Time for a new battery

[Lori1818]

We have a 1982 O'Day 22 that we are just now finally getting out on the lake with. It was out of the lake from July of last year until May of this year, because of the water levels. During that time we left the battery on board, thinking that since it wasn't hooked up to anything, it would be ok. Boy were we wrong. Today I discovered that the battery is absolutely no good, so I have to get a new one.

I don't know all the terminology for what I am going to ask, so forgive my made up terms. The battery just sits down in the starboard hold, it doesn't have any kind of bracket or brace, and there is no fancy wiring harness for it, just a single red wire and a single black wire. The guy we bought the boat from told us to just unhook it whenever we weren't using it, and we wouldn't use much power, but of course now we know that without some way of recharging, it is just going to sit there and die. Basically my question is this: how difficult will it be to put on one of those small solar chargers, and where would we put it if we did? and how do we hook it to the battery, do we put it on while the wires are connected or not?

Now that we are going to start taking her out regularly, I want to be in compliance with all rules and regulations and have all the lights I am supposed to have.

 

[Joe11688]

It's possible that the battery could have been on it's way out. I take it that your outboard doesn't have a charging unit built into it. I have a 1999 Johnson 8 hp with a charging unit and it pretty much keeps my 100 Amp Hour deep cycle battery up. I don't have a solar charger on my boat, but maybe the solar charger will be the best bet for your situation. What you really need first is a deep cycle battery and a plastic battery box which comes with a strap and hardware to hold it securely in place. Another thing that you should buy is a float mode maintainer type of battery charger for the winter months when the battery is stored in your cellar. These small chargers put out 2 Amps and you just leave it hooked up and it automatically keeps the battery at a certain level of charge, shuts off and turns back on when needed.
These chargers sell for about $20 bucks. If you use your running lights a lot, I'd go for at least a 100 Amp Hour deep cycle battery. I don't use mine as much as I used to but I do use my radio occasionally, and I run my electronic autopilot about 98% of the time when I sail. My advice to you is to get the battery and the battery box first, then talk to someone about what size solar charger is needed for your boat. Most of them come self contained with the diodes and are easy to hook up. Good luck.
Joe