X-ray vision?

[SkunkBoat]

awsesome pic!!!

[Pipe_Dream]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

awsesome pic!!!

Agreed! That is too cool!

[jvitiel]

So I clawed out a fair amount of the foam via the rod box. Except for maybe a 1/4 cup of wet foam (by an inside crack under the damaged strake) it was dry. I cut a hole under the helm pedestal and it was dry too. Can't think of any other phantom weights so I'm gonna try moving the batteries forward as was the original plan. The cable run is 14' for three conductors (the selector switch will stay by the transom). Gonna use 1/0.

I'm torn on battery trays vs boxes. There's not going to be much activity in their new home so terminal covers should be fine for shorts/sparks. The Internet says that boxes are good if a battery cracks and spills acid. Realistically how often does that happen? This is two group 24 batteries mounted amidship with a 57 year old pilot - this isn't the x-games. Not sure I want to deal with the PIA of boxes for something that is unlikely to happen. Thoughts?

BTW, thanks for the tip on the rod holder caps D. - Home Depot is just down the block..











The batteries new home - approximately where the ammo boxes are...

[kamikaze]

jvitiel

When you pulled the seats did they use wood screws or bolts to an aluminum plate under the deck?

Thanks
Kamikaze

[jvitiel]

Originally Posted by kamikaze

jvitiel

When you pulled the seats did they use wood screws or bolts to an aluminum plate under the deck?

Thanks
Kamikaze

Machine screws and washers/nuts. The nuts spun as soon as I tried to loosen the screws so I had to drill the heads out. I rotated the pedestal about 20 degrees and reinstalled with wood screws. Seems plenty strong although I may change to togglers if I decide stick with the pedestal long term.

[phatdaddy]

You need to seal the raw wood edge where u drilled out the plug under the seat, if not you can really get a good look at the foam when u recore the deck

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by jvitiel

BTW, thanks for the tip on the rod holder caps D. - Home Depot is just down the block..

You're most welcome. Happy to have been of some help.

[jvitiel]

Ok so I want to update this thread for future posterity :-)

I never found any wet foam or wood so I decided to move the batteries. My main goal was to get weight off of the starboard side in general so I didn't put much thought into the benefits of moving them forward too. It helped a lot. Now it's much easier to get the bow down low - just a bit of tab. I can also trim the motor out further now which helps get rid of the steering pull I get when it's tucked in.

Moving the batteries didn't entirely eliminate the stbrd list. I wanted that gone so I stuck a 60lb bag of tube sand behind the port rod box. It sits perfectly now and I don't notice the extra weight.

I guess when I assumed that there was wet foam on the stbrd side I didn't consider the combined weight of the steering, helm, gauges, swim platform and trim tab pump. That's all on the stbrd side while the port side is clean. Upon reflection all that could easily add up to the 60 lbs in the sand tube so it looks like the wet foam concern was really a myth all along.

I was originally going to run the three battery cables behind the stbrd rod box. When I got them they were 28lbs! I wasn't going to put that weight back on the stbrd side after all this so I put them across the gas tank. That straighter path meant that I had enough slack in the 14; cables to mount the batteries to the front of my fish box vs the rear as was my original plan. That worked out well too...

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

[bradford]

Yeah, all the little things can add up.

Sounds to me like you just need a girl with some meat on her bones to ride shotgun.

[jvitiel]

Originally Posted by bradford

Yeah, all the little things can add up.

Sounds to me like you just need a girl with some meat on her bones to ride shotgun.

LOL...

What I really need is less meat on my bones ! :-)