Boating

The Boat Doctor

PHOTO: COURTESY HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS

out, you’ll more than likely make the
distortion worse. She offered her email
address (gmaye@taylormadesystems
.com), so if you’d like to send her
photos of your windshield, she will go
over options with you.

Real Readings
[ Q ] In the fall, I take the batteries
out of my boat and store them in the
basement of my home (not on the
f loor). About once a month, I put the
trickle charger on them to make sure

they maintain a charge.

The house battery is a Group 29.

It tests usually 12.5 to 13 volts. When

I hook up the charger, it runs a test

and settles on a 1.8- to 2-amp-charge

rate. After a couple of hours, it shuts

off, indicating “full,” and I move to

the starting battery, a Group 27. The

charger doesn’t recognize the battery

and won’t charge it. When I do a

multimeter check, the voltage numbers

go crazy. The battery worked fine all

season and always charged properly

when shore power was hooked up. I

can’t figure this one out.

GERRY PELCHAT

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[ A ] Your multimeter and charger are

telling you there’s a problem with the

battery. Take it to an auto-parts store.

Have a service person at the store put a

load test on the battery to get a better

idea of its overall health.

Battery Issue

[ Q ] I have a 1995 Scarab Thunder with

twin 502s. When I start one engine, the

starter hesitates until I use the parallel

switch, then they start up. Is this normal

to have to use both batteries? Also,

what would be a good battery to use for

starting and enjoying some music?

BRUCE BRUGIONI

Lake Bluff, Illinois

[ A ] You shouldn’t need to use the

parallel switch. Either your start

battery for that engine is no good or

the cables are bad or the connections

aren’t tight. Check the ground as well.

Make sure your batteries have the

required cold-cranking power for a

502-cid V-8, which is a minimum of

550 to 600 cold-cranking amps. For

the stereo, I’d add a third battery and

an isolator.

ASK THE DOCTOR

Send questions with your name and address

to: [email protected] or The Boat

Doctor, Boating, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite

200, Winter Park, FL 32789.