good morning - I'm having a problem with my trolling motor batteries.The batteries don't have a lot of staying power and weaken very qiuckly. The batteries are a everstart brand[ max29] trolling motor type and was bought in Aug. of 06.I recharge them after every trip out and check the water level once a year. Looking at the cells it seems that every other cell has a chalk like coating covering the plates.Is this a sign of a defective battery or just part of the aging process. The batteries that came with my Champion lasted six years and I changed them only because of their age.I guess new batteries are needed and I won't be using Everstart thats for surethanks - Ken Blevins chantil@roadrunner.com

I average 3-4 years out of the everstarts I buy.  Did you use distilled water to top up the batteries?  

I change my batteries EVERY 18 months.