Pete McCrary Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 The space above the hatch between Blks #1 & #2 can be made more useful by installation of a shelf and other mods. Here is the shelf that I've fabricated for "Chessie": The shelf is made of two pieces of 1/4" plywood so that it may be dissambled and removed or modified into another configuration. The supporting cleats on the bulkheads are not glued on - but held in place with 1/2" x 1/4" panhead screws. The supporting cleats on the sides are permanently glued in place. The shelf is "crescent" shaped for ease of access to the hatch where I'll have a Group 24 battery and other stuff. I have in mind that the shelf may hold up a "pantry" cabinet on one side and maybe books on the other. This will all be removed until final fitting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 You've done it again! Another great stowage space idea. I'll be adding shelves on either side in this area on the Breeze, but mine will be narrower, maybe about 4"-6" wide with "spindle rails" to hold stuff on the shelves. I'll stow my cassette player and tapes, books, kit with spare rigging parts, etc. on these shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jknight611 Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 That is a hard area to use, we are adding netting to one side, from bulkhead 1 to bulkhead 2 on the starboard side. We plan to use this netted area for bedding stuffed behind the net, The Messabout is prime R&D time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrary Posted December 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 Fellow builders . . The removable shelving is now in place (temporaially). The original material was cheap 3/16" ply (or maybe 6 mm at most). I finally found actual 1/4" ply finished smooth on one side. The bottom was glassed for additional strength. The forward locker cover is now in place with battery box under. There's a flat sole about 1/3rd up the side of the battery box. A strap and buckle hold the battery (& its cover) firmly down to the keel. On top of the plastic battery box cover is another cover (tray) that is stowage for wallet, keys, other valuables. Out of sight and easy to get to. The tray is held fast by its four short legs that snugly fit into indentations within the cover of the plastic battery box. The transport chocks for the 2.5 hp Suziki have been fitted with a "hold-down" bungee cord. Note the block of wood in the motor's transom clamps. That will be carved and shaped to be a convenient hand-hold to facilitate removal / stowage of the motor. And the last mod (before decking) is a stowage rack for spare gasoline in the port cockpit locker. The black container holds 2 liters, the red ones 1 each. The engine itself holds 1 liter -- for a total of 6 liters at the start of a cruise. I have yet to use a Suziki 2.5 and don't know its rate of fuel consumption. If anyone knows what that may be, I'd appreciate hearing from you. When cruising the Chesapeake -- you better be prepared for the wind and tide to be fickle and contrary! Knowing your "motoring range" is important. Note that the motor chocks, the transverse shelving cleats, the forward locker sole, and the gas-container rack -- are held fast by #10 pan-head wood screws thru bulkheads or the sides of the footwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Lookin' Great! These little mods really add to our enjoyment of building and using our boats. Â How difficult will it be to get the battery in and out once the deck is in place? Â I also use a 'Zuki 2.5 4-stroke. Seems like the fuel goes pretty fast, but I've never timed it. I'm planning on using a remote gas can like you show in your pictures, or a 2.5 gallon fuel tank with a fuel hose and priming bulb to re-fill my motor tank. The gas hose will go into the gas cap that has been drilled and tapped for a fuel nipple and standard outboard quick release fitting. There are a couple of u-tube posts about this. You can order a fuel cap so you don't mess up the one that came on your motor. You'll also need a fuel pick-up assembly to go into your remote fuel tank unless it's a regular outboard tank. Refilling your motor by pouring gas into the tank the "old fashioned way" can be pretty tough in the waves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Provide a 1/4" vent line (minimum) for your battery compartment. A hose from a bulkhead barb fitting, to a mini clamshell well above the LWL will do. The barbed fitting should be as low in the battery compartment as you can get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrary Posted December 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Chick,.. I found published fuel data for the 2.5 Suziki to be .24 gallons per hour at full throttle. That's a little less than a Suziki tank full. At full throttle the 2.5 should push the Cs20.3 at almost 4.5 knots (slack tide and no head wind). With a full tank and 5 liter reserve -- I'd expect a motoring range of about 25 nautical miles -- much more at 80% throttle. That's generally enough on the Chesapeake or the Potomac. With my Penobscot 14 I had a messy hard time refilling a Honda 2.0 on the water with a 1 gallon spare gas tank. Won't do that again. My plan is to run her dry and then just shove the nozzle of a 1 liter can down into the Suziki tank knowing that it won't over fill. In order to find rectangular 1 