Flooded cell batteries of course need to be upright. On a sailboat most batteries should be installed so that the ends point port and stbd, not fore and aft. This keeps the plates submerged at greater angles of heel when sailing. I built a bed for my 8 golf cart batteries out of 3/4" plywood so that they sit level and cannot shift around, and a top out of two layers of the same, that stands off the battery tops so that terminals are protected. This is in the aft end of my salon just aft of the keel, and the battery box is now a step going up to the companionway and a place to sit and have my morning cappuccino and think about stuff. Anyway you want a small clearance for expansion but the battery must be incapable of moving over 1/2" with 50lb of force applied to it. That is the standard. However you actually want much greater resistance to movement than that.
You need to be able to conveniently access the battery tops, to inspect and tighten connections, check electrolyte levels and specific gravity, add water, all that stuff. If it is inconvenient, it will get neglected. And there must be a cover. Even dust settling on the tops can effect performance, setting up a partial short and draining the charge. Batteries need to be kept clean, and if you allow tools and stuff to fall on the terminals you will not like what happens at all. Ill put it this way... you can weld with only 36v and you will have 48v, probably.
Try to keep the cable run from bank to controller short, and from controller to motor. Don't skimp on wire size. I use 2/0 welding cable and I think I am kind of minimal. I cringe when I hear about people using #4 wire to connect batteries! It's not about keeping the wiring from melting and catching fire. If there is danger of that, then you arent even in the ballpartk. It is about keeping line losses down to insignificant levels. This is less important at high voltages but at 48v it is a thing.
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