Moving the Battery Forward?

[Dove16]

After a couple months sailing Dove I would like to move the battery forward to help balance her out a bit and lighten up the stern.  After searching through the posts here on the subject I still have a few questions.  For reference, the boat came with a small trolling motor (~30 lb thrust) to power Dove when the winds die down.  I have one marine deep cycle battery to power it.

1. A couple of you mentioned jumper cables as a means of connecting the battery to your trolling motor.  Have you had any issues with corrosion?  I am leaning toward this solution along with a trolling motor plug/socket mounted aft, but not at the cost of being frustrated with electrical later.  Much of the current electrical needs to be replaced because of automotive(?) wiring that has corroded at the connections.

2. My current battery is on the fritz, which means it needs to be charged often.  It would be nice if I could charge it onboard so I didn't need to lug it on and off the boat so often, but the manual for my charger talks in depth about the corrosive gasses released during charging.  Have any of you vented your battery box/compartment?  Is this a real concern?

3. For those of you who are charging batteries onboard, how are you doing so?  I've contemplated replacing the clamps on my current charger with a trolling motor plug, or hooking up the charger as is with the battery still on board, or possibly even spending the money for a cheap onboard charger like this http://a.co/ia0MCUa and wiring in an extension cord style "shore power" inlet like this: https://www.westmarine.com/buy/marinco--15a-battery-charger-inlet--191991?recordNum=23

[JTMeissner]

I have my battery up near the compression post (and allocated space even in front of that after refit).  I use a Minnkota Charging extension cable to provide power from the battery to the stern [http://a.co/aIGxzHi].

I have a trolling motor quick disconnect under the stern hatch, and run the power from the motor to the connector up under the hatch to connection, then up to the battery.  I was in fresh water, so can't talk long-term or corrosion issues.  I will state the cables are NOT what is recommended for the amperage of the motor, but sufficed my my purposes. 

For longer terms and for a larger trolling motor (currently 40lbs, looking at 55), I am thinking of using larger wires (welding cable, 8 or 6 gauge), finished with tinned/marine terminal ends.  I'm not 100% convinced the entire wire needs to be tinned (the cost difference at this size/length tells me replacement would be more effective if ever necessary). 

I always took the battery with me to the house to charge, so can't help with question 2/3. 

-Justin

[Garyandjoanlee]

If you can find my earlier post, the pics may be helpful.  On my 16, I added a second deep cycle battery- one on each side of the "wall" by the compression post. That "wall" is a great place to secure the battery boxes!  Used 12" battery to battery cables: red to red- black to black, to double my battery storage.  I charge all with a 30 watt solar panel that is not mounted to the boat. I have no concern about battery charging fumes. The wire to my Newport electric motor is connected to the battery with fairly heavy 10 AWG size wire. The wire is joined, parallel black & red.  Got the heavy duty wire connectors for this wire on ebay. (one pair for up by the motor, one pair for near the batteries) Here is the exact title to search on ebay if it is helpful " 4PCS CONNECTOR HOUSINGS & 8PCS CONTACTS 50 AMP, SMALL GREY, SB50A 600V #10/12AWG". It's important to be able to unplug the motor at both locations.  I love this system and after an afternoon of sailing with maybe 20 minutes of motor use, I often return with the same amount of volts ( 12.8 ) as when I left! One last~ get a little volt / amp meter from amazon that plugs into your 12v accessory plug (ok- cigarette lighter!) so you can see your battery volts. A few offer iphone type power plug slots which is great!!   Good luck skipper

[Bilgemaster]

The situation with my Foundling '93 CP 16/3 is a little different in that I use a little Tohatsu-made Mercury 2.5 hp 2-stroker instead of an electric as a kicker motor, so my power needs are modest in the extreme. Still,  my Group 24 battery is up forward where the previous owner had it, though now it's in a little lashed down Wal-Mart-bought plastic marine battery box. I use one of those little $10 1.5 Watt Harbor Freight solar chargers with alligator clips from time to time just to keep it topped up. Since my 16/3 has the handy little forward hatch, I just keep the solar charger attached to the battery, with its cable looped over the little hatch knob. In fine weather I just fish it out by its cable and lay it on deck.  If rain's forecast, I lower the charger into the cabin.  This seems to keep everything tip-top, but like I said, my power needs are rather towards the "Amish" end of the spectrum. If I were using an electric motor, I might up the oomph of the charger to 30 or more Watts with a flexible panel and a proper voltage regulator at the battery, like the cheapo 50 Watt setup on my rather less Spartan Macgregor 26X, as described here.

As for that earlier rather sensible suggestion by Garyandjoanlee of a voltmeter and ciggy-lighter style power outlet with USB ports and all the trimmings, for under ten bucks you can get one of these fellows from the far east which works like a charm.  You obviously wouldn't want to try to run a little electric kicker motor off of it, being rated for 10 or 15 Amps max, but it's handy for knowing the state of battery charge at a glance and also keeping your phone or other devices charged up or a 12 volt fan or cooler running. I've got one on the Mac 26X plugging up an old hole in her cockpit steering pedestal where an old autopilot control unit used to be, and liked it so much I got another for the Foundling, to be mounted in the cabin on that bulkhead thing under the electrical switchplate at some point, once I've driven off her remaining electrical gremlins.