Do I need a 2nd battery?

[22E6441]

I want to pick up a 36 lb minn kota transom mount trolling motor, but it won't be heavily used. I'm a weekend fisherman / boater and the trolling motor might get maybe 2 hours of use per outing.

Do I really need to get a second battery for this, or should my starting battery be good enough for limited use? How quickly would a 36lb thrust motor drain a battery?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Do I need a 2nd battery?

An engine starting battery should NEVER be used for a trolling motor as the battery is not designed for deep discharge cycles like a deep cycle battery is. The second battery also means you will not be discharging the starting battery so the engine will actually start when you hit the key. At a 30+ amp discharge rate your starting battery would be toast, or at least discharged enough in a couple hours that it would no longer start the engine.

 

[ebry710]

Re: Do I need a 2nd battery?

I am also a two battery person. The last thing you want to do is not have enough juice to turn your outboard. You will never know when you need that extra bit of juice because you sucked a little water from you gas tank or didn't completely disengage your trolling motor. There is no AAA on a lake.

Considering a $100 for a piece of mind, that's cheap.

 

[rndn]

Re: Do I need a 2nd battery?

2 batteries, absolutely no doubt. The previous owners of my boat were stuck for several hours because they used the one and only battery as a trolling battery. A starting battery will lose power very quickly trying to do the work of a deep cycle.