Battery case . .
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:40 pmAs recommended by CLC the battery for Tattoo is placed just ahead of Bulkhead #2. The weight (54 lbs) forward is welcome because I often sail solo. The battery sits on a platform under which I have placed 21 lbs of "cornbread" shaped lead ingots. On the platform is bolted a standard West Marine battery hold-down bracket.
The battery is not enclosed in a box, but it does have a top. The top is custome made to fit over the poles of the battery and is thick enough so that a wrench or screwdriver left on the top can't possibly short either terminal. I've installed a "skirt" all the way around the edge of the battery top that keeps the top in place over the battery. It (the skirt) extens above the edge of the battery top so that the top can also be a small table or shelf. Being small and out-of-the-way, it's convenient to place small items on it that you may want to hide from casual eyes. Like a wallet, medication, cell phone. I have a small piece of cardboard covering the entire top (inside the skirt) so that anything placed there can have no chance to fall through to the battery terminals. When the cardboard is removed the battery poles can be probed by the leads of a multimeter without removing the top.
My electric system has a separate charging line (fused) that runs from the battery under the floor and back to the cockpit deck to a female deck connector just aft of the port lazerette. That's the 12 volt input from either the engine alternator or my 120 ACV to 12 vDC charger.
The battery is not enclosed in a box, but it does have a top. The top is custome made to fit over the poles of the battery and is thick enough so that a wrench or screwdriver left on the top can't possibly short either terminal. I've installed a "skirt" all the way around the edge of the battery top that keeps the top in place over the battery. It (the skirt) extens above the edge of the battery top so that the top can also be a small table or shelf. Being small and out-of-the-way, it's convenient to place small items on it that you may want to hide from casual eyes. Like a wallet, medication, cell phone. I have a small piece of cardboard covering the entire top (inside the skirt) so that anything placed there can have no chance to fall through to the battery terminals. When the cardboard is removed the battery poles can be probed by the leads of a multimeter without removing the top.
My electric system has a separate charging line (fused) that runs from the battery under the floor and back to the cockpit deck to a female deck connector just aft of the port lazerette. That's the 12 volt input from either the engine alternator or my 120 ACV to 12 vDC charger.