Another twist on 24ve ballast upgrade

[IDBoating]

What do you run for ballast in the rear locker opposite to surf side?

Generally about 30% of the on-side. Keep in mind my fat sacs are ten feet long and four feet tall on both sides. Lots of weight, it's a long hull.

[Zad]

Stingreye, looking at the hard factory tanks and how they extend toward the midline directly behind the engine, I am not convinced that tearing them out and going to the transom with sacs would make that much difference, particularly on the port side with the batteries on the hard tank. Starboard side, I can see there would be a significant difference. I agree the sacs would give more, but how much I don't know and based on my eyeballing we are going to stick with the simpler modification. We may come to regret the choice, but we have made it (sacs already ordered through Mikes Liquid Audio). If life weren't so busy with work and family, I would likely tackle the bigger job. As it is, I am burning the midnight oil to get this done and just can't imagine going the extra distance to fabricate a battery/taps platform behind the engine.

[Zad]

Generally about 30% of the on-side. Keep in mind my fat sacs are ten feet long and four feet tall on both sides. Lots of weight, it's a long hull.

Ok, thanks.

It is my understanding that there is no room beneath the rear locker floor boards in the 07 24ve, limiting the space available for ballast. If I read your mod correctly, you were able to remove the floor and go down as well, correct? How much space below the floor did you have?

[IDBoating]

It is my understanding that there is no room beneath the rear locker floor boards in the 07 24ve, limiting the space available for ballast. If I read your mod correctly, you were able to remove the floor and go down as well, correct? How much space below the floor did you have?

I'm not familiar with the underlocker floor in other model years. In our 2009, without tanks, the factory puts in foam blocks to support the floor and take up the volume. We removed the locker walls and floor, and the foam, such that our volume went all the way down to the inner surface of the hull AND all the way back to the inner surface of the transom. Basically 100% of the theoretically possible volume. There's nothing else there anymore on either side.

The volume is also contiguous with the underseat storage on both sides, which is how our fat sacs can be ten feet long. They run from the transom all the way forward to fill the storage space under the seats. We live on a lake so storage space isn't important for us, we fill it all up with ballast!

[Stingreye]

Stingreye, looking at the hard factory tanks and how they extend toward the midline directly behind the engine, I am not convinced that tearing them out and going to the transom with sacs would make that much difference, particularly on the port side with the batteries on the hard tank. Starboard side, I can see there would be a significant difference. I agree the sacs would give more, but how much I don't know and based on my eyeballing we are going to stick with the simpler modification. We may come to regret the choice, but we have made it (sacs already ordered through Mikes Liquid Audio). If life weren't so busy with work and family, I would likely tackle the bigger job. As it is, I am burning the midnight oil to get this done and just can't imagine going the extra distance to fabricate a battery/taps platform behind the engine.

Makes sense! I did my ballast three times and started small manual fill then automated then went big. Also, it helps to have the budget recover. It's sounds like you are getting all the weight back there so it should work awesome! Interesting how they extend to the mid line.

If you are working with MLA it's going to work well! Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zad]

On the advice of several helpful members here I rejigged the support on the hard transom tanks. First photo is starboard and that was easy, worked out fine. Second photo is port and the extra 5/8" of material (plywood and velcro) made the space too small for both batteries. The ceiling of the locker tapers down toward the port side preventing the second battery from fitting there. So, either I go with one battery for the starter in the port locker and one battery for the stereo in the front port storage area or I find myself a low profile marine battery, which do exist, I just don't think I will find them where I live. Either way, I will make it work. Thanks for the input guys, I feel better about the whole thing with more support on that hard tank. Perhaps one battery on the tank is just better all around.

star2.jpg

port2.jpg

[Zad]

One of the two batteries I have will fit on the 1/2" plywood platform closest to the boats midline. The second battery won't fit, however, I was able to find a low profile battery from East Penn Batteries ($290 CAD, gulp!) that will fit nicely there.

Several options:
1. go with one battery.
2. put the other battery I already have in the front port compartment and dedicate it to the stereo.
3. buy the low profile battery and have two batteries port transom, for combined engine/pumps/taps/stereo.
4. buy the low profile and have two batteries port transom for engine/pumps/taps and put third battery dedicated to stereo in the front port compartment.

Thoughts?

[Stingreye]

One of the two batteries I have will fit on the 1/2" plywood platform closest to the boats midline. The second battery won't fit, however, I was able to find a low profile battery from East Penn Batteries ($290 CAD, gulp!) that will fit nicely there.

