Battery recommendations: sailboat

[cjohnson]

This may be a little OT for many of you guys, but here:

I have a 20' sailboat in my fleet that has an electrical system and some instrumentation. The present battery is a sealed gel cell 12 volt maybe about 120 AH (about the size of a car battery) and is 9 years old; ready for replacement. I'm not going to spend a mint of money on it, because a battery isn't really mission-critical on a sailboat (at least this one).

The boat lives in a marina with no shore power. I keep the battery topped up with a 11 watt solar panel. In my typical usage, the battery powers a VHF and sounder/plotter, and sometimes a boom box or some small cabin lighting on gloomy days. I guess I use maybe 20 AH per week average, as I only go sailing once a week or so. The present battery is probably overkill capacity-wise considering average use, but I want to stick with overkill as every now and then I weekend on the boat and can run the battery down pretty far, and the solar panel takes awhile to recharge the depleted battery.

So, given this kind of load and charging situation, what kind of relatively cheap battery would you use? One thing: it must be a sealed battery, since sailboats are known to go sideways sometimes.

I'd prefer something I can pick up at some common retail outlet, like Sears or West Marine, since freight on a battery is pretty steep. I think Sears has some kind of sealed marine battery in its catalog but I've never owned one.

Any advice appreciated. I need to fix this sometime this winter, I guess. Thanks.

[HOTSPOT]

AGM is the only way to go for that application.

[welder]

X2 on the AGM

[rchanner]

What does "OT" stand for?

Oh....and x3 on the AGM

[DJWILLIAMS]

What does "OT" stand for?

Oh....and x3 on the AGM

Off Topic????

[cjohnson]

OT = off topic (I know this isn't a sailing forum).

OK on the AGM; I like those too... but what brand or source of supply? Any really good deals out there?

Thanks

[cjohnson]

Turns out Sears has an AGM for marine use that sells for around $200. Has anybody tried one of these?

Thanks

[Cracker Larry]

If you have an Interstate Battery store near you, they carry the Optima AGM for less than $200. They can also ship one to your door for $198 off the web.

[cjohnson]

Thanks. Interstate sells the Optima series in stores only, according to their website, but there are a few dealers near me. I'll call around.

[Mickey]

Thanks. Interstate sells the Optima series in stores only, according to their website, but there are a few dealers near me. I'll call around.

AGM is more than twice the price of a standard deep discharge battery.

Make sure you need the power - do you discharge your standard battery during normal use?

Otherwise, save your $$$ and buy a standard, good quality deep discharge battery. It will last nearly as long with proper maintenance. Look for them on sale at your local BassPro for $90 or so.

Mickey