War Eagle 1648 LDV modification possibility???

[Bluesraider]

Wanted to throw this out there and see if anyone has ever attempted this or is it something I should not even mess with. I would definitely have to find someone with the tools and know-how for it to be done but wanted to get feedback on pro's and con's of doing it. In a nutshell, I would like to cut a compartment(s) into the front deck of my War Eagle 1648 LDV to add a battery/batteries...marked with the red rectangles. This would at least give me some additional weight up front for planing off and free up space in the back in case I wanted to add another small battery for depth finder.

I do know this portion of the boat is filled with foam sheets because mine has a small plastic plate (black circle in pic) that can be unscrewed and I removed it to look about adding additional seat pedestals. I ended up opting for a Add-a-seat system because of the foam and inability to reach my hand under to tighten bolts.

Anyway....I guess this snow and the winter blues have officially set in for me so I keep thinking of things I would like to do or worse, things I need to buy!! Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated.

[ifish]

There are a lot of things to consider. The top deck has structural stringers and if you don't watch you will cut into one of those. Also it does not look deep enough. What about building an aluminum box that attaches to the back where the black air vent is. You have to be careful with batteries grounding out on a metal top plate. The batteries take a beating up front. You have to use sealed and a battery rated for this application which are expensive. The charging system would also be a consideration of where the charger would go if using an on board charger. I would talk to War Eagle and see if they have a schematic of the layout or talk to one of their engineers. You can't undo cutting very easily and you still have to have hatch covers that are sealed to keep the water out and most stick up and could make a tripping hazard if not flush. I modified an old Tracker like this and it turned out pretty good. Of course I have sheet metal tools and aluminum welding equipment or it would have cost a lot, let alone finding someone to do it. Good luck and measure twice and cut once.

[dialtone]

probably negate the warranty

[Cray]

I am like Ifish. I would build a extension to the deck to cover them. Think like he said to many cross members and supports under the deck to just start cutting. Friend of mine just had them build him a Blackhawk and they had to build in a battery box in the front for him. They had to do some engineering to put it in and still have enough support for the front deck. First thing is put a battery up there in a box and check height to make sure you would have the clearance if you installed the extension remembering the underside of your extension is going to have to have stringers and gussets of some sort to strengthen the extension.

[wilbur]

Pull of that vent cover in the middle an take a peek. See if you have to cut any bracing to do it,. The sell flush mount hatch covers, but not cheap. Check everything out first than you decide. Anything can be done.

[Gobob]

You have any boat builders in your area ? May be time to take care of that two foot idas lol. It can be done but at what cost vs bigger boat

[Bluesraider]

Thanks everyone for the info....sounds like I am going to probably steer clear of this for now. My boat is perfectly fine the way it is so no need to tear into something I am not sure about. I haven't put a tape to it yet, but I am wondering like someone mentioned if it would even be tall enough for a battery to fit? Thanks again and hopefully this snow and ice will get out of here quick so I can quite having idle time to think up wacky ideas!!