Rewiring my outboard boat

[nearpar]

I purchased a 17ft Aluminum boat with a Merc 70hp Outboard. This boat was very basic and only had 3 switches on it. One for the bilge, One for the livewell and one for the lights. The boat also had a voltmeter that was not hooked up and a speedometer Non eletric type. All of this was on a homemade dash panel made out of plywood. The only gauge I plan on having in the new setup will be a working voltmeter. I plan on adding some accessories

Should I have a dedicated battery for just the Motor ? and another for the following accessories: Marine radio,Sonar/GPS,Bilge pump, Livewell, and Lights. How would I wire this with two batteries ? Can the second battery still be charged from the motor ? or will there be enough power to just go out with a fully charged battery and run the accessories and recharge everytime ? Or should I put some of the items on with the engie battery ? What do you guys suggest ???

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Rewiring my outboard boat

You don't need two batteries if you have one good starting battery. The boat simply doesn't have any high current drain accessories. To answer your questions about how you do two batteries, can you charge two, etc, use the SEARCH feature. This exact scenario has been discussed a gazillion times and diagrams are included -- but you simply don't need the second battery, its complexity or expense. But then if the starting battery is of questionable capability that creates a concern regardless what you have for accessories.