Several options:
1. go with one battery.
2. put the other battery I already have in the front port compartment and dedicate it to the stereo.
3. buy the low profile battery and have two batteries port transom, for combined engine/pumps/taps/stereo.
4. buy the low profile and have two batteries port transom for engine/pumps/taps and put third battery dedicated to stereo in the front port compartment.

Thoughts?

I know absolutely nothing about batteries but here is an option that has a lower height than many others:
http://www.atbatt.com/interstate-meg...ry-500-cca.asp

Its 6 3/4" tall

Seems like they ship to Canada but not sure if you have to pay extra to get it across the border but seems less than 290CAD. I also don't know anything about batteries and what can be mixed with what.

Here is a group size chart and it appears there are a few options under 7" tall.
http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...terstate_f.asp

[Zad]

[QUOTE=Stingreye;744869]I know absolutely nothing about batteries but here is an option that has a lower height than many others:
http://www.atbatt.com/interstate-meg...ry-500-cca.asp

Its 6 3/4" tall

Thanks Stingreye, will look into this. Helluva lot better than what I am looking at up here.

[chpthril]

I was able to find a low profile battery from East Penn Batteries ($290 CAD, gulp!)

At that price, is it an AGM? I hope so cause thats one damn pricey wet cell.

Correct craft uses a smaller marine battery in their older models. Scope out the planet nauty site for its model/group #. Use this one as the main cranking and the group-24 as the house bank.

I would do what I could to stay with a 2 battery system. Given the design of the 07 EIDB system, it would be easy to relocate that house battery. One 1/0 ground to link the banks and one 1/0 B+ from the new battery location to the old location where a remote stud will be located. Leave all the B+ cables in their original location and temrinate them to the new remote battery stud. I would probably relocate the amp B+ and B- cables to the house battery, since it will be closer. That leaves the alternator cable form the isolator and the helm BUS feed.

[Zad]

At that price, is it an AGM? I hope so cause thats one damn pricey wet cell.

Correct craft uses a smaller marine battery in their older models. Scope out the planet nauty site for its model/group #. Use this one as the main cranking and the group-24 as the house bank.

I would do what I could to stay with a 2 battery system. Given the design of the 07 EIDB system, it would be easy to relocate that house battery. One 1/0 ground to link the banks and one 1/0 B+ from the new battery location to the old location where a remote stud will be located. Leave all the B+ cables in their original location and temrinate them to the new remote battery stud. I would probably relocate the amp B+ and B- cables to the house battery, since it will be closer. That leaves the alternator cable form the isolator and the helm BUS feed.

I really wish I had the expertise to know what you are talking about...I am pretty much clueless start to finish on your post :-). I think I have found a local source small battery for much less and plan to wire the boat exactly as I found it, leaving out the stereo specific battery option.

[Zad]

Found a low profile battery, fit nicely. Will stay with two batteries in rear locker.

[Zad]

1/2" plywood platforms built, batteries and taps pump mounted, walls built. Still need to build box-outs for the transom ballast pumps and carpet the walls. Custom sac are on the way. We have been out a few times and we think we will have to add some lead weight to the surf side locker and perhaps more bow weight as the pocket is smaller than we would like. Love the boat, feels like a cadillac. Our last boat was an 02 xstar and this 07 24ve is so much larger, more stable and more comfortable. I am sure we will be able to dial it in just fine.

Port battery mounts.
port batt.jpg

Port walls sans pump box-out
port wood.jpg

Starboard locker with walls sans pump box-out
starboard wood.jpg

[Zad]

We just finished up the new rear locker walls with the build-out to protect the factory transom drain pumps. Added some 1" aluminum angle bar (thanks for the idea Mike at Liquid Audio) to support the engine walls and put some in front of the drain pumps to keep the new pump housing from collapsing back onto the pump. The rear walls are glued and screwed and remove in one piece. We'll see how they hold up to the pressures of MLA's custom sacs which we will have in just over a week. Tomorrow we epoxy and in a week or so when I get the carpet from MLA will carpet them up and the job will be done.


pump angle.jpg

port ready.jpg

stbd ready.jpg

[Zad]

Complete port side rear locker! We have about 15 hours on the boat surfing, skiing, tubing and cruising and there has been no movement of the batteries and no visible evidence of any damage being done to the port side hard tank. So far so good. The custom sac we bought from MLA fits nicely and being that there is some room between the top of the full bag and the bottom of the port lid we are going to melt down some scrap lead and make 2" thick lead weights that we will cover and put on the floor under the sac. As it stands the surf wave is decent (we also put two #300 sacs on the rear and surf side seat when we don't have body ballast) and a couple hundred pounds of lead should make the wave really nice. Now to carpet the starboard side and the job is done.

port finish.jpg