I went to do a pre-cruise inspection some time back for our weekend getaway. Generator started right away, port engine purred like a kitten, the starboard...uh oh, dead battery. I knew it was time, its been longer than I care to mention but I like to milk all the good from everything so I could not complain. It was time for new batteries.
Now the Patricia Ann has two 8-D staring batteries delivering over 1300 cold cranking amps, one new battery for each engine. She also has two 8-Ds for house batteries delivering some 55 hours of power consuming 8 amps/hr. Of course, NEVER bring your stored charge below 50% or you will damage your battery. That gives us about 22 hours of power while on the hook before charging. You'll need to do a power evaluation to get whats right for your boat.
Anyway, I did some research to see what type replacement I wanted. Here's what I found.
The most common kind of battery in marine use today is the standard wet-cell lead acid battery. Using an electrolyte consisting of sulfuric acid, these cells can store large amounts of electrical energy in a relatively small space. This energy is stored within lead grids mounted inside the battery. The lead explains the great weight of lead-acid batteries.
The battery selection is further divided along the lines of battery construction. Currently, there are three common battery technologies: Wet-cell, Gel, and AGM.
We went with the AGM batteries for a number of reasons; read here for further details of the selection process for batteries for your trawler, motor yacht or cruiser.
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