We really like our connecting panel. It was originally designed to put up only when needed but we leave it up all the time. There's a large zippered opening in the middle that we usually leave down. In the enclosed photo you can see that the side panels are rolled down. We usually sail with both down putting only the windward one up for wind or rain blockage. Both side panels only go up when it's raining. We don't have any rear panels. When we're anchoring or coming into a slip the side panels come down. I need to see.

The only problem with the connecting panel is that our bimini overlaps the connecting panel which catches the wind and make for a wind tunnel effect when beating or motoring to weather.

We like the design