wrestling batteries

[mwardncsu]

Wanted to see if any of you guys out there had a trick or two up your sleeves for this....

I have several big batteries mounted in the lower hatch of my console - my console is divided into an upper and lower part, so you have to basically slide the batteries in and out of the lower console to access them - and when coming out lift them up enough to clear the lip of the hatch that is 3 or so inches above the floor. This makes the plastic handle on the batteries almost useless as you cannot lift "up" on them, and you can't really reach in all that easily to get a hold of anything. You just have to sort of get it up out of the tray and then try and get your fingers under and lift it a bit and hope you don't slip and let the 60-70 lb battery crush down on your fingers.

Pic WITHOUT the frame / doors installed - which raises that lip another 1" or so



I've been thinking about getting some 1" - 1.5" nylon webbing and running it around the battery the "long way" - and maybe use a buckle just to hold it in place - then, I'd have something I could grab on to in order to lift up the front and pull it up and out of the console . Hoping there is enough slack in the battery try to allow for the thickness of the strap on each side.


Just curious if anyone else had some clever ideas on this before I got enough webbing to try......

[ghostcomanche©®]

Sounds like a good idea to try.

Leave the strap on when you put the batteries back in, so they will be ready to use, the next time you have to pull the batteries. Leave the straps loose enough so you can put your fingers in between the battery and strap so you can grab them to pull the batteries out.

From your picture it looks like there is plenty of room to accomodate the straps, going around the batteries "longways".

[mwardncsu]

Yeah - the point is make it easier when removing them later - inserting them is easy enough (well as easy as a 70 lb battery can be)

[ghostcomanche©®]

May 10, 2016 16:31:52 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

Yeah - the point is make it easier when removing them later - inserting them is easy enough (well as easy as a 70 lb battery can be)

It just occured to me that you don't need batteries.

1. Get a "kicker" motor to replace the trolling motor

2.  Use a rope to start the big motor.

3.  Don't need to use lights at night, so no batteries needed there.

Problem solved......Your welcome!

Who says you can't learn anything around this place

[coheasion]

I know they make the sliding shelves to slide your cooler out from under a leaning post for easier access. Could you possibly install one of those and put the batteries on them?

Not sure if the dimensions work though.

www.boatoutfitters.com/universal-cooler-slides

[mwardncsu]

yeah - no sliding room there - it's packed tighter than a can of sardines....

And Ghost - But you forgot about the Bait tank.......

[coheasion]

And get an bike generator like Gilligan had to power the fish finder - what could go wrong?

[ghostcomanche©®]

May 11, 2016 15:49:29 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

yeah - no sliding room there - it's packed tighter than a can of sardines....

And Ghost - But you forgot about the Bait tank.......

Don't need a bait tank.  I'm an artificial guy, remember?

[yellowdog]

Hey Mike, If you send me the specs on what you want, I can send you some straps with buckles to try. We make dog collars and sounds like a variation of that might work. I can make them adjustable(just like a dog collar), or can make them a set length if you want that. We can do 3/4" or 1" wide webbing. Let me know the specs.

[mwardncsu]

Thanks Don appreciate that a lot - I'd have the cutest batteries around with Yellowdog prints for those of you that don't know, Don co-owns Yellow Dog Designs with makes dog collars/leashes and related products with all kinds of cool patterns - made here in the USA - good stuff.


I ended up picking up some 1" nylon straps with a plastic buckle (the type you thread through and holds tight with friction, not the clip types) - wrapped them around length-wise on the battery and it worked quite well to give me something to lift/pull on and the pull out - had to pull the batteries out already once to tweak some wiring. The only downside is the strap does "slip" around the battery some which results in losing a little leverage, but it gets the job done given as rarely as I'll need to use it

Had someone turn me on to this "Thawrt" strap - basically has a handle in it already which would have been awesome, but could not get them quick enough for the install...

[ghostcomanche©®]

Mike, here's a thought.....

Add a large "wire tie wrap" or piece of rope to the strap, then you can tighten the straps snug to the batteries.

The tie wrap or rope would act as a "handle" to pull the batteries with.

I'm not real mechanical, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once, many years ago...