bilge vent problems

heres my problem im gettin ready to instal 3 new batt and get rid of the one you see here. the way i wanna configure them in there the vent hose and hole are in the way. the hole is fine as imgoing to reroute the battery cables thru it but what about the vent line? do i need to drill another hole? would it be ok to just leave it unhooked. i tought also about rerouteing it thru the old battery cable hole but really its still in the way. is there any easy ways to patch the holes and start over?
thanks fox

Attachment 16640
Attachment 16641
Attachment 16642

I would NOT leave it unhooked. Those route fresh "outside" air down a decent sized channel under the floor and into the engine compartment. You could try another hole I suppose, as long as it is feeding air into that same channel. Looks like patching it would not be too difficult or even just use some sort of blockoff plate.

I believe that the width of the channel for the air under the floor is similar to the width of the vent. I know it runs lengthwise under the floor parallel to the center walkway. With the vent off, reach into the hole or use a flashlight and mirror to see how far forward the channel goes. You could possibly move the vent closer to the front of the boat. The existing hole for the battery cables could probably be left alone with no wires going through it. I wouldn't even bother covering it.

its piped into the center ski locker where the ballast bag is

they really just put it in about th worst place for me and i hate to go drilling holes everywhere but my have no choice

I would definitely retain the vent as noted above. Relocating the hose and hole is not a problem, as long as the new hole access the bilge same as the current one. Filling the hole would not be too hard, just some time involved. Cut a .5 or .75 plywood disk that fits the hole comfortably but not too tight. If you do not have any matching carpet, then look for an inconspicuous piece of carpet, thats in a storage locker or compartment to cut a small section off of. You need enough for a disk that going to be diameter of the hole to patch. I would encapsulate the wood disk, prior to installing it.

If you can access the back side of that hole through the ski locker, that would make the repair easier as you can secure the plug from the back side. After test fitting, attach the carpet. If all goes well, once you place the new plug in, the seam in the two pieces of carpet should be nearly invisible. To secure the plug, I would bond a another board to the bottom of the plug that slightly larger then the hole in the floor. Then bond and screw the hole thing to the back side of the floor. Or, glass the plug in with some fiberglass cloth and resin.

*EDIT* After further thought, I would probably wait till the plug it fully installed and then fit the carpet disk in place last.

You can make the piece out of an old cutting board and buy your wife a nice new one. No wood and no need to glass it.