Team_Dougherty

Great!

I have a 16' "V" bottom with a 47lb 12v minn kota on the from and 40HP Evinrude on the back. I have just one AC Delco M27MF that runs them both. I have bilge pump, live well pump and nav lights. There are no other electronics. That battery has lasted 7 years. I can run that Minn Kota all day and the battery will start the Evinrude at the end of they day. If it ever can not. I'll break out the rope and pull start it. Edit to add: The battery does get charged at night after a fishing. I do not rely on the outboard to keep the battery fully charged. In fact the battery in always hooked up to my charger when the boat is not being used.

I do not know if I would carry an extra battery. You should be good with just a set of jumper cables. Just unhook the other batteries before you jump. If you are going to carry the extra battery. Just hook it up to the outboard. If you just let it sit until you need it. It will be dead when you need it. ' Another option is to extend your outboard leads to that compartment. This way you will have two separate systems.

Surfer, I try to keep it simple. I saw your post come up after I posted. It took me a minute or two to draw the diagram. Your post was spot on though. Tin2win will also have to be careful his other electronics and outboard don't drain the center battery to much or he may not be able to troll. You are correct it is better to have a separate battery system for each. Ideally there should be one for the outboard, one for electronics and one for the electric motor. That gets heavy and expensive though. The three battery setup should work with out a hitch. He may have an issue with the trolling motor causing interference with a depth finder when it runs.

Just hook up your batteries like this. Just remember only the center battery will get charged from the outboard charger. If you drain the batteries to much with the trolling motor you may not be able to start your outboard.

WD-40

I have used 3M 5200 on my plastic boat with much success.

The maximizer is just a little more than potentiometer. A pot justs decreases the voltage to the motor and turn the rest into heat. Works well but very wasteful and kills the battery. http://www.minnkotamotors.com/view.asp?url=/support/faq/general&pt=8 The maximizer is an actual electronic speed controller that gives full voltage to the motor all the time and just changes the ratio of on time to off time to change the speed. For full speed the power is applied all the time. for 75% power the maximizer turns the power on for 3/4 of a second and off for 1/4 second. For half speed it applies full power for 1/2 a second and off for a half a second. for 1/4 power it is on for 1/4 second and off for 3/4 of a second. My times may not be correct but it should give you an idea. This gives the motor full torque over the full speed range and saving battery power at the same time.

Minn Kota used to make a stand alone maximizer. You would wire it between your motor and battery and leave your motor on high and change the speed using the maximizer. You can find them on ebay once in a while. This one has an end date of 11/21/07. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MINN-KOTA-MAXIMIZER-FOR-FISHING-FISH-FOR-DAYS_W0QQitemZ190174195923QQihZ009QQcategoryZ384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I have not seen them anywhere else for awhile.

Would a marina even collect the tax? If the fuel is being put into a boat it would make sense not to even charge the tax. There is a gas station near my house that has separate pump for on road and off road vehicles. You can fill up your wood chipper, lawn mowers and such at that off road pumps but you need to fill up your truck at the on road pumps. I'll have to ask if I can take my boat to the off road pumps.

with an 18 degree cone you will see about 1/3 of the depth in a diameter of the bottom. For example in 30' of water you will see a 10' diameter circle at the bottom. You will find most fish finders have a 20 degree cone and those with dual cones will have 20 and 60 degree cones. Other than the 320x320 screen the other reason I got the 4200 is the 18 degree cone. The other models have a 9 degree cone.

I have the fishin' Bubby 4200. It has a 18 degree cone. It is a great little fish finder. It has all the features of a fixed unit in a easy to use portable format. I use the same way you intend to use it. With the 320x320 screen you will have more detail than the lower priced fixed units. It shows fish very well. http://www.bottomlinefishfinders.com/site/html/htmlsite/bl/4200.htm

How are you connecting the FF/GPS to your cigarette lighter? Did you put an cigarette lighter plug on the end? did you wire it correctly? The center is the + red wire. the outside is the - black wire. Does the unit need a transducer hooked up to power on? Edit to add: On page 87 of the manual it does state that a transducer does need to be hooked up or it will go into simulation mode. http://www.humminbird.com/images/PDF/363.pdf

Do not use regular grease. It conducts electricity. You need to use dielectric grease. Does not conduct.

My Minn-Kota is the same way. I switched to a kipawa prop and the problem is more pronounced. I can now use speeds 1 and 2. Speed 2 is faster with Kipawa than the stock minn-kota.

I do not rely just on the winch to hold the boat on. I also use a separate bow hold down strap.

If your RPMs are 5500. you are just about right. I would not change the prop. Try a doel-fin or equivalent. http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0017147019098a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=stingray&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=stingray&noImage=0

Batteries The more AH the longer the run time http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/GC-125/160400/12_VOLT_5_AH_GEL_CEL_BATTERY_.html http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/GC-1270/160400/12V_7AH_LEAD_ACID_BATTERY_.html http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/GC-1214/160400/12_VOLT_12_AH_RECHARGEABLE_BATTERY_.html Charger http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/BC-212/965/12VDC_500MA_2-STAGE_CHARGER_FOR_LEAD-ACID_BATTERIES_.html $7.00 shipping no matter what you order.

Are you trolling motor batteries hooked together in parallel for 12 volts? Or series for 24 volts? If they are in parallel you can put one bank to your starter and one to your trolling batteries. It will take twice and long to charge your trolling batteries. If they are hooked in series you will need to hook one bank to each trolling battery and let your outboard take care of your starting battery. Or, you can just get a three bank charger.

Be careful of the light you choose. Regular white lights will ruin your night vision. I suggest using red lights. LED or incandescent does not matter. LEDs will use less power.

You need to know several things before someone can tell you the pitch you need. Read This http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1188500161/1#1

You can run both motors off the battery at the same time. You will drain the battery much faster. I do not think it will hurt the battery though. Just make sure your wires are big enough to handle the current draw. My guess it will be about 75 amps with both motors running. I have heard 1 amp per pound of thrust in a 12v motor. You may want to get one battery for each motor. You may also want to test, with a GPS, to see if your boat actually goes faster running both motors at the same time. It may not be worth the power drain to get 1 or 2 MPH.

If you hook the batteries in series you have 24 volts. Even between the batteries you have 24 volts. You have the correct breakers. You can always use breakers rated for higher voltage in a lower voltage applications. For example. 24v breaker in a 12 volt circuit. You can not use a 12v breaker in a 24v circuit,

I agree buy the biggest you can afford. That golf cart battery may be six volts. Does he have 2?

A general rule of thumb for outboard fuel consumption to 10% of rated horsepower per hour at WOT. So 10% of 70HP is 7 gallons per hour at WOT.