Batteries & chargers

[gspman]

Hey folks,
I'm finally taking the plunge and getting a new boat. Crestliner Fishhawk 1750 w/115 Yamaha 4-stroke & 24v 74# Autopilot w/univ sonar. Plan to get a depth finder and gps system too.

My questions are dealing with batteries & on board chargers. I can't stand losing battery power when on the water so I want to set this thing up to ensure batteries are always at full charge in the morning when I go fishing.

Specifically in an ideal situation how would you set this boat up for batteries? Would you do 3 (2 for the bow mount, 1 for the starting and locator, gps & accessories). Or would you do 4 (2 for bow mount, 1 for starting, 1 for everything else)? Would a Fishhawk even have room for 4 batteries? Is it a good idea to isolate the accessories on a separate battery or is it okay to have them hooked to the starter battery? Or would you do something else?

What about on board charging systems. What setup would you ideally have for this? Is it one bank per battery? Should the starter battery be hooked up to one or will the motor be able to keep it charged sufficiently?

I'll probably have the dealer install this so brand recommendations and things to look out for would be appreciated. I don't want to get a junker onboard charging system.

Thanks.
gspman

[Chev_trucks501]

I would go with a standard configuration. a 24 volt system for the trolling motor and a 12 volt system for the starter with accessories. It is ok to hook the accessories to the starter battery I've left mine on for a week (opps) and it still didn't drain the batttery.
Also on board chargers are great! I just back my boat into the garage and plug it in. No need to monitor it just unplug in the morning and go. Hope this helps.

Chev

[delmuts]

i agree with chev. a three batt. sys. should do you well.( have run that sys. for years with no problems. and yes get an onboard charger! you will be very happy that you did. i would recomend you get a three bank chrg. that way you not only charge the trolling batt. but top of your startng batt. also. del