Battery placement & Adding Weight

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Hello to all,
I will start by saying that this is my first post. I have been a lurker here for about a year. Late last summer I purchased my first boat. A SeaArk 1548 duck boat. I selected this boat because I liked the floor plan and also got a pretty good deal on it. I wish that I had not purchased the more expensive Yamaha 40HP motor and had went with the 20 or 25HP. The hull was rated for 40 so I figured that is what you must have.... :D I am learning slowly.
Don't get me wrong, the 40HP will plane the boat out in about 2 seconds and is more power than I will ever need, but it is very heavy. I am now looking to put a bow mount trolling motor on it and have discovered that there really are little to no options for a second battery, other than beside the starting battery in the stern. With this extra 55-60 lbs in the stern, would it be unconventional to put some weight in the bow storage to compensate for the rear?
I have considered trying to fit a deep cell in the gun storage box, but there really is no way to run the wiring out of it without drilling holes and making it useless as a waterproof compartment.

Any suggestions are appreciated! Below is a photo of the boat layout.
i-Kg2Mwng-S.jpg
 
First off welcome to TinBoats, there are a ton of knowledgable people on here.

You have went with max on Horsepower =D> , so the extra weight in the back should not be a problem. It may seem like more than you need, but weight adds up quick and you won't notice as much with more hp.

If you put the battery in the back you should run 6 guage wiring from the battery to the trolling motor connections to carry the load. You also need a 50 amp circuit breaker just off of the battery.

If you put it in the gun box you can put rubber gromments in to run the wiring through and seal it with 5200 to keep it waterproof. If you install it here, be sure to keep box lid open when you charge the battery to let the gases vent into the air.

In the back it should only lower your draft about 1/2 an inch or so. When you are fishing in the front of the boat it will help level it out, I wouldn't add unnecessary weight. I would set the battery where you think you want it, then take it for a test run before you make the final decision. That way you only have to install it once.

Have fun and enjoy it, happy fishing!!!
 
I went about this a little differently. My boat is a MV1648 and the engine is a 1987 Johnson 40hp shortshaft tiller. Boats and aircraft both operate in fluid mediums. This means that every pound counts, every pound adds resistance, slows the craft, reduces maneuverability, consumes fuel, and reduces lift. Anything that interferes with performance is, under the best conditions, inconvenient; under the worst conditions, it can be downright dangerous.

Instead of using a full size(group24) 50lb cranking battery, I chose to go with a lawn tractor battery. It only weighs 20 lbs. The premium battery(Sears item number 02827185000P) in this size group(U1, or U1R) is rated at 340 cranking amps, cheaper ones are 230 and 160 amps. That is more than enough for the few seconds I need to crank the Johnson to life, even when real cold. The battery has enough punch for operating the trim system and navigation lights also with no problems.

Right now the batteries are on sale at Sears. I have missed the sale at Sears in years past and regretted it. Print the sale page and take it with you.

The battery box is the same marine unit, only smaller, fitted to this size battery. Quick search on google for "U1 battery box" showed etrailer has one for 8.99. (item number DW03188)

I was more than happy with the small size, light weight, and power of the U1 battery. Losing that 30lbs was easy.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=343014#p343014 said:
Boat2fast » 27 Feb 2014, 10:27[/url]"]I went about this a little differently. My boat is a MV1648 and the engine is a 1987 Johnson 40hp shortshaft tiller. Boats and aircraft both operate in fluid mediums. This means that every pound counts, every pound adds resistance, slows the craft, reduces maneuverability, consumes fuel, and reduces lift. Anything that interferes with performance is, under the best conditions, inconvenient; under the worst conditions, it can be downright dangerous.

Instead of using a full size(group24) 50lb cranking battery, I chose to go with a lawn tractor battery. It only weighs 20 lbs. The premium battery(Sears item number 02827185000P) in this size group(U1, or U1R) is rated at 340 cranking amps, cheaper ones are 230 and 160 amps. That is more than enough for the few seconds I need to crank the Johnson to life, even when real cold. The battery has enough punch for operating the trim system and navigation lights also with no problems.

Right now the batteries are on sale at Sears. I have missed the sale at Sears in years past and regretted it. Print the sale page and take it with you.

The battery box is the same marine unit, only smaller, fitted to this size battery. Quick search on google for "U1 battery box" showed etrailer has one for 8.99. (item number DW03188)

I was more than happy with the small size, light weight, and power of the U1 battery. Losing that 30lbs was easy.

This is an excellent idea! Thank you all for the response. I am probably going to try this.
 
some thing you can look at are oddesy batteries I have 2 sizes I use pc 1200 35 lbs each in my bigger boat 24 volt almost 2 days fishing without recharge and pc925 26 lbs strapped back to back 24 volt all day on them in my 14 ft w/ onboard chargers on both ,they are sealed batteries they don't vent mount in any position . I put batteries & up front next to t motor under casting deck most of the power is gonna be used on that end anyway ,then you could run wire back for elec start and bilge pump .if you put everything in the back its gonna bounce then you're gonna fight that all the time , you will spend a lot of time and effort trying to stop it from bouncing . whaletails and trim tabs slow you down and catch weeds. Position weight right and you wont need them ... as always just my opinion ..... outboards are made to run 'wfo'
E
 
Update: The Sears part number is no longer available. The battery that replaces it has no caps. it's sealed and the battery is lighter. I bought one anyway because the warranty was double all the other local sellers, 1year VS 6mon for Home Depot and Tractor Supply. I couldn't help but notice... there are NO deals in those places. They started out as discount houses but not anymore.
 

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