Batteries are not exactly to maneuver in and out of a cruising boat. They rarely have anything easy to grab and hold onto – plus old batteries may have battery acid outside … don’t want to hang onto that! Luckily our Trojan T105 6V batteries “only” weigh 62 pounds each. Still that’s quite a chore to lift them out from under the cockpit – out a lazarette, into the cockpit and ultimately over to the dock. But it’s much easier than when we had the 8D gel cells and had remove all our canvas so we could jerry-rig a hoist on the end of the boom to get them out.
When David lugged our six Trojan T105 batteries out of the boat, he tied a piece of line around each end to create a quasi “handle” — of course the line almost cut his hands to shreds, but he got the batteries out of the boat.
At the golf cart place, the guy taking the old batteries out of our truck and putting the new batteries in, had a cool little rubber handle that fit the Trojan T105s perfectly. We asked and sure enough, they sold the handle. So we bought one and getting the new batteries back onto the boat was much easier on David’s hands … if not on his back.
If you have Trojan T105 batteries, you may want to get a handle too before you need to remove them from the boat. The handles are available at most golf cart shops, anywhere that is a Trojan battery dealer, or on Amazon here:
EZ GO Trojan T105 Battery Handle
If your batteries aren’t Trojans, Amazon also has a selection of more generic battery lifting straps that you may want to check out and save your hands. Amazon Battery Lifting Straps
Anyone with other tips to help get batteries in or out of a boat, please leave a comment and share. Cheers! Jan
I was probably 7 when my dad asked for one of those handles for his Father’s Day gift for our speedboat batteries. Years later, he’d still talk about it being one of his favorite gifts ever!
Hi. Last summer, we needed to replace the 140amp batteries in our Lagoon. After trying the weight and considering the implications of a back injury, getting the local marine engineering shop in Greece to do the job cost around $40 more than the batteries themselves. Best value ever. Maybe sometimes some boat jobs might have a vastly higher price than saving a few dollars.
Andy — that is SO SO true! We’ve made the same choice on many different projects over the years. But David felt this one wasn’t that big of a deal, plus the local golf cart shop didn’t offer to install them – in fact, they wouldn’t even deliver them! Cheers! Jan
Hey Jan, a technical question. How did you make the decision for 6 volt batteries, rather than 12volt? I assume they are hooked up to make 12v anyway, that being a boat standard, so how did you make that choice?
Keith – the decision was almost made for us in LaCeiba, Honduras after our 8D gel cells died. The boat yard said that was what they could get & they were very familiar with helping us redo the wiring. Yes, they’re set up to make 12v. We’ve replaced them now three times – originally in Honduras, then several years later in Panama and now back in SW FL. They don’t last as long as we’d like, but I think that’s true of any battery when you’re leaving the boat for six months at a time — caretakers just aren’t as careful at making sure the water levels are absolutely right. Plus the price – for $589, we got 6 batteries. They were more than that in Honduras, but they were available, that being the critical issue. Cheers! Jan
Jan &Dave
Great idea. My small rubber straps on these humongous 31s I’ve installed are flimsy and frightening. I’ll look for a replacement. Thanks!
B
Such an easy invention but very helpful! Batteries are heavy and hard to grap. These handles are a great outcome!