Major Engine room re-model project

So when I moved up from the 44DB to the Carver 506 I knew I was going to miss some of the quality and common sense engineering that I came to enjoy in the Sea Ray. One such goofy thing I decided to change was the access to the engine room. The engine room is accessed via a ladder under the stairs into the cabin. The stairs hinge forward and you climb down a fixed ladder to a landing which you then have to crawl forward five feet on then step down to the center bilge floor where it is almost a stand up situation for servicing the engines. The landing at the foot of the ladder is actually the top of the bow thruster battery box. I have a perfect alternative location for the batteries forward of the genset in the center bilge. There is even a reinforced level floor to support all four batteries. By relocating the batteries (4 Group 31s) forward, I shortened the wire run to the thruster by 15 feet of 04 wire and move the weight forward as well. I removed 100 lbs of King starboard which made up the battery box as well. The biggest improvement though is I now have a nine foot long stand up center bilge that makes working in the ER way more ergonomic. Before, I would have to kneel or sit between the aft half of the engines and drives. I installed a new raised aluminum diamond plate floor to have a level, dry place to stand. I have attached some before and after pics.

Looking down to the ER and landing
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Thruster battery box at foot of ladder

Batteries moved forward. Still need to shorten thruster power cables and build reinforced enclosure for the batteries for additional storage.

Battery box and landing removed. Still need to add a step to make climbing the ladder easier from the bilge floor.

New diamond plate raised bilge floor

Having double the stand up room for ER access is so much nicer now. Next project is to tackle deep cleaning the bilge and prep for paint. I am going to clad the tops of the center engine beams with diamond plate once I take care of some surface corrosion and paint. Having the batteries 12 feet further forward should help the thruster over time and trimming at cruise, have yet to test the latter. It was an ambitious project but honestly it went pretty quickly, I only came up with the idea a week ago.
Carpe Diem

 

Wresting the batteries was the most concerning part of the project since I just recovered from two weeks of agony with a lower back injury while tackling my other summer project, painting the damn house. That is one thing I will never do again! I will hire that work done if for some reason I am still living here in 15 years. I hope to be living on a 65 footer in the PNW by then.
Carpe Diem

 

Making plans for next summer to travel around the San Juans and see for ourselves. The three friends that we have that made the retirement move to the PNW eventually pulled stakes and settled in the south west with in a few years. I can see spending a summer or two up there, We love CA but been here forever and just getting bored boating in the same water year after year.