Two Questions 1 Topic (Batteries & Board Racks)

[Praesto 25]

Hi All-

I am having a late start to the season this year, been on the boat only three times so far :(. Anyways my batteries are bad and I was looking for some recommendations on top notch batteries.

Separately, are there any third party companies that make board racks for the 2007 Centurion Cyclone C4? I have the pro-flight tower.

I tried monster tower and their board racks can't hold any weight and still stay up, I feel like they are purely for cosmetics. I even tried purchasing a kit of the adapters, added in rubber for grip, and tried everything else. Looking for something functional.

Thanks for any and all help! I am trying to pick up the batteries in the next couple days since I was stranded by dead battery last trip out

Edited June 26, 2017 by Praesto

[lake dweller 9]

On the batteries the vmax are a very good marine battery they also come with a hefty price tag

[bcollins 18]

There are tons of aftermarket racks, really all you need to do is match up the tubing size and you're good to go. I really don't have any suggestions since I bought mine so long ago but find ones you like and I can all but guarantee they'll have the clamp size you need. My only warning is make sure if you purchase ones that can rotate out that you actually have room for them to rotate. My bimini gets in the way, figured that out a bit to late.

Batteries I have no idea. I just buy the interstate batteries from costco. They seem to work well enough and costco is pretty great about returns, etc if necessary. I also keep mine on a trickle charger whenever it's not in use so that's helped....a lot.

 

[Praesto 25]

Do you have some recommended websites, looks like my tubing is 1 and 7/8 inch (which sounds wrong but I can't cut it in half to measure it lol)

I have been using Walmart batteries but they die each year and it's a bit agitating. The family has agreed to purchase the batteries for me so I was hoping I could get something decent.

[Praesto 25]

1 hour ago, lake dweller said:

On the batteries the vmax are a very good marine battery they also come with a hefty price tag

Do you use these batteries? Which one do you get/recommend? I would have to get two batteries no matter what I get.

[Praesto 25]

Sorry for triple post but the no edit is real. 

Do most people attach their board racks right above a cross bar to help stability? I used to put my monster racks in the center of a horizontal bar which caused them to keep falling down. If I placed on the vertical bar above the horizontal bar that could not happen..

[bcollins 18]

Sounds like you're in the same situation I was in the past. If you're leaving your batteries sitting in the boat all hooked up without a trickle charger you're asking for trouble. Likely something is slowly draining them and you're also not putting any charge to them for a long time. Get a trickle charger and I bet it solves your issues with the new batteries. Its worth the cheap investment.

For racks...1 7/8 sounds about right. I have the pro flight swoop tower.

http://www.krypt-towers.com/tower-racks/

A lot of people don't like this guy, ken, but his stuff is cheap and decent enough quality. Lots to choose from.

http://www.onlyinboards.com/AccessoryShop/Products/Racks.aspx

Guy that owns onlyinboards was always a good guy from what I remember and he has lots to choose from.

https://greatlakesskipper.com/

Great lakes skipper seems to have a lot of OEM parts for boats including some Centurion racks with the logos...not cheap

Literally put in wakeboard tower racks in your browser and you'll find lots of options. I'm sure some other guys on here have more experience with ones they really like. Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RhuntIII 555]

Whatever batteries you decide to purchase I would look into an onboard battery maintainer/exerciser to keep those high end batteries tip top. I prefer the interstate brand. 

[CO Surfer 289]

8 hours ago, Praesto said:

Do you have some recommended websites, looks like my tubing is 1 and 7/8 inch (which sounds wrong but I can't cut it in half to measure it lol)

I have been using Walmart batteries but they die each year and it's a bit agitating. The family has agreed to purchase the batteries for me so I was hoping I could get something decent.

If you want to confirm the diameter of your tubing, take a piece of string and wrap it around the tube.  Mark the string where it meets.  Take it off and lay it out on a desk.  Measure it in a straight line.  Divide by 3.14 and that will be the diameter.

[Praesto 25]

1 hour ago, RhuntIII said:

Whatever batteries you decide to purchase I would look into an onboard battery maintainer/exerciser to keep those high end batteries tip top. I prefer the interstate brand. 

Do you mean something like an onboard battery charger/trickle charger? Also you prefer interstate marine batteries something similar to this?

 

3 minutes ago, CO Surfer said:

If you want to confirm the diameter of your tubing, take a piece of string and wrap it around the tube.  Mark the string where it meets.  Take it off and lay it out on a desk.  Measure it in a straight line.  Divide by 3.14 and that will be the diameter.

Very nifty trick, thanks for this!!

[RhuntIII 555]

From what I have been told by interstate what makes a marine battery a marine battery is the threaded terminals. As far as the maintainers you can start here...

https://www.minnkotamotors.com/Battery-Chargers/On-Board-Chargers/Product-Family/Shop-All/

The minnkota is what I installed on there old Avy and I was very pleased, trickle charges will not bring up a deep cycle battery when ran down. The maintainer/exerciser will do just that to your batteries.

http://www.powermaniausa.com/product.html

Is what was installed on the 2014 233 I just purchased. 

[Troy 234]

Here is my battery maintainer that I installed. Working good so far and reasonably priced. 

 

[Praesto 25]

Does that hook to the alternator? I would like to get one but most likely won't be able to install it myself.

[RhuntIII 555]

Maintainers/exercisers hook directly to the battery and recommended that the battery switch be turned off when charging. 

 

[Praesto 25]

I purchased a starter battery at 1050 MCA, as well as a dual purpose starter/trolling battery and a maintainer. The maintainer I purchased is the ProMariner ProSport 12.

 

My battery compartment is carpeted and this says to not install over carpet, do you all have a recommended installation? I was thinking of cutting two strips of 1/2inch wood to screw it into. This would allow air to flow behind the unit, is this a decent idea? 

Edit: It states to not place it above the batteries is that really a problem?

Thanks!

Edited July 3, 2017 by Praesto

[chenige 84]

Buy a battery box at Walmart. $10. 

[chenige 84]

[Praesto 25]

Are you recommending to put the maintainer in a battery box? That seems a little odd a short it would be deep inside. The batteries already have boxes. I was thinking of either removing all the carpet or installing something like painted pvc and attaching everything to that. 

[chenige 84]

Thought you were talking about the battery. 

[Troy 234]

My maintainer is mounted above my house battery? You can see the top of the battery box in the photo. I installed a piece of wood, painted it black and screwed the maintainer to it. It has been working great!