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Moving a battery into the small center console, on Whalers that already have minimal dry storage for essential boating and passenger gear, is a bad decision if you ask me. For what? To make 30-40 year old boat look cleaner and more modern? If that was the case, you should have bought a newer Whaler with concealed battery.

It is a time consuming job, expensive and requires butchering up, and cluttering up, the center console interior. It also adds additional engine and house wiring work, battery post connectors, etc. for what? To move an insignificant 30-40 Lbs forward, and so the battery is difficult to service, charge, add water, and take in and out.

I would stay with the way Whaler designed it, keeping the battery in the splashwell, using a nice Whaler desert tan battery box, or a later copy if you don't already have one or can't find one used. Put a piece of "DryDeck" under it so it doesn't tear up the gelcoat finish.

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/l...Dk=/?ref=1

http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/l...Gc=/?ref=1

A wave coming into the transom, a rare occurrence, will not matter. A good battery box is designed to keep the battery dry. I had it happen only once in my Outrage 18, over a 31 year span, and with two batteries in the splashwell as Whaler intended, with no effect at all.