Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Boat Accessories?

Just about every boat maker's website offers a "build your own" feature. You can choose from power, to type of flooring/decking, power trim options, lockable storage...

Trolling motors are likely among the most useful options. They used to run $40 at the S&D discount. Came with battery clips to hook up to the 12 volt. I hear they've come a long ways...
Can a trolling motor bring me home if something happens to my primary motor?

And battery chargers. What do they mean by 2 bank or 3 bank? Edit; Do my accessory batteries need to be charged at home or will they charge from the boat electrical system? My own ignorance abounds...

Cup and electronic device holders. What are the best electronics for a small fishing/hunting boat?

Bimini tops, and travel covers. Love the idea of the bimini top. Can it be used at travel speed in the boat?

I can go 50 with Bimini top up.

I'm assuming you are talking about a freshwater boat, for lakes and streams? I suppose the answer to your electric trolling motor question depends about how far away "home" is, and what the weather is like, when the primary motor conks out. A trolling motor will not build much speed, so your trip had better be short, or you will run out of battery before you make back to the launch.

If you're concerned about having back-up propulsion, a small, gas-powered kicker motor (6-15hp, depending on the size of your boat) is a better solution than an electric trolling motor.


To keep it simple, think of a 2-bank battery charger as one that will charge two separate batteries, and keep both charging circuits isolated from one another. If one battery finishes charging before the other one, the charger stops charging that one, but keeps charging the other battery. A 3-bank, charges 3 separate batteries.

There are several ways to wire your batteries, so that the outboard charges all of your batteries, when it's running. I really dislike 1-2-Both battery switches. People typically leave them in the "both" setting and wind up with two dead batteries.

I like to have a dedicated starting battery for the outboard, and then a separate house battery for everything else (if you have an electric trolling motor, it will have it's own battery or batteries, as well). An automatic charging relay makes sure both batteries charge, when the outboard is running, but keeps them both isolated when the engine is off. Even if the house battery gets worn down, the starter battery stays fresh to get the motor running and get you home.


Electronics are very subjective, and people have their preferences. I run mostly Garmin, because they are easy to use and they seem to last forever. I avoid Lowrance, because I can't stand their customer service, or rather their lack of customer service. Others will certainly have different opinions on the matter, and it's nice to have choices.

Be sure to get a model that is specifically suited to your intended application...shallow water, deep water, GPS, navigation charts and underwater contours. Most river folks (around here, anyway) don't bother with a chartplotter, but if you're fishing lakes and costal areas, having a GPS/Chartplotter is vital.

Outfitted my 16' Lund Fury tiller with a 55lb Minn Kota Terrova as I only wanted one extra battery in the boat. It could get me back to the dock from most lakes I fish. Love all the extra features - has spot lock so I don't use an anchor. Will follow a depth contour (paired with Humminbird fish finder). Can also run it from my phone or remote - haven't used the foot pedal. Hold onto your hat when you price them...

"Banks" refer to how many batteries you're charging - so a two bank is charging a 24VDC system with two batteries, three bank is three batteries 36VDC system. These are your accessory batteries for running fish finders, trolling motor, etc. that are separate from your starting battery. The engine will usually charge it - but it is separate from your accessory system; so you will need to charge them at home. Bought a Minn Kota battery recharger; helps keep from overcharging the battery or getting it too hot.

Fish finders are a matter of personal preference. Two biggest names are Lowrance and Humminbird - lots of other brands as well. Find someone who can show you how to use it and buy that brand. You can spend as much as you want on fish finders; depending on screen size, GPS, image clarity, ethernet capabilities, etc. These range from a few hundred to a few thousand. Buy what makes you comfortable on how you will use it.

Guest onboard chargers.

My electric trolling motor is 24v so takes to 12v's and I run 3 batteries: standard cranking battery and 2 deep cycles. My on-board charger is a 2 bank charger that has harnesses connected to all 3 batteries. When running the main motor, the main motor's charging system charges the deep cycles through the cranking battery. I do charge the deep cycles before heading out and assume running the main motor keeps them topped off. I have used the electric motor to get back to the dock if not too far out, but have also ran out of juice when having to go more than a few miles.

For those who run a chart plotter/fish finder, what size screen do you have?

Actually doubt that I'd use the chart plotter very often, but I have been turned around on big lakes before

Anyone just use their phone to navigate?

Having done this a couple years ago..

Importance wise

1) On board battery charger is. #1 - some of the electronics don’t shut off with a key, kill one battery twice and it probably won’t take a charge again.
Add battery shut off switches if the boat doesn’t come rigged with them to be really set.

2). A good console fish finder (must has a transducer for depth), that has mapping on it with depth / lake contours.
Get run up on a sandbar once and or tear up the lower unit once... and it paid for itself.
IF you get a higher end one (recommended) things to look for
- Engine linking for RPM/ oil pressure / ... guages. This is done via NEMA interfaces
- Advanced Tranducer support (Garmin live scope, Humminbird 360)
- Ethernet to link units (i have one at the bow, and one at the console)

3). Trolling motor if you fish, or want to be on a lake where you can’t use the gas engine (city lakes / small lakes) then you MUST have one.

3. considerations
A). Virtual Anchor - Minkota I-Pilot on top of what ever trolling motor you get provides GPS locked anchoring by the trolling motor ... it works great, the boat floats around a bit but if you are
casting vs. sinker fishing it’s perfect.
B). Power level (12 v, 24v, 36v )... running a trolling motor a lot means get the bigger one you have the batteries to support. If your boat is 17ft or bigger go 36 volt.
C). Linking it to the fish finder (they can control the trolling motor if they are the same maker)

4). Bimini - if you want to use the boat in the peak of summer... not a question.
You can get one after maket ALOT cheaper than from the boat maker... ~250 bucks so don’t sweat it

5). Other Great stuff -

Pole Anchor - Humminbird Talon, .... IF you fish with sinkers, your fish count will go up if you anchor, people are lazy and try to do GPS trolling motor anchors , but this fixes that problem

Kicker Motor - If you troll for Walleye or Crappie —- you can pull a worm harness with your trolling motor, but lead core typically requires a kicker to keep the boat moving at the 2.3 -2.6 mph.
Adding a 15hp kicker is the way to go (15 hp are EFI that are problem free unlike carb models).

Jack plate - If you run rivers where you have to go slow and trim up the motor which just pushes the back end down into the bottom... a hydrolic / elec jack plate lets you life the motor up so you can push the boat forward in really shallow water. If you are in that situation a lot, it’s just a much easier thing to deal with.

Spot