Canoe+trolling motor: Battery box?

[Chode2235]

Picked up a canoe from a friend of mine to use on my coleman sq stern canoe.

I imagine I will want to get the batter as far front as possible, but more specifically should I be using a battery box? I see they have some fancy ones with the battery meter and a cigarette lighter built into it. Anyone use one of those?

Thoughts?

[HuskerBen]

I'm pretty sure you have to have one, legally. It doesn't need all the bells and whistles, though. I have one with a meter and lighter dealie (came with the motor)... I never use the lighter and the meter just says the battery's at 2/3 power all the time. If I had some lights on board, it would be a plus.

If you can't get the battery to the front of the canoe, get it as far forward as possible to get the boat level. Otherwise, use some ballast in the front. I use buckets that I fill with water.

[MN Shutterbug]

I'm pretty sure you have to have one, legally.

You're saying there is a law re: this? I put my battery way in the back and also put a spare way up front. No battery boxes, but they would be nice.

[HuskerBen]

Actually, I was wrong about that. I bought my motor, battery, and battery box used, and the guy who sold me the setup said it was a requirement. I know that some states require it, and since Minnesota almost never backs away from making a law about something, I assumed it to be true here as well. But I just looked through the boating regs, and there doesn't seem to be anything about battery boxes. Boy, is my face red.

Still, though, they are a good thing to have. Mine can be strapped to a thwart, so that it doesn't slide around at all (and if I dump, the battery stays with the boat). And it's good to keep water off the terminals. A basic box isn't expensive.

[MuntzAngling]

With my trolling motor, I added about 10' more cord to my motor to allow putting the battery in the front of the canoe, keeping balanced weight and no need for rocks in the front. Works nice. Ratchet straps will keep the battery attached if it fits under the front seat.

[T-water]

I don't use a battery box, would be a good idea. I used old jumper cables (soldered and shrink wrapped) to extend the cable length.