Simple battery filler

Britannia, my 45ft schooner, has eight golf-cart lead-acid batteries, (also called float batteries), in the house bank. They are mounted low down under the saloon floorboards in two rows, on either side of a 6.5kW diesel generator, a large water heater, and the usual conglomeration of pipes, pumps, and filters, not to mention the main mast compression post.

I also have two 12V batteries, one in the bow for the windlass, and the other aft, as a dedicated engine start battery.

That’s a total of 36 cells to check and fill from time to time. The process usually took over an hour, because the battery caps were not very easy to reach. Yet batteries are the beating heart of all boats, sail and power, and should be one of the most accessible of items.

You’d think a boat with a 14ft beam would have lots of space for batteries, but the large water and diesel tanks on each