Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks


Where's the boat docked? Your property? Marina? How long would you hope to
cruise (in hours) on any given day? Which model motor? Have you been to the
mfr's site to look at their estimates for running time with certain
batteries?

We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??

"crystal11509" wrote in message
ups.com...
We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??


Sounds exactly like the setup at a lodge where I stay each summer. 100-ish
feet from back door to the dock. I'm asking because "lightweight" and "the
battery that will do the best job" might be mutually exclusive concepts,
depending on HOW LONG (in hours) you expect to be cruising with your
trolling motor. So, the solution is to buy a typical, big and heavy battery,
and roll out an extension cord to the boat when necessary, with a charge on
the end of it.

Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"crystal11509" wrote in message
ups.com...
We live at the lake, so the boat is in front of the house (about 100
feet). I believe the trolling motor is a Minnekota Endura. I'll have
to check their web site for specs.

Thanks for your replies. I wind generator - how clever is that??


Sounds exactly like the setup at a lodge where I stay each summer. 100-ish
feet from back door to the dock. I'm asking because "lightweight" and "the
battery that will do the best job" might be mutually exclusive concepts,
depending on HOW LONG (in hours) you expect to be cruising with your
trolling motor. So, the solution is to buy a typical, big and heavy
battery, and roll out an extension cord to the boat when necessary, with a
charge on the end of it.


Ooops: chargER on the end of it.

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

So, secure the cord, and use just one continuous cord, no plugging two short
ones together.


Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


Yes - the longer the cord, the heavier it will be, generally speaking. Check
out the selection at places like Home Depot or Lowe's. The point here is
that if you think you're going to get away with using a little gel cell
battery, you're fooling yourself.

crystal11509 wrote:
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low.

A solar panel might serve two functions- extend your
trolling time and also keep the battery on a float or
trickle charge so it is fully topped of when you get ready
to go.

I saw your original question about light weight batteries...
unfortunately there ain't no such animal. In fact it seems
to me that your best option is to figure out a way of build
in a battery try to hold two (or more) batteries for great
range & duration; this would have to include a "smart"
charger to keep them working well.

Batteries themselves need not be expensive, the most bang
for the buck is golf cart batteries from the farm & truck
supply store... but you can also get 12V deep cycle
batteries from there (or other sources, such as Batties Plus
franchise store) and avoid paying "marine" prices.

... I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.


Why? If the cord is properly grounded, no problem. And as
Doug Kanter says, avoid having a string of extension cords
plugged into each other to reach the boat. That's bad for
several reasons even if the plug(s) don't hang in the water.


Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


The longer the cord, the heavier gage it has to be. There
are charts to tell you just how heavy, first you'll need to
know the watt load. I'd suggest making up a cord yourself
with triplex wire & plugs from Home Depot or such.

Here is a pretty good starting reference. If you don't read
anything else on this web page, check out the description of
why deep cycle batteries are called that and the section on
charging... that is very important, in fact most battery
problems are really charger problems.

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm

Fair Skies
Doug King

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Need to get a new battery for a small pontoon boat used on a small
electric only lake. The motor in a Minnekota. Was hoping to learn
about some light weight battery/batteries, or some way of not having to
carry those batteries on a regular basis to be charged. (Not aging
gracefully, and the bad backs aren't getting any better with the
years.) Appreciated any suggestions! thanks


AGM technology is what you want. Almost no self discharge and a faster
recharge among other advantages over a traditional flooded cell battery. I
like these:

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marine.php

"crystal11509" wrote in message
oups.com...
Personally, I spend as much time as possible out on the lake trolling.
The reason we usually come head back is that the battery is low. I
have tried the extension cord to the boat in the past. One day - much
to my horror - I had unexpected visitors - about five young boys who
were playing in the water, on the boat, while the charger was on.....No
one was hurt, but the episode makes me fear the extension cord idea.

Also, could you use a regular kind of extension cord, or do you need
some heavy duty cord to go that far? Thanks for any suggestions.


Install a GFI receptacle at the house. Then no fear of stray current
hurting the kids.