greatly benefit any boat. Today, the performance of photovoltaic technologies has improved, increasing the rate of sunlight-to-electricity conversion from 10% to 14%. This can prove to be convenient for any boater wishing to save on gas and electricity. Marine solar panels are useful as an emergency power source for batteries – even while away from charging stations or replacement batteries, a boater can use solar power for recharging. Through this, a battery can obtain enough power to reach shore or go for help, thus saving a boater from being stranded. Furthermore, marine solar panels can also serve as auxiliary power sources, powering the radio and other communication devices even without powering up the boat. This way, a boater can reach to people at the coast, such as safety personnel, without relying on gas. This can serve not only to save gas, but also to save lives in case of emergency. Truly, today's marine solar panels are useful for the boater of today, not only because of the savings that can make, but because of the incidents they can prevent, resulting in a economical, danger-free boating experience.