Remote Area Battery Charging

[amateurfishing]

when taking the boat for a weekend of car/tent camping with no electricity & no overnight docking, what are ways to be able to charge the boat batteries?

[BoxMN]

Solar but that won't get you much overnight... or that much during the day, for that matter. But some.

[TruthWalleyes]

More batteries. That's why i have 3 batteries in my boat.

[TruthWalleyes]

Generator.

Also, on 5 day trips you need to learn How to fish without using the tm continuously. There are many methods to move a boat. Wind, current, back trolling...

[SkunkedAgain]

A paddle works really well depending on the boat and is a good arm exercise, if you aren't already doing bicep curls with metal cans.

I'm with TruthWalleyes though. You can fish quite well without running much for electronics. There's also something called an angler that most fisherman seem to avoid using, instead using their trolling motors. My advice is to use the gas motor, drift, and anchor. Use the depth finder to find spots and then turn it off, or just rely on visual clues such as points, cliff walls, etc. to identify lake structure.

[TruthWalleyes]

OH, and turn off your radio (If you have one) most of them draw 10amps, which is a big drain on your batts.

[amateurfishing]

More batteries. That's why i have 3 batteries in my boat.

2 for trolling?

[TruthWalleyes]

2 for trolling?

All 3 in parallel at the moment with a switch to have only 2 in parallel and 1 isolated for the rest of my electronics.

[delcecchi]

OH, and turn off your radio (If you have one) most of them draw 10amps, which is a big drain on your batts.

Ten Amps? You sure about that?

[TruthWalleyes]

That is probably high. I know mine does draw 10 amps at MAX volume etc.

Most are probably around 7, and in reality they are drawing less when the volume is low. They do suck quite a bit of juice though.

[CaptainMusky]

Between 5 and 10 amps would be a typical stereo found in a boat. So yes, 10 amps is not out of the question.

Most solar panels would only generate under 3.3 amps. So, if you are running a trolling motor, gps and radio for an hour, that would probably take you days of non-use of those items to get the battery back to full charge.

Granted while they are in use it would be slowing the draw down, its really not going to keep up or anything like that. The only real solutions are to cut back on what you are using, haul more batteries or a generator.

[JohnMickish]

A Honda generator so you can get some sleep. Rent one for the weekend if you can't borrow one.

[Panfish Guy]

[Note from Admin: Please read forum policy before posting again. Thank you.]

[JohnMickish]

A Stay n Charge is not really going to work if your sitting in the same place for a weekend. They only work when towing the boat.

[amateurfishing]

i have 1 starter battery & 1 troller battery. starter battery has 597 HB series on it as well as exteremely few other lights like navigation etc. no radio or other misc. i just realized today wife is planning a camping trip to father hennepin and all of sudden wants to plan more but i have no way of recharging my batteries between water trips throughout the weekend. not sure (but i doubt) i could go fri/sat/sun boat runs without recharging. would not be all day every day as would want to find small bays/calm water at times for kids to fish for pannies & anchor if possible but just trying to be prepared if the situation presents itself.

[BoxMN]

You shouldn't have to worry about your starting battery, unless you run aerator all day or radio without running the big motor. Just go for boat ride and charge it back up

Heck, bring an extra battery and use TM sparingly, should get you through the weekend. Have fun, just don't drain the starter batt!

[Hoey]

How about charging a cell phone? Usually that is a priority for someone on the trip?

[amateurfishing]

How about charging a cell phone? Usually that is a priority for someone on the trip?

planning on doing that thru vehicle

[amateurfishing]

You shouldn't have to worry about your starting battery, unless you run aerator all day or radio without running the big motor. Just go for boat ride and charge it back up

Heck, bring an extra battery and use TM sparingly, should get you through the weekend. Have fun, just don't drain the starter batt!

i really dont see this being an issue as i have been out back to back days with barely 1/3 of starter battery used, i guess trolling would be biggest concern but as some have said maybe i can think a little bit and boat "smart" use wind/current to advantage.

dont really want to get into additional battery or generator as trying to put all of my eggs in 1 basket for ipilot terrova this year or next. found out last year hard way my 1984 28lb. thrust troller is POS on water like ML

[TruthWalleyes]

Lol. We already provided the options.

Generator, or more batteries.

Also, those cell phones have an off button.

If your running your tm above half, you can probably use your main motor, unless of course your tm is underpowered for the size of boat, which a 28#would be for anything bigger than 14ft.

[amateurfishing]

Lol. We already provided the options.

Generator, or more batteries.

Also, those cell phones have an off button.

If your running your tm above half, you can probably use your main motor, unless of course your tm is underpowered for the size of boat, which a 28#would be for anything bigger than 14ft.

yes, my boat is 16 ft. i do appreciate the help and options given, maybe a run to batteries plus for a cheap backup be the ticket.

thx again for ideas & info