Last time I talked about maintaining your bait tank. One of the most common mistakes boaters make when winterizing their boat is improper battery maintenance. Here are a couple tips to help you save money by not having to buy new batteries for your boat each year.
Care for Trolling Motor Batteries I estimate that well over 50% of fishing boat owners who use an electric trolling motor have to replace the batteries every year. It's a common misconception that deep cycle batteries simply don't last more than 1 year and almost always need to be replaced. This is not true. While your deep cycle marine batteries may not last as long as a typical marine cranking battery, they can give as much as 3 to 4 years of service when properly maintained.
1. Always keep your trolling motor batteries fully charged at all times. It's very easy to come home from a long day on the water, park the boat and wait until your next trip is planned to re-charge the batteries. Nothing kills the life of a battery faster than sitting around half charged or dead. Always charge your batteries as soon as you park or store your boat. This will ensure that you don't have a fishing trip spoiled by dead batteries, and you will get the maximum life out of your battery investment.
2. Check the water level in your batteries often and keep them filled. This is also a very important part of battery maintenance. and one of the keys to getting max life out of the battery.
Another common misconception is that batteries need to be kept warm during the cold weather months. I even know fishermen who remove their batteries and store them inside in a heated area during winter. This is totally unnecessary. Cold weather does not shorten the life of your batteries at all if they're kept charged properly.
If you store your boat during the winter months be sure to make sure both your deep cycle and trolling motor batteries are fully charged, checked and maintained before you put the boat in storage; and you'll save money and get the max out of both your deep cycle and cranking battery.
