When I think about the evolution of fishing boats, it’s mind-boggling. In the early days of my fishing career, guiding and chasing the tournament trails, my fishing boat was a pretty simple outfit. It measured 16 feet, had a 40-horse outboard, a 12-volt trolling motor and a single flasher for sonar. The only electric accessories were the necessities: navigation lights and a bilge pump. One 12-volt battery ran the whole shootin’ match.
My how times (and boats) have changed. Today my 19-foot Polar Kraft has a 225-horsepower Evinrude E-TEC, two color sonar units (console and bow) with GPS, a 36-volt bow-mount trolling motor, an instrument panel that looks like it came out of a sportscar, a stereo system, advanced recirculating livewells and baitwell, and every amenity a guy could hope for. Instead of one battery, five Optima spiral-cell batteries fuel the system!
I’m not alone in upgrading and upsizing over the years. According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the number of registered, engine-propelled boats over 16-feet has grown by more than one million since 1996. Engine sizes have risen exponentially as well. And the number of electronic devices on-board has increased too. Because of this trend, anglers and boaters have discovered a need for stronger cranking and deep-cycle marine batteries that can handle the load. They’re finding, like I did, that conventional flat-plate, lead-acid batteries aren’t cutting it.
For anglers who rely on GPS, dependable power is especially critical. GPS draws a lot of juice, and if the battery driving it falls even a little bit below 12 volts, the GPS can fail to function. Not only does this ruin your navigation for finding and staying on structure, but it can also create some real safety concerns. If you’ve ever found yourself on a big lake, or offshore in the ocean when some bad weather comes up or you stay out after dark⦠and your GPS goes out? Let me tell you, that’s a very scary situation. I’ve learned to always have a back-up handheld GPS and a compass on board in case of an emergency.
Tom Kemos, a professional angler and boat mechanic of ten years, says many people are still using old-fashioned flat-plate batteries simply because they don’t realize the needs of the electronics and accessories powering their boats. “Within the last 10 to 15 years, electronics have become more complex and sophisticated. The technology in my equipment keeps getting better and better while marine batteries have, for the most part, stayed the same. A lot of boat owners aren’t aware that adding such complex electronic systems greatly affects the performance of the battery.”
The battery has also become even more critical with today’s larger and more powerful engines. A high-quality deep-cycle or dual-purpose marine battery should always be used because unlike automobile, batteries, deep-cycle and dual-purpose marine batteries are designed to be run down to a discharged state and then recharged again and again.
Prior to 2004, most high-performance fishing boat engines required a battery with at least 630 MCAs (marine cranking amps) and 490 CCAs (cold cranking amps). Today’s more powerful engines require 1,000 MCAs and 750 CCAs from their batteries just to keep them running strong all day long.
My Optima blue-top batteries, designed especially for marine use, have a unique combination of 1,125 MCAs, 900 CCAs and 75 amp hours, making them the perfect batteries to fire up my Evinrude while maintaining a steady flow of power to my boat’s electronics.
According to Tom Kemos, “knowing all the facts about a boat’s electronics and the batteries they depend on to run can alleviate a lot of headaches that come with boat ownership. As a mechanic, I get so many calls at the beginning of boating season from owners who don’t know why their boats won’t start. In 9 out of 10 cases, it has something to do with their batteries.”
So listen… if you’re as crazy about fishing as I am, you like to hit the water at dawn and go all day. Guys and gals like us owe it to ourselves to make every outing as fun, hassle-free and productive as it can be. Plus, we need the security to know that our boats can get us out and back safely. So do yourself a favor and check those batteries. Make sure they’re taking a charge well and putting out the juice you need to crank that outboard and run the electronics. Because you never want to get stranded. And you NEVER, EVER want to miss out on a chance to catch one more fish!
Good Fishing!By: Babe Winkelman / Babe Winkelman Productions
