Trolling Motor Battery Location ?

I have a 16′ Alumacraft Dominator. My 12v trolling motor battery is located in the front of the boat. I have room for the battery in the back of the boat and going to be hooking up a 2 bank onboard charger to the trolling and cranking battery. The marine place I bought the boat from said I would lose performance by moving the battery to the back because of weight.

My question is, do you think I would lose that much performance? And if I do move the trolling motor to the back of the boat, what guage wire do you suggest I use to run to the front to connect to the Minn Kota trolling motor?

Thanx
Kraig

How large a motor are you running and is it only 1 battery?

I have a 60hp evinrude with 1 cranking battery for it and then the trolling motor battery. That would put 2 batteries in the back

I run a 96′ Dominator with a console. I normally carry (3) batteries. Two in the back (cranking, auxilary) and then one up front for my trolling motor. I have never had a problem performance, however, I would rather have battery power for my equipment then make an additional Mile per hour on top end. In the long run you are only talking about an additional 50-75 lbs max. I personally don’t think it can make that much of a difference. you gain more weight by filling up the livewell then with a battery. Good luck with it. Please post how you like you on board charger and the brand of it as I am looking into getting one myself and would like a little feedback on how it operates. I would read through the MinKota book on the wire size, or just match what is being run from the motor now. Just remember that the further you run the wires, the more voltage drop you will get and the less run time you will have. That was the main reason for keeping my battery in front. Good Luck

I would just keep the batteries were they are and get some onboard chargers extentions. You can get them at Gander Mountain and they are around 15 dollars, you will need only one.

Ron

I purchased a ProMariner from Cabelas. I thought about just getting the onboard charger extentsions, but was trying to free up the storage compartment in the front of the boat. Thanx for the info so far. If I move the battery to the back, I was thinking of using 8 or 10 gauge wiring.

You may be alright with 8 guage, but I would recommend going with 6 guage. Also make sure you put a fuse or breaker as close to the battery as possible on the positive post. You can buy a 40 amp circuit breaker at either your marine dealer or fleat farm that comes with a metal strap to bolt directly to your battery.

If you have a Fleet Farm near you, I beleive they carry trolling motor wire kits in 6 guage 20 ft long. Also, I used to have my battery in front, but it seemed that they would not last very long. I beleive that a lot of bouncing and jolts from traveling over rough water shorten the life. (just a theory).

if you do have the battery up front, consider a spiral cell or a gell cell battery….they take abuse much better than the old lead plates, otherwise, a cheap and easy way to run wire is to go to your nearest hardware store, and get welding cable and some solder on ends. You can get ends that’ll fit right over your deep cycle stud, and then all you need is to run a bolt through the other end where your trolling motor connection is. The reason I say welding cable is the bigger the cable, the less resistance you’ll have, and you won’t have any heat issues.

You know the situation better than I, but if I was you, I would keeep the battery for trolling up front. The reason the dealer said you’d have performance issues is because of weight distribution. You’ll be more likely to have problems with porpoising with the battery in the back.