hooah212002

Ahh crap. Didn't think about the charger being bad. Gotta find my multimeter.....

Silly question, but in a 24v system running in series, both batteries should be used/depleted equally, right? If you put it on the charger and one battery is still completely charged after ~8 hours on the water even though the TM stopped working, is it safe to assume something is probably wrong with one of the batteries?

Ah, gotcha. I bought a 2 gauge jumper cable like this to connect the batteries: https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/g--549-deka-battery-to-battery-cable.html. I looked, but did not see one that had a fuse.

I know one goes on the positive TM cable, but where would the 2nd fuse go?

It would certainly be a downer but we've been fishing for a while without a working TM so we're used to it. That said, it definitely shot up on my list of priorities. Getting out last weekend and having a reliable TM really changed how we fished and was really awesome. I did find myself getting greedy and pining for a fancy model with spotlock. A cable drive TM is a pain in the whozawhatzit when you don't have the foot pedal secured lol. Without spending a ton of money, what is a better way to keep an eye on deep cycle battery health? Ideally, I'd like to have an onboard battery monitoring system with a phone app and the whole 9, but they seem to be rather pricey. Bear in mind that my dad already has plans on buying a brand new boat so this one is going to turn into a project boat in the next year or two so we really don't want to put a ton of money into it that doesn't equate to redoing the interior or things that can be reused (seats, TM/fishfinder, etc).

That's what I was afraid of. I'm going to check it today to see if by some sort of miracle it is actually charging/charged because I really don't want to have to buy another battery before we can take it out again. Danke.

we recently upgraded our TM to a 24v system (65lb Minn Kota Maxxum). We did not buy 2 new batteries because the old one still worked, but I don't know how old it is. We took it out for the first time yesterday and it never lost power even though we used it to do a controlled downstream troll with the boat pointing upriver but traveling downriver slower than the current in a pretty fast river which required it to be at nearly full power to keep us steady. When we got off the water, I put a multimeter on both batteries and the old one read something like 6.5v while the new one was still at 12.4. Both were fully charged at equal levels before we left. I've never measured that battery in years past so I have no idea if this always happened to it. I assume this means that the older batter is shot and should be replace, right?

Not recently. I just moved back last July but I typically only go where my boat can go and until this past weekend, we didn't have a reliable trolling motor for lakes with size requirements or electric only.

I realize this post is a couple weeks old, but I picked up a Hook2 5 Tripleshot late last year and while i know extremely little about how to even use the thing, I like it. I bought this model specifically because it was the cheapest way to get SI and DI. Once I hit the lotto or finally get my long awaited raise, I will move the 5" to the bow and get at least a 9" for the console because even though I have decent eyes (no glasses...yet), I have to get super close to the screen to see anything. Long time no see, Joe. My dad and I picked up a boat a few years ago so I owe you a trip.

Wow man. That sounds dreadful.

I imagine the thinking is that those laws only apply when your vessel is under power by your big engine and not while fishing.

What about rock?

Same in WI. I'm not sure it's a state by state law, though, is it? That one seems to be pretty universal just like lights.

How do you know/how can you tell what prop rotation direction a boat is set up for?

Good point. It's at my dad's house right now so I'll get some later today. Thanks.

Another "i just got my first boat and am generally clueless" question. the boat in question is an '87 Tracker Tournament V17 with a '92 Mercury 75HP. Generally speaking, I have to fight against the boat to drive it straight, be it on plane or just cruising along. I have tried adjusting the engine trim and it helps some, but it still seems to pull one way or another and I'd not every be able to take my hands off the wheel for even a second. The prop spins counter clockwise and the trim tab is turned as far left as it will go. I am just curious if this is a normal condition or indicative of a larger problem with the boat. Thanks!

Where can you get it at that price?

Dang brother, you have my sympathy. Glad you guys are both ok because just like my experience, that was close to being REALLY bad. An auto on switch for my bilge pump is on my short list of things to buy.

I'm considering doing that as well. Or putting my boat keys on a carabiner with my plug. Or a yellow sign on my console that says "did you put the plug in, moron?"

