Moving batteries forward?

[DianneB]

I have dual battery banks in my 1966 Lone Star 24' cabin cruiser, one battery each bank, currently mounted in the stern.

The boat has a Chrysler 225 slant six engine so, with the batteries she carries a LOT of weight close to the back.

I would like to move both batteries forward, under the bunk/seats in the cabin area (about 15 feet) but the challenge is ventilation. The walkway on the gunnels is VERY narrow and mounting a vent would be another impediment to walking forward past the wheelhouse and cabin. I REALLY don't want to vent through the cabin roof (concern about reliable weather seal). The only other option would require a horizontal vent run to the anchor locker. (Vertical runs are better for hydrogen!)

I could locate the batteries in the anchor locker at the front of the ship (if they could take the pounding of rough water) but that makes the cables 25 feet long and routing 3 welding cables in NMT through the cabin would be a challenge.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Prevent gassing, is my simplest solution.
On modern sailboats the batteries are commonly installed under the seating, and you don´t find vent´s in these compartments, but electronic chargers which prevent gassing.

Regards
Richard

[srimes]

plus if they do go off they'll self-vent anyways