Obviously, I am not a boat expert!<br />I have a Force 70 hp 1986 OB Motor. I don't have the serial available. It works fine, so my question is simple. Is it likely that this engine has a charging system for the batteries, or is it unlikely? Or is it definitely so? Definitely not?<br /><br />I'm trying to decide how big of a solar charger to get for it. I will use the boat occasionally for overnight trips, but these trips may last for up to 7 or so days. I would be running the engine (of course), one small 5W light for maybe 1-2 hours a day, a radio, possibly plugging in a laptop computer, and intermittenly some other higher powered lights. Now, if the engine runs the batteries down vs charging them, that would make a very big difference in my solar needs.<br /><br />My plan is to have two batteries for about 100 amp hours total. I was thinking about a 5W charger, assuming that the engine does indeed have a charging system. My guess is that this would not be enough power to keep batteries fully charged, but with a 100 amp-hour buffer i should be able to stay out for a while.<br /><br />I'm a newbie to this subject, so if there are any experts out there that can enlighten me, it would be appreciated!<br /><br />Thanks in advance,<br />Jon
But yes your motor should have a charging system on it. If not you would have to charge the battery every time you used it, and eventually your motor would die if the battery went dead, I would think.