The engine battery on High Time has finally died - no complaints as it's 13 years old!

I used an old board as a slide along which to withdraw the old battery and to push the replacement.  On my boat the edge of the battery shelf can be unscrewed which makes it easier for the operation.  It is also better if the forward end of the board is supported by a trestle or prop so that the slope is not too great.

I could help you at the weekend.

Best regards,  Paul

Thanks for confirming use of a slide arrangement. 

I was thinking of anchoring the bottom of the slide to the panel in front of the engine but need to check that it's strong enough to briefly support most of the battery weight while it's manoeuvered onto the top of the slide from the shelf.

One alternative I have heard suggested elsewhere is to re-site the battery somewhere 'sensible' like next to the calorifier under the port aft bunk but this would require tidily routing a few feed of heavy duty cable. Has anyone tried this mod?

Thanks for the offer to help (I'm assuming you're in Universal this weekend?) but I think I'd rather wait until I'm back in home port and not planning an outing in case it doesn't go to plan! I can briefly parallel the start battery with service batteries this weekend if it fails to start. We can view and discuss the problem though. See you there Friday.

We did this on Night Train as I was told that it was better to have the battery somewhere cooler than the highest part of the engine bay! Plus access is a lot simpler, if you move the battery isolation switch as well, the existing cables can be re-used. Access for cables from engine bay to underside of berth is easy 

Good luck

Pail

Thanks for confirming that moving the battery to the port bunk is not only 'doable' but is arguably better for the battery as it's cooler than high in the engine compartment. It would also be safer than sliding the 27kg battery up a makeshift ramp above the engine but may be a bit more time consuming. 

I will take a closer look at what's required and report back when I've completed the job (one way or the other!).

Quick report - the job is now safely completed. 

 I looked long and hard at both options (slide and relocation) and decided that the slide would be the easier/quicker solution (although arguably not the best long-term).

Securing the slide so it would not move when 27kgs were applied in either direction required careful thought and some experimentation but was finally quite easily achieved. I used a board wedged vertically between the engine block and the air filter at the back of the engine and 3 supporting blocks screwed to the slide and resting on the panel in front of the engine. These gave both clearance above the engine and a more gentle slope for the new battery.

I've attached a photo of the final arrangement, after the old battery was removed.