posted 03-24-2009 09:44 AM ET (US)        

This area looks like a molded splashwell on the 22-foot hull. The plate that the batteries sit on is a poor design in my opinion. It is very thin and flexes under the weight of the batteries, and, due to years of oil spills or leaks, a watertight seal is impossible to maintain.

Is this in fact the molded splaswell? If that is the case I assume that there is a gel coat layer that formed the well and the water is not all the way into the hull foam.

Can I just remove the foam from this area and either re-foam or leave it open? I may replace the cover with an aluminum plate that can be sealed in place or install and access hold to place a hand pump into the empty space to revove any water that may accumulate.

Who else has faced this problem and what did you do to correct it?

posted 03-25-2009 12:07 AM ET (US)            

The Whaler Drive hull is fabricated from the same molds as the standard notched transom hull. The full transom is added after the initial molding and joining of the hull and inner liner. If you look at the finish of the interior face of the transom you can usually see where the added transom section was laminated to the original hull.

I have a 1990 Boston Whaler REVENGE 22 W-T Whaler Drive. In the stern the deep splash well of the original 22-foot hull has been capped with a plastic cover. I don't know what is under the plastic, but I assume it is foam. The plastic is well caulked in place and retained by many screw fasteners, and it shows no sign of leaking or deformation.

In my boat the battery boxes are not mounted anywhere near this area. The battery boxes are mounted where Boston Whaler intended them to be mounted, which is the same place you would mount them in a standard OUTRAGE 22 with a notched transom: they're at the very stern and outboard on either side. There is embedded wood under the deck in those locations for the battery hold down straps to be installed and to support the weight of the battery. See

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/manual18-25/operations. html#battery

for confirmation that this is the correct place.

I don't know who installed your batteries on the top of the old splash well. I doubt that it was Boston Whaler.

On my boat there are no oil spills, and the area is completely clean and pristine. The only equipment mounted to the top cover on the splash well is a 1.8-gallon oil tank for the engine oil reservoir. The oil tank does not weigh that much and there is no sign of the plastic cover being deformed by it.

If your boat has obvious signs of water saturated foam under the cover, your best remedy is to dig out the wet foam. In the open transom boats the deep splash well usually has a drain to the sea. In some cases I have also seen a drain from the aft cockpit live well into the engine splash well, but usually on a Whaler Drive boat both of these drains are omitted.

The splash well is completely finished with laminate and gel coat, so there is no access to the interior of the double bottom Unibond hull and its foam core. At least there should not be.

Remove the wet foam. Then decide if you want to refill the area with foam, or as an alternative, I suppose you could install a sump pump to maintain it dry. It will have to be a good pump as the lift out of that deep well will be a couple of feet.

The scuppers in the transom that drain the cockpit deck are as you describe. They are slightly higher than the deck level. That is typical for a Whaler Drive.

posted 03-25-2009 08:42 AM ET (US)            

I do see that there are battery hold downs mounted to the deck under the small hatches on either side of the transom. This would seem like a logical place to better distribute the weight of the dual battery set up.

I kind of like the batteries under the center cover as it allows me to use the small hatches for storage of sinkers and cleaning supplies.

I assume that the previous owner(s) may have spilled some oil into this area while filling the VRO tank. Currently the VRO and the new E-TEC tank are located on this area very close to the port curve of the splash well. I know it was somewhat difficult to add oil to the VRO tank from a 1 gallon bottle thru the small hatch even with a funnel.

I will dig out the foam and refill the area with one of the alternatives discussed. I may either relocate the batteies to their initial location (port and starboard) or fabricate a stiff shelf built to the same dimensions of the flexible cover and certainly seal it well.

Another mystery of my new to me Revenge solved.

posted 03-26-2009 07:56 AM ET (US)            

My oil reservoir is mounted on the port side and is accessible from the port side hatch. Yes, I agree, it is awkward to add oil to the reservoir when it is mounted there. I use a long funnel, and it is a two-person operation. One person holds the funnel while the second person pours the oil. I hold the funnel so its outlet is just inside the opening of the reservoir, and I don't let it fall into the oil. This makes the clean up a bit less messy.

I have the primary battery distribution switch mounted on the starboard side. It is mounted to the aft face of the bulkhead that forms the rear of the cockpit. It is accessible from the starboard side hatch. I also have a switch there for controlling the sump pump which is located in the aft cockpit live well. I do not tend to keep much stuff stowed on the starboard side so as not to get in the way of access to these switches.

posted 03-26-2009 01:26 PM ET (US)            

I assume the batteries are located 1 to port and 1 to starboard and then the oil tank is inboard of the port battery, correct? For me to move the batteries I believe I would need to extend the cables from the on/off switch. I am trying not to make another trip to the marine store.

I have a piece of 1/8 aliminum diamond plate that I plan to cut and fit over that hidden well. I may also place a support under the cover to better support the batteries under the center hatch. All of the cables are a perfect fit right now.

posted 03-30-2009 01:56 PM ET (US)            

I see no good way to re-attach the factory plastic cover that sits over this area. I believe that there will always be a threat of water getting into this area and due to a failure in the sealant water will eventaully find its way into this space. I don't see as serving any specific purpose since the hull is foam beneath it and the whaler drive is foam filled as well.

What I plan to do is cut a piece of 1/8 diamond plate using the plastic cover as a template. I will also install a 4" Beckson clear inspection plate in the center of the cover. I will still mount my batteries on this plate as I like them in the center of the boat.

This will allow me to perodically visually inspect this space to see if water has accumulated in the well. I will then simply pump or vacuum the water out and reseal the inspection plate.

Any thoughts from W/D owners?

I will post pictures as I complete this task.

posted 03-31-2009 08:32 AM ET (US)            

Seems like there are different configurations out there and that's what makes our boats unique.

I am moving forward with my project and have just cut my diamond plate to match the cover. I will cut the hole into the center to install my inspection plate next and should have this and the decks back in the boat this weekend.

Looks like the weather will be sutiable for deck work this weekend.

posted 03-31-2009 10:04 AM ET (US)            

We currently have a 225 Evinrude on an Armstrong bracket that replaced the original sea drives. I can't be sure but it does not appear that my transom well ever had any foam in it and I do not see any evidence that there was ever a cover on this area. We have an automatic bilge pump on a step. There is no drain from the fish well either. We do have a fiberglass insert (bin) that fits just inside the center hatch and creates a storage area. We do not have any scuppers either, which creates an issue because any water on the deck generally finds its way to the center fish well. Of course some finds it way to the starboard sump but since the center fishwell has only a loose fitting teak cover most ends up there. I plan to put a bilge in there as well. Our batteries are mounted as Jim described but oil tank is starboard and bat dist is port. I don't understand the use of the center fishwell w/o a pump. Did they intend that drain to be left open possibly?

Hutch I have some better photos of the transom configuration I’ll post to these later.

http://s577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Jhogan_album/