Back On-Line - New Batteries

Hi folks .. I've been off-line for a couple of weeks dealing with a problem with the batteries on VICTURA. Shortly after launch, I noticed that one of the house batteries was leaking acid. Not sure what caused the problem, as no obvious signs of cracks or damage from freezing. I suspect some cells went bad maybe over the exceptionally cold winter we had here, and couldn't accept a charge. On shore power, the battery boiled over spilling acid. (If anyone has any other theories let me know). The boost cycle on the factory charger (CRISTEL CPS300) is putting out 14.3 volts and float cycle is 13.3 volts, so things seem to be working ok at the charger. In any event, the acid made a terrible mess and took a while to clean up. You can see below a picture of the original batteries. The white powder is baking soda that I used to neutralize the acid.
I had 2 problems installing the new batteries. The original factory batteries were HOPPECKE 8560 batteries made in Germany. The batteries have +/- reversed from the North American configuration. This meant the new batteries had to sit in the box reversed requiring some adjustments with the cables. Another problem was the size of the batteries. A standard Group 24 marine battery (very popular here) is too tall to fit in the battery box. I was leaning to putting AGM (leakproof) batteries in anyway, but these were the only ones that would fit. I finally settled on some DEKA Intimidator AGM batteries that I found for a good price at Bass Pro Shops just north of Toronto. These put out 750 CCA and are dual purpose deep cycle.
I finally got everything back together on Saturday. The picture below was taken from our new location in the club Saturday night. Today (Sunday) it poured rain, so hopefully will get out for a sail next week.