New Pontoon Boat

[elefntkpr]

Hello group,

We decided to take the plunge and bought a 20' Suntracker DLX this week. It's not often that I dive head first into something I'm a complete beginner at, but a beginner I am. I've been doing the normal homework, required gear, "good idea" gear, boating course online, etc. I'm sick of the word google at this point, but it's also amazing.

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is calculating what my electrical needs will be vs the battery Suntracker supplies. I'm trying to decide if a second battery is a good investment or not. Judging by what I've read online so far, this is almost an argument akin to gas grill vs charcoal.

I have the Mercury 60hp Bigfoot which has an 18amp/226 watt charging capacity. The battery is an Interstate cranking variety with a max 500amps and 400 cca. The only electrical pull on the boat at the moment is a AM/FM/CD (40wx4) stereo with a 15amp max draw, 11 LED lights scattered around the deck, navigation lights and a 12v charging plug that will feed phones and tablets. I plan to add a few more LED's but they draw next to nothing so I'm not worried about that much. I have no plans to add a troller motor.

From my reading so far I realize that a deep cycle is better suited for house electronics but considering what I'll have running (for extended periods most likely however), I'm not sure a second battery is necessary outside of peace of mind but I could be dead wrong on this. Could I get away with just adding an onboard charger and call it a day? Will this kill a cranking battery? If so, could I get away with a small deep cycle?

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[MinUph]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Like you said about grills your right. I have always run 2 batteries. Never needed #2 but it is there if I do.

 

[Wet_Dream]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

A battery booster pack that you store on the boat is a less costly alternative.

 

[crb478]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

an on board charger to keep you fully charged when you leave each time and a battery booster/jump box for those rare times you might leave the radio on too long without the motor running. If you are like most people you will not need a 2nd battery. It is nice to have, but probably not needed in your case. Now if you had a super sized stereo and a trolling motor you would need the extra battery.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I've posted this before. As you said, peace of mind! I bought a lawn tractor battery at Wal Mart for $25. I moved all the consul electronics from the 'standard' battery to the little guy. I then ran a #14 wire from the + of the standard battery to the + of the little battery. Then I ran another #14 wire from the - terminal of the standard battery, through a standard household light switch to the - terminal of the little battery. With the switch ON, the batteries are paralleled, and will charge when the engine is running. With the switch OFF, all electronics draw from the second battery, leaving the main battery fully charged. The switch is mounted on my consul. I don't want to be stuck in a cove with a dead starting battery because I got carried away with the Radio, Amplifier, XM receiver, VHF radio, and the computer plugged in. With todays very efficient electronics, it is a pretty good bet you won't kill the battery, but about a $30 investment is cheap insurance. Good Luck!

 

[MinUph]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Watch that switch to see it doesn't heat up to much. That and the #14 wire would make me shiver. #10 is generally used for 12v service.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I run a single battery but it is a group 31 duel purpose, but I often run lights all night and a live well pump and aerator and a lot of other things night fishing with no problems. But I can pull start my motor if necessary. It don't take much to start a 15 hp.

 

[calvinator]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I have 2 group 27 batts and a blue seas ACR. Had this setup on all my boats. Set it and forget it.

Batt #1 is starting.
Batt #2 is electronics.

I also carry a fully charged jump start box I bring with me to the pontoon. Use it all the time --- helping the other guys on the lake jump start their poorly maintained boats! hahaha...

 

[Lurch77]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

We have the same 20' DLX, a 2013 model with a 75hp motor. We have not ran into a situation where we needed more battery power. But then again we are not power users. I do keep a battery booster pack on board if I should ever run the battery down too far for starting the engine to get back to shore, such as after a day of running the radio at a sandbar or something.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

The only time you need 2 batteries is if you were running a big trolling motor or a mega watt sound system that you'll be running for hours on end. And then, you'd need a Perko battery switch to keep the circuits separate.

Your boat has a quality battery, so you should be fine to go as you are.

I prefer regular big car batteries on my boats, as they're cheaper and last much, much longer than deep cycle trolling motor batteries. The last 2 batteries I bought for my 1985 Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke motor lasted something like 8-10 years each. (2 stroke outboards take little battery power to start.)

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I think the local water police around my parts might have a problem with car batteries on the water. To the OP, you should be fine with one battery.

 

[dls322]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I think the local water police around my parts might have a problem with car batteries on the water. To the OP, you should be fine with one battery.

You actually get in trouble for running car batteries on the boat??? I run one of each and keep them in marine battery boxes so you would never know.

 

[lncoop]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I agree that you'll be fine with one battery and also highly recommend an on board charger. Just plug her back in when you get home and you're ready to rock next time. This will not only make your life easier but will give your battery a longer service life. Just don't forget to unplug before you pull out to head to the water. Don't ask me why I mention this.:facepalm::lol:

 

[elefntkpr]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Awesome advice! I know this subject has been through the barn once or twice. I'm going to go with one battery for now and think about a setup if I decide to add one later. Thanks again everyone. We take it out for the first run this Wednesday. I've never launched or retrieved a pontoon before so there's some performance anxiety but I've picked a slow launch.

Lurch77, how are you liking the Suntracker so far?

John

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Thats the easy part if you have good glides, it will slide right on. I can get mine on and off a lot faster than most others.

 

[xjcamaro89]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

I've never launched or retrieved a pontoon before so there's some performance anxiety but I've picked a slow launch.

Dont sweat it, just take it slow. I recently bought a 20ft pontoon in may. Never drove a boat in my life, let alone launch or retrieved one. And we picked the steapest boat launch ive ever seen. Not a problem, took it slow. Took a couple extra bumps here and there to get it straight on the glides before pulling up and out. But other than that Ive done it 4 times now and stilll going good.

 

[The Rooster]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Awesome advice! I know this subject has been through the barn once or twice. I'm going to go with one battery for now and think about a setup if I decide to add one later. Thanks again everyone. We take it out for the first run this Wednesday. I've never launched or retrieved a pontoon before so there's some performance anxiety but I've picked a slow launch.

Lurch77, how are you liking the Suntracker so far?
John

Good luck w/ the maiden voyage, John, You'll be a launch pro in no time !!!

 

[elefntkpr]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Our first trip was great! The launch was successful but it became apparent that I may have backed in a bit too far when I had to tread water to unclip the wench strap. Ok I'm exaggerating but in all honesty they put the clip ring way under that boat don't they?

We traveled around Lake Maurepas then headed 10 miles down the Tickfaw River and back. I have to say I was impressed with the power I saw so far. I was getting 18 mph at 75% throttle so if I get a few more mph at WOT after the break-in I'll be satisfied. I was also happy to learn that I only burned about a gallon an hour, I assumed it would be way worse than that but that was one of my newbie predictions.

Loading the boat went fine. I got the trailer backed in at the right depth this time and she powered on easy with only a little bit of throttle.

As for the battery issue, I went ahead and installed an on-board charger and I'm going to rock that indefinitely unless I run into a problem.

Thanks again for all the advice and support folks! I should have gotten a boat a long time ago, yesterday was just plain awesome.

John

 

[The Rooster]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Well if I had known you were local, I'd have joined you !!! Good luck !!!

 

[elefntkpr]

Re: New Pontoon Boat

Well if I had known you were local, I'd have joined you !!! Good luck !!!

Next time we go out I'll definitely let you guys know! We had a blast yesterday.