Dual Batteries

"On my aq125, it only has a 50

"On my aq125, it only has a 50amp alternator. my question is, will that put out enough power to charge 2 batteries. I want to hook up a trolling motor to the 2nd battery and use it almost strictly as a come home device??maybe some fishing??? But other than that, no draw will ever be on the battery???"

"Just put in a disconnect swit

"Just put in a disconnect switch they work great,just start your engine with one charge it while you find your fishing spot then switch it over to the other battery for the trolling motor."

"J.C.H., I had installed a 35

"J.C.H., I had installed a 35 A for the longest time and never had a problem charging two batteries. It all depends on how long you run your main engine.

Regarding using a motor for trolling and come home device (a kicker), that is an excellent idea. I have installed a 9.9 HP Yamaha high thrust kicker which has a 13 A alternator, which supplies more than enough juice to charge batteries and run electronics at the same time. If I was in your shoes, I would keep both batteries available for either the kicker or the main engine. With a switch selector, you can select one or two for starting, so you can always keep one battery on standby. Then, if you are going to be fishing (trolling) for awhile and one of the batteries is low in charge, it would make sense to charge it with the outboard's alternator while you are fishing.

Whichever system you choose, I believe you should also be able to start your kicker manually if the batteries (or its starter) fail, so you will have at least triple redundancy."

"What ever you do, just realiz

"What ever you do, just realize that an alternator will cut back charge rate much more quickly than your O/B Marine Smart Charger will.
Always use you O/B smart charger to top off batteries when you come back in.

Batteries left in any state of discharge will live a shorter life span!

IOW's, unless you have lots and lots of run time back to the dock, don't rely on your engine alternator to bring a low bank up to full, or even close to, a full charge.

Always try to never discharge them more than 55% or so. Keep the electrolite up to snuff also. distilled water only."

"thanks for the comments guys.

"thanks for the comments guys. i now know what method im going to choose with this situation.I realized this last week when i was way away from my boat launch or even cell phone service. I thought to myself, dang this would be a long paddle with an 18foot boat to get any kind of help or back to shore"