Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

[olympic]

Hi everyone. I've searched through the threads and found some information about mounting second batteries, but didn't find any where the second battery on an 18' SuperSport was back in the stern area. I was hoping to put a second battery back in the stern but with my VRO oil reservoir I don't think I have room under the splashwell for a second battery.

I've read that others have mounted a second battery up in the bow area. Right now my '87 has just one battery, and given it has an electric bow mount trolling motor I would really like to set it up with a second battery.

I see a few options:

1) Re-wire the trolling motor to use a dedicated deep cycle battery that I put up in the bow under the front seat. I'd then pull it out after each use and charge it. Everything else would run off the primary battery.

2) Figure out where I can get the second battery mounted back in the stern and set up a switch (off, 1, 2, both). This would be ideal I think.

3) Some alternate second battery location on a switch.

I'd like to hear where you have your second battery located. Thanks

 

[dozerII]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

On both 16 and 18 SS's I have lifted the cushion on the port side bow seat and cut a hatch in the seat plywood and mounted the trolling motor battery under the seat structure next to the plywood at the front of the consul. This worked well as it allows you to run the trolling motor wires along the front seating support up to the bow.

 

[Gammtka]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

I added a trolling motor battery to my 18' SS under the front bow piece. I cut an access panel into the bow piece large enough to get the battery in (it is a deep cycle battery, but normal sized). It just fit sideways. I used a double hidden hinge from Veaga for the access door. Since it has a plastic battery box with alot of room on the very top, I attached my 50 amp circuit breaker to the top inside of the box. I also put in a hold down strap for the battery. There isnt alot of room up there, but it seems to fit just fine.

 

[olympic]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

Sounds like up in the bow someplace is the answer. Dozerll, did you have to reinforce the seat plywood in some way once you'd cut a hatch in?

The front bow cushions should just lift off the plywood, correct? For some reason mine don't want to come up...they are stuck to the plywood up towards the bow end. I will work at forcing them free as long as they should come up - could be vinyl is just stuck to the wood.

The very front bow area is an option but tight and would probably be more work if I have to expand the front bow access area to fit the battery.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

Sounds like up in the bow someplace is the answer. Dozerll, did you have to reinforce the seat plywood in some way once you'd cut a hatch in?

The front bow cushions should just lift off the plywood, correct? For some reason mine don't want to come up...they are stuck to the plywood up towards the bow end. I will work at forcing them free as long as they should come up - could be vinyl is just stuck to the wood.

The very front bow area is an option but tight and would probably be more work if I have to expand the front bow access area to fit the battery.

The cushions in both the 16 and 18 just had snaps holding them down. I just ripped some 2"plywood strips and screwed them to the underside of the seat ply to form a 1/2" lip for the cutout to sit on.

 

[olympic]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

The cushions in both the 16 and 18 just had snaps holding them down. I just ripped some 2"plywood strips and screwed them to the underside of the seat ply to form a 1/2" lip for the cutout to sit on.

okay thanks!

 

[olympic]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

Thinking the bow cushions were held down with snaps I worked my hand in under the cushion and pushed up good and got it to pop in the front where the two sets of cushions come together. Well, there was no snap. Rather it looks like somehow it was screwed down. In pulling up gently on the one next to it and sneaking a peak under it, it also appears to be screwed down.

In the attached pic this is looking down between the two bow cushions where they come together - I'm lifting the port side cushion up a bit and you'll see the underlying plywood and the head of a screw. Somehow that screwhead came out of the bottom of the cushion. I basically pulled it through by pulling up on the cushion. The cushion bottom feels like it has a think strip of plywood or something firm under the vinyl. Can anyone else confirm if those cushions were screwed down? Seems crazy. Mine is an '87 18' SS.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

Would there happen to be a button on the top side of the cushion right above the screw? If so you can push the button aside to access the hole for the screw, that is how the side panels were held on in my SS201.

 

[olympic]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

Would there happen to be a button on the top side of the cushion right above the screw? If so you can push the button aside to access the hole for the screw, that is how the side panels were held on in my SS201.

Nope, no button like there is on the side panels. I'll look later and see if I can feel anything up inside the cushion where that screw came through the bottom to try and get a better feel for how this was done.

 

[astor]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

My 87 SS had button screws, where the cover of the button would pop off of you pried on it with a screwdriver, then you would see the screw or rivet head. But my front cushions weren't screwed on. They just tucked under the side panels. And would easily lift off

 

[olympic]

Re: Good second battery locations on 18' Starcraft SS?

I did go ahead and pull the port side bow cushion and it was screwed down in three places. The screws are originating from under the foam cushion and under the plastic which wraps around the foam. So, the screw is under the foam itself, goes through the plastic which wraps the foam and through the thin plywood of the seat cushion itself and into the seat frame base plywood. Still not quite sure how they did it that way, but it appears factory given where the screws originate. Took a couple of pics...one isn't great but it should give you the idea of what I found. I'll change over to snaps or velcro for holding it down.