Bought a trolling motor!!!

[TNDiver]

 

Had to negotiate with the wife to get a new trolling motor for our deck boat.  It has the place on the front deck for one and the plug to plug it in.  She is a sucker for a good deal so I found a refurbished MInn Kota Fortrex 80 lb with 52" shaft on sale for under $1,000.  I ended up installing some LVT flooring in 5 rooms of our house and saved us over $5,000 in labor to have someone else do it.  Being handy is a curse, because it gives you extra work, but man does it sure save you money.  So we negotiated that since I did all the work, I get a new trolling motor.

Might have to do more work for a new fish finder

So, here is the question, I haven't installed it yet, any advice before I do?  You know, the words of advice that are not in the instructions 

I already have batteries, but I may need to replace those too.  What are some reasonably priced batteries to replace my older ones when I can no longer trust them?

[Bud Kennedy]

We all have our favorites when it comes to batteries.  If you want an economy battery then the deep cycle batteries from Walmart will get the job done.  The size will be important.  Get the biggest size you can that will still fit into your compartment.  I use Group 29 but would use Group 31s if they would fit.  A trolling motor pulls a lot of current but your batteries should perform for about 8 hours.  Older batteries will drop off and you will find that although your motor runs it just won't have the umph it used to have.  That is a key indicator.   

I have a load tester to check my batteries from time to time to see if they are healthy.  I use this information when to replace my batteries but the key is when they just don't have any staying power after a charge.

[TNDiver]

Well the good thing is there are no compartments, so... but I do need to get some.  They are just sitting under the front seats of the deck boat wedged in a corner.  I will look at 31's.  Thanks

[Donald Garner]

I get my deep cycle marine batteries from WalMart.  I get 29 - 31 series also.  Congrats on the new trolling motor.  I have a  Minn Kota Fortrex 80 lb. on my Stratos and it moves it around with no issues.  You're going to like that trolling motor.

[coldfront]

Well the good thing is there are no compartments, so... but I do need to get some.  They are just sitting under the front seats of the deck boat wedged in a corner.  I will look at 31's.  Thanks

good idea.  pontoons catch a lot of wind.  then, even worse if you have the sunshade up.  bigger, heavier batteries that can last longer sounds like the right kind of idea.