Best place for second battery

[Regular Guy]

I would like to add a second battery to my H260 but could not really find a well fitting place for it.
I have already battery (group size 27), case and selector switch; but can’t make my mind up where to put it best.
Would like to have the battery behind the aft berth wall but it does not fit there. It seems valuable storage space has to be sacrificed.
Has someone of you installed a second battery and what place have you chosen? Thanks,
Hart

 

[nola2172]

I have a 240, so I don't know exactly what the aft portion of a 260 looks like, but I have 2 batteries back there and apparently the PO had 4 at some point, so I would think there has to be space somewhere. I think he had a wood board put in on which to place the battery, but I have quite a bit of room in the back. Is there something else taking up space in the aft section?

 

[Indianabob]

I was thinking about moving the battery on my H240 to the aft as well. I was curious where the PO of the boat installed the wooden board to mount the 2 batteries. I thought it might be a good idea to put it on the port side of the boat to counter balance the weight of the outboard motor. Do you have any photos of how your batteries are mounted?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Brian M H23]

In my 23 (different layout, obviously), I placed the battery in the stern, right up against the aftmost bulkhead. I epoxy -coated and bedded two pieces oak 1x3 to the hull with carraige bolts places through the underside, used the protruding studs to strap down the battery.

 

[nola2172]

I don't have any pictures and really can't get any for a couple of weeks because my boat is in a family member's pole barn on the other side of the state. I can try to remember to take a picture when I do get it though. Also, our batteries sit on the port side to counterbalance the engine on the starboard side.

I will add, though, that it is a bear to try to get the batteries in and out over the lip at the end of the aft berth, but I only do that twice a season (once in, once out), so it is not too bad.

 

[Regular Guy]

Best place for a second battery

H260: This is how it looks like aft the berth. Left is the first, original mounted battery, pic#1. In pic #2, the middle opening is only 10" clearance between the bottom hull and ceiling. The ceiling is the floor under the helm seat. The vertical wood wall could be taken off to get a battery through, but there is no chance for placing one.
On the right, looking at the pictures (port side) is the toilet wast tank. That space is occupied.
Can you see my pain? Maybe an H260 owner with second battery installed could clarify.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Hart;

call me Tuesday at home in the afternoon as I am leaving out of state. We can discuss viable options for the battery location. So far those responding are owners of 240 and much different from the 260.

dave

 

[Kermit]

Our second battery is under the galley on the starboard side. It does take space it'll take up space wherever you put it. We're the second owners. The original owners put it there. I doubt I would move it.

 

[twalker H260]

We have two batteries on the Port side in our 260.
Originally the dealer had installed a group 27 and a group 31 - dealer wiring was a whole other story! Currently 2 group 27s.

Getting the batteries in is difficult. My method is to have battery in its box, top off, oriented port-starboard, tip battery so top goes in bulkhead opening first, lift up and back until bottom of battery case slides over lower lip of bulkhead. It will just fit.

Unfortunately I don't have pics of my install and won't be at the boat for a few weeks. Batteries are oriented with posts port-starboard wired as a single bank in parallel.
They are arranged one battery aft of the other

We have no holding tank on our 260 so batteries are on the wood platform originally intended for this purpose. I made hold downs for the straps as the purchased plastic variety tend to break! - they were simply a lengths of aluminum rod cut 2 1/2"-3" long with screw holes drilled near the ends, a few washers stacked underneath, to provide space for strap webbing to pass through.

 

[rezsailor]

Our second battery is under the galley on the starboard side. It does take space it'll take up space wherever you put it. We're the second owners. The original owners put it there. I doubt I would move it.

I have the same setup on mine.

 

[nola2172]

For those that asked above, I was finally able to get on the boat to take some pictures of where our batteries live. They are obviously not in there right now, but you can see where most of the straps are for them.

 

[Ashley]

Our second battery is under the galley on the starboard side. It does take space it'll take up space wherever you put it. We're the second owners. The original owners put it there. I doubt I would move it.

Same here. Original owner had 2 batteries crammed behind the rear bulkhead. Moved one to underneath the stove in the galley, much cleaner and easier to get to. I remember some owners were putting a 2nd battery in the head in the space between the cabinet and the wet locker.

 

[Regular Guy]

My battery project is finished. I added a new group 27 battery and installed it on the original place, behind the q-berth wall and the original battery, a group 24 battery, on the port side in the first bench locker. Glassed in a base board to set the battery properly and secure it with the strap. Unfortunately was the room for the one and other battery was so tight that I had to leave the battery box lids off.
Also I added a battery switch and wired the batteries, the charger and engine starter/alternator cable new as I thought it would work the best.

I connected the engine cable directly to the group 27 battery, it was the shortest distance and to make sure the engine power can never be accidentally disconnected (by the switch). I declared this one as my starter battery.
It needed 20 ft gauge 6 cables to the port side battery. I connected the plus of the start battery to switch input 1 and plus of the port side battery to input 2. The switch output was connected to the house power cable. All grounds were connected on the starter battery’s minus terminal.
I connected the charger to the output terminal of the switch to have the option to decide whether the one or other or both batteries need to be charged.
Hart