second battery?

[Bob1944]

I have a 17' Wellcraft with an 85 hp mid 70s Mercury 850. I am fishing a pretty good sized body of water in Michigan, the backwaters of Croton and Hardy, and have a concern of running my battery down with my trolling motor.

I would like to put in a second battery: What does your wisdom suggest? Should I use two in parallel, use a hand switch, or could this engine and generator/alternator support a Guest isolator?

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: second battery?

Install another deep cycle battery just for the TM. Be sure to recharge it after every use.

 

[rndn]

Re: second battery?

I would get a deep cycle for the troller and use the starting battery for your motor. I would not suggest you try to recharge your deep cycle with the outboard as it would take several hours at a minimum. I added an onboard charger to my setup and when I get home I simply plug it into an extension cord. The starting and deep cycle are always ready whenever I'm ready to use the boat. If you have 2 batteries get a 2 bank charger.