2003 SANTE battery compartment

[core-rider]

Referring to this thread by RainDog... http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...-to-a-2002-SAN

Has anyone else tried this? I want to enlarge the port side battery compartment to fit 2 batteries and don't really see an issue with it based on RainDog's thread above, but CC's official answer is no because that is a "foam stringer". Since there is already a compartment there from the factory I really don't see any issue with making it larger, but was a bit discouraged when they didn't recommend it. Raindog seems to have disappeared from PN shortly after creating the above thread. Did anyone else ever try this?

[TRBenj]

Raindog hasnt disappeared- he's just a busy guy.

The question becomes what is underneath the floor, adjacent to the battery box that youre trying to expand. Cutting into the foam beneath the floor is no big deal if thats all there is... but if that box is up against a stringer, forget it. Thats not something you should be cutting into. You'll want to start slow with small cuts and poke around at whats under there, just like Steve did. If all you find is foam, youre golden. If you find a fiberglass stringer, then avoid it.

[core-rider]

Well the way the engineering dept. at CC put it, the foam is a stringer for that area becoming a structural part. I kinda call BS on this or else they would not have cut a cavity there for the battery to go in the first place. Based on RainDog's thread I don't think there is anything in that spot but foam, but I'm still a little worried because he cut the starboard side and not the port. That is why I called CC to make sure it was just foam. I think I will just go for it and fix whatever I find if it's something I don't like.

[TRBenj]

Im wondering if something was lost in translation from the CC engineering department. The stringers are foam filled fiberglass, but based on Raindog's pictures, I dont see any in that area. The hull-foam-floor sandwich certainly lends some rigidity, but you wouldnt be losing much (if any) strength if you simply cut out the floor and build a nice glass box, as Raindog did. I wouldnt go cutting into any longitudinal structural members (stringers) though.

[DanielC]

The stringers in a 2003 SAN are just fiberglass boxes, and they are filled with foam. In some areas of the floor, the fiberglass floor is just on top of the fiberglass stringer, and you may cut through the floor, and the stringer, and not know it. Do not think of these stringers being narrow, like a board on edge, they are much wider.

I worked at a Correct Craft dealer in 2001-2003. There were a lot of changes and different locations for the battery, or batteries. I do not know what changes were made in the layup, or the dimensions of the stringers or the floors or to accommodate these changes.

If Correct Craft tells you not to do something, I would not. Just because somebody else made a change or cut in the floor of their boat, and got away with it, does not mean you can.

The boats were made in a slow enough production, that if the engineering or even a floor worker wanted to try a different location for the battery, or the second battery, changes could probably implemented fairly quickly. Trust me, there were many changes made all within one model year.

[core-rider]

I get what you're saying DanielC, and CC engineers saw RainDog's pics so I think they understand where I want to cut. The changes you talk about are what have me slightly worried. In the 2 pics below you can see what looks to be a thin fiberglass divider both before and after he removed the foam telling me it went from the finished floor level down to the bottom of the hull more than likely. Granted it could just be a divider because I don't think that one thin piece would serve as any real structure, but I don't really know what I will run into.

The true stringer that runs the length of the boat is just to the right of where he cut holding the drivetrain assembly in place and on either side of the fuel tank/ballast tank, etc. Even CC told me this, but went on to say they didn't advise cutting into the area I want to. I really think they are just covering themselves, which is understandable. This is along with a Winter project stereo mod so I still have time to research and grow a pair before I start hacking away.

[TRBenj]

Unless the pocket youre cutting into the floor is narrower than the stringer, then I dont see the risk in failing to recognize that you just cut into a stringer. Of course, you would only recognize this after the fact... but you'd know it. I would expect to see something like this once you were done cutting:



DanC, were you ever able to get a good look at the stringers prior to foam being installed? I think many people would love to have a better understanding of what the structure looks like below their floor. Even if it varied somewhat, just a generic sketch would be great to see.

Core, the "true stringer" youre referring to would be the "main stringer" as it supports the weight of the engine. That doesnt mean there arent secondary stringers though. I wouldnt want to cut into any of them unless I was confident I could replace the strength lost by some other means.

[core-rider]

Okay, finally found what I was looking for. It is done to an '02 model, but I think they will be close enough to one another.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...ox-enlargement

[DanielC]

About ten or so years ago, Correct Craft used to make short videos of the construction of the boats. The "stringers" are just fiberglass boxes, bottom contour to match the inside of the hull, and top contour at just below floor level. they are fiberglassed into the hull, and basically become a part of the hull.

By itself, a fiberglass tube or box only has a fair amount of strength. The foam used to fill the hollow spaces in the floor and stringers also has very little strength. But when you have a fiberglass tube or box, filled with foam, the foam stops the glass from flexing and greatly increases the strength of the "stringer"

When you cut into the fiberglass stringer, you only have the strength of the foam. Remove the foam, and you have very little of the strength left.

Think of it this way. Lets say you have a load supported by a steel "I" beam. Cut the top, and the web out of the "I" beam and you are left with the bottom plate only to bear the load. With even a moderate span, the "I" beam will not even support itself.

You cut a hole in the floor, there goes the top of the "I" beam. You remove the foam, there goes the web of the "I" beam.

[core-rider]

I get where you are coming from DanielC, but I'm not making a new cavity... I'm enlarging what is already there. I will not cut into the main stringers at all. With the exception of there being a little less foam I'm not changing anything about the overall construction of the area. I laid it out in tape last night to get a better idea of what it will look like. You can see in the pics below what I'm going to do. The inside of the tape lines will mark the edges of the new cavity. I made it large enough to hold 2 - Group 27 batteries. Is there a slight possibility I could completely ruin my boat? Sure, but I think I've do enough research and know what I'm getting myself into. If it does go wrong I only have myself to blame. If it goes right I get more battery capacity in an excellent location without any bad outcomes. I will take many pics and this will become part of my write up for my stereo project that caused all this in the first place.

[Lewy2001]

Looks like CC have revised how they do the ICS over the years in the early years they were more like the conventional stringers that TRBenj was indicating. These picture from the 98 brochure show the stringer more like the large box that DanielC was explaining. This design looks to be a much thinner section of fibreglass over a large area where the foam would be playing a huge part in its structural integrity.

[AirTool]

Is there a slight possibility I could completely ruin my boat?

I wouldn't do it. The foam is structural and some type of reinforcement needs to be added to replace the lost material.

[Chopper]

Core Rider,
Mine has a factory battery recess on both port and staboard sides. The port side is vacant with a screw down carpeted cover. Battery is on the staboard side.

I guess our boats are a little different after all.

[core-rider]

Yeah Chopper, sounds like you didn't get the factory dual battery option when it was ordered like I did. I noticed your boat also has the composite swim step where as I "down graded" to get the teak when I ordered my boat.