Battery placement

[Priceless]

Interested in hearing about optimal battery placement from the guys. Under center hatch behind center of gravity/weight midpoint or outboard of engines behind weight midpoint or even further back and where? Plus/minus of each location. Mine is a Bahia Mar.

[bob lico]

if you want to increase the roll (some people like the feeling) put batteries outboard of engines but if you go along with navy or sailing clipper ships like Flying cloud, Cutty Sark, place batteries dead center of bilge directly aft of the main bulkhead for the lowest center of gravity.God forbid you place batteries next to hull in combination with 4 cyl. diesel engine with reverse chines out of water when the boat is at rest. the condition of port or starboard wave action will be greatly amplified roll with no physical means (chines out of the water and boat rocking on keel ) could be nice for putting you to sleep in V-berth but other than that a RLDT.

[Tony Meola]

Bob is right. If you put them outboard of the engines you need to balance that weight to limit the list to one side.

[mike ohlstein]

Bob is right. If you put them outboard of the engines you need to balance that weight to limit the list to one side.

Like with a generator.......

[Yannis]

Unless there is a magic way to render the space between the engines watertight, the only space for batteries in a 28 is outboard of the two engines.
Which in turn, makes for what Bob explains (rolling), which I didn't know...
Which, again, makes me think of those anti-rolling discs that you hang on the sides.
Which might stop me from literally falling off the salon bed when a passing ship creates wake while I'm tied up...
Deep vee boats are fine, but sometimes they bring my nervous system to a steaming limit.

[Priceless]

I had asked mainly for info and education from the guys. My four batteries are amidships between the engines in a very nice splash prof vented grey wooden box that came with the boat. Also nice rubber strip sealing the hatch. No water on batteries.

[Tony Meola]

I had asked mainly for info and education from the guys. My four batteries are amidships between the engines in a very nice splash prof vented grey wooden box that came with the boat. Also nice rubber strip sealing the hatch. No water on batteries.

Best place for them. No need to rethink this one.

[bob lico]

could not help thinking capt.patrick and i was shipmates on the flying cloud.we blew past all the other ships in the world they laugh at us knowing damn well we would roll her over in big seas with more than 1/3 more sails than an equal size cargo ship but the captain line all the heaviest cargo down the keel line and lightest cargo to the far port or starboard side of bilge area.i wish the Captain was here to tell us the tales of rounding the Cape of Good Hope!

[Pete Fallon]

Faithful,
My 1961 31 express came with a FRP box in the bilge between the engine boxes as low as they would go just in front of the cabin door. The box held 2 group 31 batteries with no cover just boots over the terminals. After backing down on a blue fin for about 25 minutes the boat stopped dead, I was fishing in 3 to 5 foot seas and the fish was running into the seas. Batteries were completely under water in the bilge. After 15 minutes of the fish towing the boat into 3 to 5 seas, I finally managed to get one engine going( I always carried a spare battery on board). Needless to say the next day I ripped out the old low box, I built a shelf about 18" above the bilge that was large enough to hold 3 group 31's with a FRP lid and sides. There was just enough clearance for the hatch top(walkway) between the engine boxes. I never had a battery problem again after 36 years of fishing and cruising the boat. We did catch the fish and my mate was never so happy to hear the starboard motor start, the fish weighed 790 pounds dressed and way back then the price per pound was only $1.50 per pound. That 1 fish paid for the insurance that summer. That fish taught me a lot of lessons about backing into a seaway and to always have bilge pumps that were 3 times larger than what you think you should have, the original pumps were 1 1100 gph Atwood under the cabin sole and a 1500 Rule in the after bilge. The boat now has 3- 2200 GPH Johnson Pumps and a 3000 GPH Rule, plus the ability to use the Port motor intake as a crash pump and if I was thinking clearly I would have not backed down so hard into those seas.
Pete Fallon

[bob lico]

mike the generator was fairly easy to balance. the genny is outside of the port engine and outside of starboard is the holding tank with the A/C just forward in the bottom of vanity against the main bulkhead also Corian countertop and porcelain head becomes a perfect balance (bootstripe dead parallel with water across transom ) . my agm batteries are sealed in a perfect fit custom made (AZAK) brand PVC board with glued and screwed rabbit joints and rabbit joint sealed top. Pete backing down i have two 2' wide scupper boxes connected to custom SS scuppers with outside cockpit channel leading water to scuppers backed up by 4 bilge pumps on 3 isolated battery banks with the dual crash valves and one helluva 110volt coast guard style evacuation pump off the generator.

[bob lico]

[bob lico]

photo was taken with sealed tops off

[Capt Rex]

Hi all. A little off the subject but maybe someone can throw some insight... I replaced my D4’s with 4 six volt into two 12v banks. So far have messe up both electric fuel shut off solonoids (one each engine and for the real kicker- the port main has started on its own twice- once witheverything shut down and just last night when I was on board, master switches on, etc. had to close fuel supply to turn off the Volvo diesel. I also noticed the part of the engine mount by that starter becoming toast... looks like electrolysis (shore power not plugged in). Suppose to use the boat heavy the next few days- don’t know. Extra power from these six volt batteries a problem or ...

Thanks

[ranjr13]

Our house batteries are 4-6's set up in two pairs of series, for 12v, never had a problem - not too much power, but check all connections to confirm 12v and not a crossed jumper, and make sure all grounds are solid to the boat. If all that's good, the "auto-start" feature probably is something else ie: bad solenoid or other electronic failure. I'd isolate quickly as this sort of thing would have me worried about an electrical fire if something is wrong. Best of luck, check everything one step at a time.

[Tony Meola]

I agree with Bob. A lot of people use 6 volt batteries combined to make 12 volts. The other option if needed is to use two group 27's or 31's to spin each engine.

As Bob said sounds like you are shorting out someplace and have now energized a solenoid somewhere. Perhaps you have more than 12 volts coming out of those batteries. Make sure you wired them correctly. I would put a volt meter on the solenoids and or starters to make sure you only have 12 volts going to them.

Check all of your grounds and make sure you do not have any bare spots in the wiring that is touching something.

Check your ignitiion switches to make sure nothing is shorting out at the switch and causing the engine to start.

I ahve only seen an engine self start once and that was a car with a dead battery that we were trying to jump start. She would not turn over even with the jumpers, but when we disconected everything and with the key off she turned over and started on its own. We turned the key on and then off and the engine shut down. We figured we energized the solonoid somehow.

But as Bob said I would not use the boat until you figure it out.

Also, make sure the engine is bonded into the bonding system. Check all of the grounds on the bonding system and if you do have electrolysis, check those through hulls, props and shafts.

I am betting you have a voltage leak someplace, meaning a wire is shorted out someplace. Hate the say this, but after you find it, pull the boat to check all the running gear and status of your zincs. I have seen zincs gone in two weeks with a 12 volt leak.

[Capt Rex]

Thank you all. The electrician put in a new starter and solonoid- not the problem. He couldn’t find stray power anywhere.... sent all day. I’m going to start folllowing grounds today looking for that warm one turning hot. Thx again, Rex

[Tony Meola]

Check the ignition switch. Make sure that is not your problem.