This is the point I was trying to politely make to Gould. If you listen to
his story half the newbie boaters will be filing into West Marine to buy new
batteries when the ones they have are likely to be perfectly fine.

Eisboch

Your point is accurate, merely incomplete and also misleading if considered
without
taking important variables into account.

If that "newbie" owns a battery that cannot be charged to a point above 12.6
volts on a functional charger he darn well just might be in need of a new one.

Do most boaters disconnect the battery from the boat, and set it on the dock
overnight, before evaluating the state of battery charge? If we are going to
discuss
testing a battery and the results that should be expected, it makes sense to
frame that discussion around actual boating conditions.

What happens when the "surface charge"
bleeds off a battery that can only absorb 1.1 volts per cell? Probably drops
down close to 12 volts in fairly short order- a marginal level that all of us
will agree is getting rather weak.

There's also a difference in the voltage one can expect if checking the
batteries on a trailer boat sitting in the backyard under a tarp vs a boat that
is connected to shorepower. But in either case, at the moment when the battery
has absorbed a full and healthy charge or recharge it will
read 2.2 volts per cell. I don't disagree with a statement that later on it may
read less.