batteries

[paul]

Hi I have taken my 2860 with twin 4.3 mercruisers out a couple of times.

As a precaution I replaced the batteries with the same as fitted 1000cca and whilst she always starts there seems little reserve for running the fridge & baitwell etc.

I run her on one of the batteries and reserve one to start her but is the battery that was fitted the correct one or have I been fooled by the previous owner? they were 2009 supplied according to the stickers on them and I change mine at two years old normally.

Very pleased with the boat and very happy at the performance which was questioned on the hull truth and worried me a bit
37knts top speed with one person and full fuel tanks on flat water near slack tide.She is not bottom painted which helps of course!

she cruises at 24knts at 3000rpm and the fuel consumption compares well against my Striper with a single 250hp Suzuki four cycle bearing in mind she's nearly double the weight :up:

Thanks Paul

[Mackey]

Generally a good marine battery will last 5 years if cared for (ie; not left in a partial discharged state). A 1000 CCA battery is about the best you are going to get in a group 24 or 27 battery. The heavier the battery, the longer the service life. So you should be good for several years. Batteries is one area you do not want to cut corners on.

[paulyjsob]

Hi Paul. We have a 2000 2860 and see very similar performance to yours. Those engines are very economical. A 30' boat that gets about 2mpg is fantastic.
Our boat actually has 4 batteries. Strange setup... I would like to rewire this year to a 2 battery for engines and 1 for house setup.

[Judge]

Do not underestimate to draw of the bait well pump without the engines running on those batteries. I also added a new charger that has 3 steps down and tickle charge and that helps as well..

[paul]

Thanks for the help I think it was the bait tank as we were fishing for 5hrs with the pump running non stop
I think I will install another pair as house batteries so we never get caught out
we put a meter on the batteries and they are charging but the charge rate, reading other threads, is not that good even when working correctly I will hook up the shore power charger to keep them charged fully.

Paul