Batteries in a bench?

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YamahaC40Guy

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Hello~I asked this in an older thread, but was interested in knowing who has done this, how it worked-out, etc. I think I know how I'd approach this, but as you can't really "un-bake" a cake, it would be awesome to hear the pros/cons to an idea like this, what worked/what didn't.

My application~2x12V deep cell batteries for a 24V Minn Kota trolling motor. I'd like to get the charger in there too.

Thanks SO much to those who take the time to respond. I'm hoping to get this underway over the holidays!

Cheers,
Rob
 
I haven't done this,but I know of one issue that can be solved very easily.Use battery boxes or battery straps with covers over the terminals.If the batteries bounce around and the terminal touch the metal,it could cause serious electrical issues.Plus,you could get electricuted.Other than that it will help with weight distribution.
 
It could be done, but there is probably flotation foam in the seats that you would need to remove. How about building a small deck from the rear seat back to cover the batteries and the charger. You can still put the batteries in battery boxes and a nice flush look in the rear will hide all the wiring and what not.
 
#-o I forgot to mention the flotation foam.If you remove it,try to use it else where in the boat.Add more if you can.Just a safety thing.
 
Hmmmm, hadn't thought of the foam. I suppose I'll stick with plan "A" then~a separate compartment forward of the rear bench seat. I'll post photos when/if I ever get it complete. lol

On that note, I'll be cutting a pc. that sort of mirrors the shape of the bottom OF the boat seat. I'd like to find something to put between IT and the boat floor. I was thinking something like weather strip, but I don't know how that would hold-up with water/UV. I plan on making the fit very postive, with notches to allow water to get through it etc. I'm looking for a "buffer" material to minimize any potential vibration/buzzing/rattling where the two materials meet. Any thoughts? What is that 5200 sealant I keep seeing references to...?
 
YamahaC40Guy said:
Hmmmm, hadn't thought of the foam. I suppose I'll stick with plan "A" then~a separate compartment forward of the rear bench seat. I'll post photos when/if I ever get it complete. lol

On that note, I'll be cutting a pc. that sort of mirrors the shape of the bottom OF the boat seat. I'd like to find something to put between IT and the boat floor. I was thinking something like weather strip, but I don't know how that would hold-up with water/UV. I plan on making the fit very postive, with notches to allow water to get through it etc. I'm looking for a "buffer" material to minimize any potential vibration/buzzing/rattling where the two materials meet. Any thoughts? What is that 5200 sealant I keep seeing references to...?


If you carpet the decks and wrap the carpet around the sides and staple it,you want have rattles or buzzes.

3M 5200 Marine Sealant,it can be purchased at most box marts and home improvement centers.Look in the caulking isle.
 
Cut the bench out and take out the foam. I did it in my boat and the weight distribution leveled off my boat - finally. I've got a 1236 jon and have 2 batteries in my middle bench running parallel to a 40# foot control TM in the bow.

I don't have a gas motor on my boat, so I'm not worried about my batteries moving around and hitting anything. People worry about it, but I really don't because I fish electric only lakes. Now pulling it down the road they have been tested, and they are in the same place when I get to where I'm going, and the roads I travel on are a lot harder than most rough water - especially riding on 8" wheels.

Check out page 6 of my boat mod's here - 1236 Alumacraft mods
 
I have yet to see a smaller aluminum boat with enough factory foam to float it, when filled to its max weight capacity. Go ahead and pull it out, and just box the batteries in. They won't slide around that way, and I wouldn't even bother strapping them down, as mine are up close to the bow of my 15 foot jon, which, at 30 mph on rough water, bounces around a lot, and I have yet to find any reason to believe that they have bounced the inch and a half up to the painted aluminum lid above. Boat hasn't lit up yet.
 
Thanks for the input russ/Bassboy, I think I might go back to that idea. Space IS at a premium already, and I'm very confident that I can get those batteries in there securely. I like this direction! Common sense would dictate that I should PROBABLY put them in the bench beside my driver's seat....what do you think?

Boat1-1.jpg


Weight-wise, I'd like to offset them to one side anyway, because when I'm in the boat alone (rare) it does have quite the lean to it. Let's just say that with that 40hp almost wide open, hard "rights" are not really a good idea. :shock: So, do you think I should put them IN the bench, beside the driver...or in the last row? SOMEone convince me the back is a better idea...? :?
 
