recommendations for a little starting battery or should I run long wires?

[jitterbug127]

I just successfully installed electric start on my 1969 Sportster. I'm thrilled. I am looking to get a little battery to start the motor. I already have a 12 volt deep cell battery in the front of the boat that goes to my trolley motor. I am thinking like a motor cycle or lawn mower battery since they are lighter. I will buy a marine battery if necessary. I could also run some long wires from the battery to the boat motor as well. I am new to electric start, so I am open to suggestion.

One more thing. All my lights are currently wired to be hooked up at the back of the boat due to having transom mount trolley before. The weight being upfront has really helped the bow of my boat stay down. I'd rather not rewire everything, but if that the best thing to do I will do this as well.

 

[tphoyt]

Does your motor have charging capabilities ?
Generally speaking you would want a starting battery with around 650 cca.
I have a starter but not charging capability so I use a solar charger to keep it topped off. It last me all season without having to put it on a charger.

 

[matt167]

The length of the boat will determine the gauge of cables you can get away with. You’ll have no problem with the setup as long as your cables are adequate . If you are looking for just a small battery for starting, a good U1 or U1R lawnmower battery has a 350 CCA capacity which will spin over whatever you have

 

[jitterbug127]

Does your motor have charging capabilities ?
Generally speaking you would want a starting battery with around 650 cca.
I have a starter but not charging capability so I use a solar charger to keep it topped off. It last me all season without having to put it on a charger.

the 1969 does not have charging capabilities. It is a 25 HP.

 

[jitterbug127]

Boat is a 16 foot jon boat.

 

[cyclops222]

Do it a simple way. I just bought a LONG set of car battery jumper cables. 20' long enough to reach from front battery up front to battery posts on the motor or to my side mounted dash board.. I pre cut the cables to a nice extra foot longer. Took it to the auto parts place and got the correct sized battery and engine connectors. They are still molded side by side. I bought the medium duty ones as the motor is only 30 hp. Piece of cake. I had the marina squeeze the ringed lugs on the engine ends.

 

[jitterbug127]

Do it a simple way. I just bought a LONG set of car battery jumper cables. 20' long enough to reach from front battery up front to battery posts on the motor or to my side mounted dash board.. I pre cut the cables to a nice extra foot longer. Took it to the auto parts place and got the correct sized battery and engine connectors. They are still molded side by side. I bought the medium duty ones as the motor is only 30 hp. Piece of cake. I had the marina squeeze the ringed lugs on the engine ends.

I like this! I can run a long cable from the front to my motor. Ill have to come up with a good alternative for my lights, but that can be solved by rewiring or running wire back to the front of the boat.

 

[cyclops222]

Buy and use clamp on small battery powered bow and stern lights. No wires needed.

 

[tphoyt]

Agreed
I replaced mine with battery powered led running lights last year.
They have many different mounting option so it’s easy to find one that will work for you.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Big battery, big wires, back of the boat. The BBB.

Also, big battery.

What's wrong with you people!

 

[dingbat]

In this day and age there is no reason to use a full size FLA battery to power a 25 HP, 16’ John boat.

You have no problem powering the boat with a U1 size, AGM, SLA battery.

The U1 is 8” x 5” x 6” weighs less than #20. Rated 200cca, 35 AH. Can be mounted anywhere. Even upside down

 

[dingbat]

In this day and age there is no reason to use a full size FLA battery to power a 25 HP, 16’ John boat.

You have no problem powering the boat with a U1 size, AGM, SLA battery.

The U1 is 8” x 5” x 6” weighs less than #20. Rated 200cca, 35 AH. Can be mounted anywhere. Even upside down

 

[tphoyt]

I agree. For some reason I had 35hp in my mind and I’m generally an over kill kinda guy anyway.

 

[cyclops222]

I can wrap the rope cord HAND start around the flywheel & it starts first or 2nd pull every time. I could see if there is a factory manual RECOIL hand pull available ? Simple enough to install.

 

[mike_i]

You can't go wrong with two batteries, especially since your light connections are in the rear of your boat.

 

[jitterbug127]

I have decided to do two things...

1. Get a lawn mower battery for my electric start motor. Light and easy to remove. I swap my 2 motors often and the other is rope start only. There is no reason to have battery in the boat when I'm not using the ES.

1. I am going to wire the lights to the front battery. I would like to have the ability to use them without the second battery onboard.

 

[jitterbug127]

I will go to the small LED style once these lights are worn out. They were brand new installed last year. I am also going to find a solar panel.