liter gas tanks I had to order from a dealer in European "motor Scooters." Either Germany or Great Britton. The OD of the nozzle is smaller than the ID of the tank. -- I checked it out. I'll use the 2 liter can to refill an empty 1 liter can (while not under way). They are plastic and purpose-made for gasoline (European standard). PAR,... The battery "box" is a standard West Marine plastic container with a strap that holds the top down as well as the box itself to the boat"s hull. The top has two vents, one at each end. In the photo of the tray you can see that I've cut holes above each vent hole. Are you saying that an additional vent (as you described) should be provided? The only vent to the locker is the finger hole in its hatch. There are not any limber holes to the bilge. Are you really suggesting that the locker itself be vented overboard? Isn't the dangerous battery emission hydrogen -- which (being lighter than air) will naturally rise up thru the locker's hatch and overboard? Maybe I'm not aware of another dangerous battery emission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 There's more than just hydrogen vented, like sulphuric acid, which is heavier than air. ABYC guideline 10.7.9 offers some help. The general rule is an overboard vent and many use both a low and high escape path. The holes in the top of most boxes satisfy the high vent, though if this is in an enclosed space, free air movement around the battery and/or case is desired. There's actually a calculation for venting expected gassing, within a given area. The hydrogen vent amount is low, but can accumulate. The sulphuric acid vent is the big issue on a wooden boat, which eats cellulose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 Pete, sounds like "a plan" on the fuel.  I'm curious about that battery vent also.  Here's a discussion I turned up in a Google search. There are others if you want to look. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/ventilation-of-battery-compartment-33757.html  I also ran across this in a thread: "If charging is to be done by an outboard's alternator or by a solar panel or trickle charger, the current involved is so low that the hydrogen is truly negligible. I've never seen specific attention to battery hydrogen in boats with up to 100 amp alternators, much larger than yours." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Again, it's not the amount of hydrogen that's the issue. Take a piece of unfinished, raw pine, oak or whatever and put it near the battery, inside the compartment, then using the same species, preferably cut from the same piece, place it well away from the battery compartment. See what happens in thirty days and then make the decision. The piece of wood in the battery box or compartment, will shows signs of burning and it's not the hydrogen doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter HK Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 I have once, 25 years ago, blown up a battery in a cruising boat due to ignition of hydrogen. I had been charging it at the dock with a 240V battery charger (pumping in about 8-10 amps at the start but regulated so down to an amp or 2 at the end) for about 30 mins. The battery was in a not very well ventilated compartment. There was a fairly loose connection to one of the terminals which probably sparked and ignited the Hydrogen. There was quite a loud bang and a big puff of smoke. When we opened the compartment the top of the battery had literally been blown off but luckily the sides were intact and the acid was pretty well contained. Â I've been very careful with batteries and battery compartments since then. Â Cheers Peter HK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 I've blown up a few too, but more importantly have seen what a wooden compartment and surrounding areas has happen to them, without ample ventilation. It's such an easy thing to prevent . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 Do AGM batteries suffer from the same problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 All AGM's sold in the USA are VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) and don't vent unless charged too hard or a big temperature swing occurs. So, to answer your question, yep, they vent, though not as much as a traditional lead acid battery. Again, the rule is vent them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrary Posted December 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 One last before-decking modification: stern eyes, P/S. Following Chick's suggestion for a rollover rig, I fabricated blocking to support stern eyes and "dry fitted" them in place. They'll be removed before glassing the bottom and transom. Besides useful for the rollover, they'll make loading her onto the trailer a cinch. I suppose if they become undesirable, I could just remove them and plug the 3/8" holes. The photos show the setup. Port-side eye. Port-side blocking. Stbd-side eye. Stbd-side blocking. By the way -- I found a x6 (and possibly a x7) purchase pulley system that's rated at 440 lbs on Walmart's web page for just $10! I ordered one just to check it out. Now I'll order two more. Now, maybe I can get to the fun part. Unless one of you has a good idea of other mods that should be considered before decking ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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