I would put them in the bench with the drivers seat.

The way I would do it would be like this... Take the drivers seat off, cut out the whole top of the bench (leave about a 1" clearance all the way around (look at how I did my boat), on the sides, only cut to where the top of the bench cut will be parallel to the bottom of where the battery will sit, in other words, cut to where the side and bottom of the boat meet. I would take off the seat and cut it out because you can store things in there like floats, anchors, rain gear, etc. Use 3/4" ply as the top bench, make sure you put your hinges on the front side. This is where I messed up! I put the hinges on the back and now when I'm driving down the road I have to strap bungee cords so that they don't fly up as I'm driving!

The best way to measure how much to cut would be to set the largest battery in there you can possibly fit (in my case, my seat was nearly 18" across, so a 29 series fit well). Be sure to paint the wood with either a wood sealer, I used a couple of coats of paint that I painted my rear deck with - a paint and sealer in one.

You can use the part of aluminum that you cut out on the bottom side of your board, but I didn't do that because it was too close to the batteries, and I didn't want to use battery boxes - so I have bare wood down and don't have any problems.
 
Thanks for the input russ, I'll probably follow most of that! I'll probably carpet the marine ply. I'll be using. I'm a BIT hesitant to attach my seat to a hinged pc. of wood though, need to give that some thought. I can't see it being a big issue but then again, I'm a pretty big guy. Decisions...decisions.... :shock:

Thanks again for the help.
 
Now that I've thought about it.. you may be right about the seat.. I've already had a few rivets pop from where I put the hinges - but that's my own stupid fault. I would still think you would be ok though if you wanted to move it - just brace it up with angle at the sides of the bench on the inside. You could put in a divider there and have a box for storage

As far as carpeting, I did that as well - I was just saying be sure to paint/poly the wood before hand to act as another water barrier.

Let us know how it comes along, you'll do just fine!
 
...sort of gripped by indecision russ. I have the material lined-up no matter which way I do this, and hope to put in a few days over the holidays. Really reluctant to mess with the the driver's seat though, so still looking at my first idea as the best so far. It'll be like extending the depth of the rear bench, forward. The problem is I'm scheming about it, and the boat is about 20 miles away. Brain storming should really be done with the boat in front of me, but not possible just yet. I'll keep you posted.

Rob
 
Yes, about 10" worth. (the width of the battery+) 90% of my fishing is done standing on either the front deck, or rear seat. (fly fishing) I want to get carpet on the rear seat for traction-purposes, and to make the seat a little deeper anyway. So, it's a win-win. At this point, the only hesitation is the fact that there will be 3 batteries, the motor, and fuel tanks all in the back 4' of the boat. Obviously, there is some merit in getting them up front too, so nothing is set in stone at this point. :?
 
Hey Russ, remember the old passenger seat on my rig, before I moved it to the center? That was mounted solely with one hinge, and it didn't feel unsturdy when we were running up the lake in the rough water that time, did it? I have had numerous large people in that, in rough water, and the only problems we had were people feeling like they were going to fall out, due to the low sides of the hull.

In this picture, you can see how I did it.
yazoo039-2.jpg

The carpeted piece under the seat is just a piece of .090 aluminum bolted to the seat bottom, then I have 3 3/16 pop rivets holding the seat to the hinge, and 3 holding the hinge to the aluminum frame of the seat box. You would need more than just the flange left around the bench to attach the hinge to, but framing around the opening with a piece of 1x1 square aluminum tubing should solve that problem, and stiffen it up. Just rivet it to the under side of the flange that Russ mentioned leaving.

As Russ mentioned with the lids, put the hinge on the front of the seat. That way, when you accelerate, your weight pushes the seat back, holding it down solid to the bench seat. And, if you do decelerate fast enough, the way the seat would have to lift up, you merely slide out, and it doesn't try to tilt up. That boat has a lot of potential. I would certainly use that space for storage, were it mine.
 
bassboy is right... I forgot his seat was on a hinge - and I sat on it ripping through some pretty tough water and there was no movement at all.. actually I think I threw my feet up on the front deck while we were riding.

If you're going to have that much weight in the back, I think you should put them in the bench... Heck, you can even deck the rear bench and maybe a little more in front of the bench for added standing room.

I stand on my middle bench that I cut out to fish on, and I weigh in at 185lbs... lightweight I know, but it doesn't give at all when I'm standing on it
 

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