# Charging boat batteries dockside



## MAMA'S BUOY (May 18, 2009)

Hey guys,
So I picked up an 88' thompson recently and have it at the marina. Ended up splurging a bit and getting a slip with electricity. My question to you, how do I go about keeping my batteries charged??? By using a charger I plug in? a solar charger??? My dad says I shouldn't even get one and just let the engine charge the batteries when I'm under way, but my argument to him is when I'm hanging out at the dock with the stereo on, or with other various electronics, its going to drain the batteries. Any thoughts??


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## -C-IMP (Apr 25, 2008)

I'm in favor of chargers. The only downside I see is if a battery is dying it might hold a superficial charge and give you a false sense of security. Dual batterys will give you security. If you have dual batterys you would normally have the selector switch set for one battery saving the other as backup. The charger you pick should charge both automatically and shut down when fully charged.


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