"BruceM" wrote in message
...
OK, I might have slightly deeper pockets than some but I fish in some areas
& times of the year where there isn't other boats around & it's vital I
don't have failures unexpectedly.
Also for THAT piece of mind, for the cost of forgoing a couple of meals out
at a restaurant, I reckon it's money well spent.


Whatever it takes.

Where do you live?

Boston, MA. Of course, I sail in a variety of places on the US East Coast, some of
them rather remote. But I've never had a problem starting an engine.

In Australia the size battery I use is $A120.00 & a good night out would
cost about the same with drinks included. (for 2 of us)

If you didn't use starting batteries as your "house bank" you woulldn't cook them in a
season. That way you would actually have a reasonable backup for your starting
battery. But if your system works for you, feel free.


BruceM


"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
"BruceM" wrote in message
...
Guess it depends on your situation & how deep your pockets are.
Mine aren't very deep so I tend to always replace the start one each
year &
put the original one in place for anchor accessory use (if you know what
I
mean?).

If you replace a battery every year, you must have deep pockets! On my
previous boat
I replaced all the batteries once in 8 years, and they had a number of
years on them
when I bought it. On my new boat the house bank is going strong after
five years. I
replaced the starter batteries with Optima's because they were stashed in
a location
impossible to properly maintain - I expect them to go a number of years.
A cheap
battery goes 4 years in a car ... why shouldn't a quality battery do the
same in a
boat?

Usually by then that one is just about had it from too many low
drains. (Sharking at night with lights on & music playing & mobile phone
plugged in & depth/fish sounder on etc,)

If you look at the "discharge depth/service life" curves maybe you would
size your
batteries appropriately. A deep cycle battery should be good for hundreds
of cycles
as long as you don't drain it too far. A starting battery will only give
you a
handful of deep cycles.

Perhaps I don't appreciate your situation (do you have to carry a
recharged battery to
a moored boat?) but it seems like something is wrong if you're only
getting one year
of good service from a battery!