Secondary Battery

[FrancoRanch]

Hi
Just picked up a 94 1700XR
I would like to add a secondary battery for bow mount a trolling Motor, any ideas?
Pics would be great. I don't want to have to pull the battery in and out. I would like to wire it up and make it permanent.
Thanks in advance

[mmwjr]

Welcome aboard!

Do you want to mount the battery in the bow? This will add a fair amount of weight for a boat this size and may increase time to plane. Also how to you plan to charge it; off the engine, battery charger?

[FrancoRanch]

Originally Posted by mmwjr

Welcome aboard!

Do you want to mount the battery in the bow? This will add a fair amount of weight for a boat this size and may increase time to plane. Also how to you plan to charge it; off the engine, battery charger?

I'm looking at putting minn Kota bow mount
That's what I'm asking
Where is best place to put battery, I want to hook up to engine to charge, boat already has a two battery switch

[mmwjr]

I would mount the battery in the stern on the opposite side of the current battery to balance the weight. This will also minimize the wire run to the charging system. You will then need to determine the wire size to the bow which is calculated by the amperage draw Kota vs the length of wire.

[shrew]

Whether you mount the battery in the bow or the stern on dictates how you size the wiring.

Wiring size is based on voltage/distance/amp draw. If the battery is in the back, the gauge will need to be higher between the battery and the electric motor.

If the battery is in the bow, the gauge can be lower since it is closer.

A fuse needs to be as close to the battery and sized based on the amp draw and the wiring gauge being used.

You can either run a Automatic Charging Relay (ACR) to charge both batteries off of the alternator. The other option is to run a 12V DC-DC charger that relays from the primary battery so the alternator charges the primary and relays to the electric motor battery.