TAKEOFF
BOAT RIGGING
BATTERY MAINTENANCE AND PERFORMANCE
A
HOW TO CHOOSE AND CARE FOR THE ELECTRICAL POWER SOURCE IN YOUR BOAT
By Joe Balog
s important as trolling motors and other accessories are to a bass boat, they’re not of
much use to anglers if they aren’t properly powered, and that comes down to choosing
and maintaining the best batteries for your fishing methods.
In the past, battery selection was easy. You chose the biggest batteries that would fit in the
boat and tried not to skimp on cost.
Today, however, more battery choices are available to bass boat owners, and the process of
maintaining them is a bit more complicated. Fear not: With advice from Rob Hohman, vice
president of Complete Battery Source in Michigan; Dan Baston, senior electrical project engi-
neer at Johnson Outdoors (parent company of Minn Kota); and Kevin Bennett, president of
Lithium Products, LLC, we put together this summary guide to modern bass boat batteries.
Types of Batteries
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Trolling motors are powered by a series of one, two or
three deep-cycle batteries offered in four types: traditional
flooded lead-acid, AGM, gel and lithium ion. The first three
are most common among bass anglers.
Flooded lead-acid batteries contain a liquid solution
(referred to as electrolyte) that’s a combination of sulfuric
acid and water. A chemical reaction releases electrons, thus
providing power. AGM (absorbent glass mat) and gel batter-
ies use the same proces