Boat Batteries: When to Recharge & Replace

Boating is fun, and when it’s summertime, you need some time in the ocean. The best part of sailing is the detachment from your busy work life, and the good part is, spending some time with your friends and family members. You need to ensure the performance of the battery and its capacity. If you plan to stay in the waters, you need a good battery backup not just to sail but to use the devices/equipment and appliances inside. You can get boat batteries in Henderson, NV, for affordable prices.

Henderson County (city) is a tourist hot spot, and even domestic visitors are seen in summer for a weekend sail. Before the pandemic, the domestic visitors in the County spent around $324.77 million (2019) on sailing and related activities. The County plans to attract more international tourists in the coming years, and no wonder the travel and tourism industry now employs around 2,500 people.

Now, back to the battery part. There are three types of boat batteries, and you must choose one per your requirement.

• Cranking battery
• Deep cycle battery
• Dual-purpose battery

These batteries have special qualities, and you can choose one that suits your preference.

There are some other basic considerations before buying a new battery. You must check the following things about the battery:

• Weight (get the one with average weight, so your boat doesn’t have to carry more weight)
• Battery group, that is, physical size (should fit in the battery box)
• Battery capacity (Ah rating)
• Output (cold cranking amp rating, reserve capacity rating, marine cranking amp rating)
• Technology (AGM, lithium-ion; gel and AGM, and maintenance-free sealed batteries)

Since you understood the importance of the batteries in a sailing trip, let’s see how one can say whether a boat battery is in good condition or not.

How to tell whether a battery is in good condition or not?

There are some primary symptoms of damaged or malfunctioning batteries, and if you observe carefully, you can see those symptoms. Those symptoms are:

• Malfunctioning of electronics on the boat
• Starting trouble after long hours of switching off
• Physical loss/damages (bulges. wear and tear, leaking, etc., of the battery)
• Drop-in voltage after a recharge
• Fails in the load test

Now you know how to identify a faulty battery, you can learn how to increase the battery life.

Steps to increase the boat’s battery life:

• Don’t deeply discharge the battery
• Fully charge and disconnect them during a long term storage
• It would help if you didn’t leave a battery on a charger continuously
• Don’t keep a battery in a hot place
• Fully charge a battery as often as possible
• Check electrolyte regularly on flooded batteries

The County is amazing, and you will get boat batteries in Henderson, NV easily. Boating is a favorite recreational activity for domestic and international tourists in Nevada. The lakes where you can do the boating are:

• Lake Mead
• Lake Tahoe
• Marlette Lake
• Lake Mohave
• Lahontan Reservoir

These places are exotic, and people would love to come and order every type of food, making it difficult to choose whether to stay or return. 

Conclusion

The electronics on the boat won’t work, and it won’t even move a bit. Whether the boat sails for a few days will depend on the battery’s life to move forward. If not recharged and taken care of regularly, you may get stuck in the middle of the traffic in the middle of the night.

Now, follow the tips mentioned above and enjoy the boating trip.