Two AGM Batteries in the V-Berth

[reiner]

Our H28 is a bit heavy at the bum and I moved a lot of heavy stuff to the bow. It looks much better but still about 1 1/2 inch to go looking at the waterline.
Now I'm thinking moving my two 100ahr AGM batteries into the v-berth. They are about 30 kilo each and live pretty much next to the motor. Another option would be just moving the house battery and leave the starter one near the motor.
Any ideas?

[skipmac]

Are you sure the boat is really down by the stern and not just a waterline painted at an angle? Is the boat new to you, was it painted recently?

If you are truly out of trim I would first try to figure out why. Was something heavy like extra tanks, big batteries, etc added in the aft end?

If something movable then certainly move it forward but try to keep the weight out of the extreme ends of the boat. Too much weight in the ends will cause excessive pitching in a seaway.

[reiner]

Thanks for your reply. Yes the boat is new to us and we are new to sailing. The boat has been painted about 12 month ago but I did think nobody would change the waterline from original would they??
It has a 9kg gas bottle plus barbecue on the stern rails and a 3.5HP outboard.
One single solar panel at about 80W as well. I thought that should be ok being there. I had my toolbox and some other heavy bits in the stern locker but moved all that forward. Looking at the waterline it is still sitting down low at the stern by at least 1 inch or even 1 1/2 inch.
The H28 sits pretty low in the water anyway but I thought I should try to get her as level as possible.

[skipmac]

I would not be too certain that the water line was not moved. Have seen it several times. There is just no telling what some boat owners will do. Read the thread on this forum about the worst thing the PO did to a boat.

Just in case, look at the overall boat lines, deck, etc and see how it sits in the water. What about the cabin sole inside? Is it tilted noticeably aft? You could assume that the boat was designed for the floor inside to be more or less level. Set a level on it to see.

[Adelie]

Your stated question is about moving the batteries, the underlying one is about boat trim. Others seem to have the underlying question in hand, sooooo.....

Don't move the starting battery, placed near the engine the cables to the battery are plenty big. If you moved the battery significantly farther away you would have to get progressively larger cables to avoid excessive voltage loss and heat build up during starting. The cables get unwieldy and expensive very quickly.

The house battery might be able to be moved, you would need to evaluate your rate of charging and consult a electrical manual to determine cable size given the new length the cable has to run.

Then the question comes up of do you want batteries in 2 locations with hold downs having to be installed, gasses vented and messes to be cleaned up, or do you want to stay consolidated in 1 place?

[skipmac]

Yes, everything that Adelie said.

While addressing the weight and trim issue I did quite neglect to address other potential ramifications from moving batteries. Or is it that I just assumed that in your infinite wisdom such trivial matters had already been considered and to mention them was not necessary?

In general, moving most any large or heavy boat item could have secondary effects and complications.

[reiner]

Thanks for all your thoughts and I will take a level with me tomorrow to see what the floor inside is like.
I didn't mention......the upper deck drain holes are about 4 ft from the stern and work beautiful if we are both at the bow near the anchor but if we are in the cockpit the drains don't work and the water runs right to the back and can't get out. The other thing I noticed before I moved some heavy gear...... with 6 people in the cockpit ( which doesn't happen to often) we get water coming in trough the floor drains. Not much but it does come in.
But that has improved since I moved some gear.
Regarding the batteries good point of leaving starter one near the motor.
I think moving the house batteries should help .

[gettinthere]

you will need some BIG cable to run the house bank from that far.

[reiner]

I got some serious big cable running there now for the anchor winch. My plan was to use that for the house batteries and run a cable from there for the winch. That cable could be a bit lighter because it doesn't have to run far. But I will do some more research there before I do anything.