How much Forward Weight

I've been entertaining the idea the idea of putting my battery either in front of or behind the front seat on my 14' V Hull. The reason being, I'm pretty much the only one that is ever in the boat and with the outboard, TM, tank, and battery, plus my 200+ pounds, the bow rides too high. I don't need to worry about getting on a plane, that ain't happening with my old 9.9HP. I'm thinking the battery up front and cutting my fuel tank size to a three gallon. That will at least give me a bit more balance bow to stern. I only fish No Wake Areas or Electric Only locations , I avoid the Unlimited Area like a plague, the waves are just too big for me to be even a little comfortable in the 14' footer.
I'm looking for opinions since I'm not sure if putting it in front of the seat would be better or not. It would still leave the room for two people and utilize space that is generally empty anyway.
I'll soon start trying to come up with a plan for the boat rebuild this spring.
Thanks, Spring can't come quick enough for me, I hate winter!

Ive got a 1436 flat bottom. I moved my battery to the front. The boat had a small seat connecting the bow corners. I added a bulkhead from the seat back far enough to house the battery and added a lid. Works great and really helped the ride. I still put my tackle on the front floor when Im by my self. I also keep my 10# anchor up front.

Move some weight up front and see how it rides before you make it perm

Had the some prob. in my 12ft Grumman, moved the batt. forward to under the front seat, helped drasticly, had to mod. the seat allittle but was worth it. That also came in handy when I went to a bow mount tm. less wire to run in the boat too. The shorter the wire the better the performance, unless you go way big on the wire, then it's in the way again.

I'm thinking of making the area forward of the front seat a storage area and housing the battery in there. That would give an enclosed area for the battery, anchor, small set of tools, and my ropes. I will not sit up front, it's too unstable, and doubt anyone else will either. The boat had a swivel seat on top of the bench seat and I'm thinking to eliminate that also.
Speaking of seats; Has anyone seen any of these and know if they are any good? https://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_948_225008005_225000000_225008000_225-8-5

I'm also thinking of one of these in each length for the rear and middle seats. It sounds like a good idea to be able to move it side to side. Would make balancing weight distribution easy. I also have the problem of being tall and having long arms and the tiller handle is a bit awkward to reach for me.

I use the king pin style seat mounts in back. One offset to the right for handling outboard and the other in center while fishing. I got the boat with one to the side, and added the one to center, works for me. With 25" of travel, the mount you show from BP should be more fie tunable depending one the changing load. Does it lock position?

sccamper said:

I use the king pin style seat mounts in back. One offset to the right for handling outboard and the other in center while fishing. I got the boat with one to the side, and added the one to center, works for me. With 25" of travel, the mount you show from BP should be more fie tunable depending one the changing load. Does it lock position?

Click to expand...

No idea about the locking. It doesn't appear so in the picture. That could be a subbling point but then I'm not sure it would matter as long as it doesn't move very easily. I'll have to take a look at one. They have them a Cabela's too and that store is only about two miles from where I live.
I was looking on the web site at the pin style mounts also. I'm not sure but I do like the ability to adjust if need be.

Here is another vote for moving the weight. That is the biggest thing I wish I had done differently on mine. (link in signature) I only have a 5 hp and a 3 gallon tank, but I wish the center of gravity was further forward. Ideally, I wish there were two compartments for my battery, one fore and one aft, so I could change it depending on passengers. I like the way it rides now when I take a partner, but whenever I am by myself I find myself putting all gear around the front seat, then shifting it back when I get in the front seat to fish.