New boat and trolling motor battery questions - Please help

[Iceman31]

I just got a new boat. It has a Minnkota Powerdrive V2 with I-Pilot. I have two batteries hooked together to make one big battery. My problem is that I have no charging system. My boat sits in a marina all season with no power available. How do I go about charging my batteries? What do I need to look for?

 

[sschefer]

Re: New boat and trolling motor battery questions - Please help

You either have to haul the batteries out or buy a generator and battery charger. Trust me, your main motor will not charge the batteries back to full on the trip back to the dock. This is why we run both a kicker and trolling motor. The kicker supplements the trolling motor with power and you can run the trolling motor at reduced speed and stil keep the tracking/ipilot function that makes staying on course a dream.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: New boat and trolling motor battery questions - Please help

Other than a generator or pulling the batteries, you have one other option which is a large solar panel. Forget the Harbor Freight 5 watt units as they are simply not large enough and any solar panel would be a target for thieves. If the marina is secure, then you might stand a chance of having it stay put for the season. There are lots of very nice but small, lightweight generators available. Shop wisely and you will find multiple uses for that little gem.