When boating, you may not really ever think about all the things that require battery power. That is until you have a hiccup in the system and a dead battery to deal with. Then you get into really looking around your boat for what could be drawing power. For instance, your GPS, fish finders, and more. In fact, there are five marine power applications that can all draw from your battery.
The Biggest Draws
Accessories are the biggest power draw for most boats. They include:
- GPS
- Fish Finders
- Radios/Stereos
- VHF
- Underwater Cameras
If these items are not connected to a battery, they will not work. They are the electronics that keep your boating adventure enjoyable. They keep you safe and allow you to know more about your location.
The downside is that without a battery, your boat cannot run either. These things all work to drain your battery. The best way to handle this is to have one battery for the fun accessories and one available to ensure you can get back to shore at the end of your day.
Setting Up Dual Marine Batteries
One of the biggest things that will help you is to have a high-quality marine battery and connections. You want a battery that has a good capacity and is safe for marine use. However, the best battery that money can buy is no good if you have a faulty connection. You need to get marine battery connectors that resist corrosion and will not shake loose because of vibration on rough water.
If you are out on your boat, water spray, salty air, and other factors can weaken a bad connection or cause you to drop at least half of your battery’s potential power. Even if it doesn’t happen instantly, it could still happen over time. You have to protect the battery to make sure your connection never falters. We recommend marine grade cables and connectors that will never come lose no matter how rough the seas are.
Final Thoughts
We think it is great that there are so many fun and useful accessories for boats and hope that you will continue to use them. However, we also feel that you should make sure you do all that you can to protect and preserve your battery power. It is the only way for you to experience a truly enjoyable day out on the open water with your GPS, radios, and fish finders.
If you are concerned that you do not have enough battery power onboard, you can always connect two batteries together using other connectors. These are also important for you to consider because it does ensure you always have a backup supply of power to get you home.
In short, keep the accessories and enjoy the fun. Just make sure you have the right setup to keep it all going.