If a new lurker (and non C-Dory owner) could add an observation re: putting the batteries under the V-berth have you considered the off gassing of the batteries? (Or do these batteries not have this problem?)
I live full time in the Dominican Republic where thanks to our ghastly power system we depend a great deal on invertors and generators. (Right now my house has a 2.5 KW Trace invertor with 16 golf cart batteries and a 10 K Denyo diesel generator. We are getting 4 to 6 hours of street power a day.) On all the projects I have been involved in down here over the last 10 years we had to be careful on the siting of the invertor and not put it directly over the batteries to avoid corrosion of electrical components. Old wives tale? I don't know.
Anyway, my two cents. I took my wife to Vancouver Island in June and we got bit BAD by the gunkholing bug. I've even picked out the name of my boat, "La Orilla" which in Spanish means the "edge" and the edges of things is what we have always loved. (We spent 10 years running over 5,000 miles of rivers and I was a certified white water raft guide and you don't get more edges than on a river!)
Thanks for your patience and I really enjoy checking in on this board.
Steve
P.S. I have lots of questions re: what boat, options, etc but am waiting until I can see more clearly what the future holds. But I am sure it holds a C-Dory!