.........and the second worst outcome happened: it took on more water than it could handle and became submerged just over halfway. Got the boat out yesterday morning and the launch we dropped in at did not have a dock. Being only our 3rd time out, we didn't realize the trouble that would wind up causing. Anyways, I get in and try getting the engine started but it didn't want to turn over. I get out for some reason or another, then when I get back in, I see that there is water coming up from the floor on the captains chair. I tell my dad and he says ""OH **** ****, I FORGOT THE DRAIN PLUG!". I open the bilge and sure enough, it's full. I flip on the bilge pump, but it's listing to the side the pump empties so that is useless. i then reach down to try and find the plug but nope, I can't. My dad then gets in and finds it and plugs it. Then some other chain of events happen that all kinda blended together and are kinda fuzzy, but they resulted in the motor eventually starting and me trying to go in reverse because I could not go forward which was the final straw: my dad looked at me and said "that's it, it's under water, go go go!". I gun it to try and cut it left and maybe get it on plane or something, anything but all I do is drive it up on the concrete walkway. That actually saved our butts by bringing it far enough out of the water to formulate a salvage attempt. Luckily, some amazing guys were there and they helped us maneuver the boat back to the ramp, then slowly and methodically pulled it back on the trailer via the winch and our anchor rope. How that winch didn't snap is beyond me. Once we got it out of the water and drained, the only obvious damage was the trim motor randomly getting stuck in the up position, trimming the engine up. I narrowed this down to being the switch by the transom and was able to take it apart and clean it which seemed to have fixed the issue. We took the cowl off the engine, checked the spark plugs and blew most everything out with an air compressor until it was good and dry. Took the batteries out and did the same. After a couple hours of making sure stuff was dry, we reconnected the batteries and tried starting it up but nothing. No power. I then noticed how heavily corroded all the battery connections were so I took a wire brush to all of them, one by one and cleaned them off. Reconnected everything and voila! We have power! Put the key in and it tries to turn over! Holy crap, it's not completely dead. Well, then I fiddle around with some oil injection hoses and as most of them have been, one more breaks apart in my hand (the third one to do so in the ~2 weeks we've had the boat) and I have to swap it out. Once I do so, we are able to actually get the engine running. I am sitting here today still in disbelief because we then took it back out on the water without any issues. nope, I don't have pics. But looking back, I kinda wish I took some to put on my wall of shame, possibly even on my console next to the steering wheel so i NEVER forget again.

So I've noticed. That's why i think I may actually look at getting a second battery and new charger first. However, i do think that i also need to replace the two I currently have as they seem to be a tad long in the tooth as well.

I didn't intend that response to be so snarky or rude but reading it a couple days later, i see that it was uncalled for. I appreciate all the replies I've gotten thus far, I just didn't think my particular boat was crucial to finding out how to shop for a TM (aside from the obvious length and mount type). I've updated this OP with my boat type. Thanks for all the help thus far and apologies if I've come across as an ungrateful ass.

Please (re)read my post. I am not looking for suggestions on what trolling motor to get. I am looking for tips on what i need to look for when buying a used trolling motor. I really tried to make my OP as clear as possible to avoid responses like yours. If you look at my post count, you'll see that I've been here before.....

I just bought my first boat, an '87 bass tracker tournament v17 and it came with a bow mount TM with foot control but it's a quite old Minn Kota Powerdrive V1 and the foot pedal does not want to turn the TM (powers on and will go straight) and all my google searches have pointed to fixes that are outdated, so since I can't replace the circuit board or pedal, I want to buy a new-to-me one. I would like a bow mount with foot control (at least, but boy would a remote be awesome too!), but I am unsure what all parts I should ensure are included when shopping on the used stuff marketplaces. I am 99% certain I am currently running 12V because I only have 1 large cranking battery and 1 small accessory battery (haven't traced wires and don't recall what the seller said re: power distribution), so that narrows down the "what power TM do I need" question. I just don't know what wires, cables, adapters etc i need to look for, so I ask you guys. Thanks!

Dang, y'all spent more time whingin on about what post where and Gene was the only one that bothered to actually help (not surprising). You all wasted more board space complaining about a post than OP actually posting here. That's a nice "how'd'ya do and welcome aboard" if I've ever seen one. To OP: I fish a pond like the one you mention and you have to find ANYTHING that creates ANY kind of break in the bottom or the surface. Look for any bottom contour changes (drop offs, points, ledges), any weed beds or weed edges or ANY shoreline outcroppings. if you are confident there are fish there, they will be on anything "out of the ordinary" and not just swimming in the middle. Take a bottom contact bait (texas rig, jig, Carolina rig) and fan cast wherever you can. Make a note of what you feel and what the area was like when you get bit. This, of course, is if you cannot obtain a topo map and since you say it's a pond, chances are slim that one exists. If you can walk the perimeter unabated, do that. Cast every which way possible: straight out from shore, parallel to shore and at an angle. get some polarized sunglasses and keep an eye on what the surface of the water is doing because that will give you an idea of what is going on down below. Look to see where fish are jumping or where other predators are (cranes or other birds picking off baitfish).