Charging the battery?

Dear All,

This might be a stupid question but here goes. I have a 60hp yamaha outboard on the back of my boat. When the engine is running, is it charging the battery or do I need to charge the battery seperately? I have a solar panel charger to back it up but I'm not sure if thats enough. I ran the boat for the whole of last season with no problems starting the engine and running my fish finder, although the engine was not power tilt and trim, this years one is and I am going to add a GPS unit to the boat and possibly a console VHF radio.

Any help or ideas?

Jason.

Usually there is an alternator as part of the engine which re-charges the battery while the engine is running. You might need to charge the battery if the engine has been unused for a while.

Why don't you look in the Engine manual or check this out on the net?

Do you know how old you Yam is?

If you ran your boat for the whole of last year without removing the battery for a charge, then the chances are that the Battery is getting charged from the engine while it is running. Most people go for the VHF, GPS and Finder on a Single Battery. If you are doing a bit of night fishing and using a deck light or running everything for a long time at anchor, then, it might be worth moving to a two battery setup. Or just keep a jump kit on board, just in case.

Kev

I think that if your battery lasted all season then the engine has an alternator.

If your boat is on a mooring with an automatic bilge pump then after lots of rain over a period of weeks the battery might run flat.

I run the bilge pump off a second ( spare) battery which I bring home and charge overnight about once a month.

You should either have a spare battery on board or know how to start it with a chord.