I ordered a second batch of solar cells. Along with more poly crystalline cells for creating additional small panels, I got some mono crystalline ones also. These are quite a bit thinner than the poly crystalline ones though surprisingly not more fragile. I found them easier to solder as well! So I recommend these if you want to do DIY solar.
I intend to put a strip of 24 cells on each side of the boat along the side just under the gunwale, which I hope will protect them. When it looks like they might get damaged, I’ll laminate a thin layer of glass fiber on top like I did with the panels. I am very curious how they will perform. Obviously they will be useless in the harbor, but out on the water I hope that with the reflection of light from the water, they will perform reasonably well.