Just ordered a 36v MK Terrova today for mine with 36v lithium battery. The Terrova now comes in 24/36V brushless version called Quest. Had a lot of good features, but it weighs about 40 to 50 lbs more than the conventional, which was not ideal for my boat.

So, got a lot of good info so far here’s my main concern everyone is recommending lithium batteries, aren’t these the same batteries that are burning up EV’s all over the world and we putting them in a boat that has 215 gal of gas.

I get it they are expensive and have extremely good performance but.

I have a 21' Robalo and I am running a Minn Kota Terrova 72" 36v and love it. Spot lock is definitely a game changer . I am running it with a single 36V battery by Amped Outdoors. It's only 60ah and I have yet to run it below 80% on a single day fishing reefs. It also has Bluetooth so I can read all vital battery statistics on my phone via the app.

Never heard of one of these batteries catching fire in a boat. Hopefully mine won’t be the first.

I haven’t heard of one burning up either, just got to thinking is it related to the size/charging aspect of the batteries, I guess folk’s been running lithium’s in boats, golf carts etc. for a while.

Not exactly the same of course, but between spotlock and power poles, I have not put my anchor in the water in a few years. I’m on a 23’ cat fishing mostly skinny water and occasionally near shore reefs or rigs. 36v with 3 dedicated batteries. Usually charge them the night before I go out.

I think that the LifePO4 batteries that most are using now have a different chemistry than the ones that caused fires, but I made an F in a college chemistry class so it might be wise to ignore me.

I have a Livescope battery from this company and it couldn't work any better. I am planning to buy a cart battery from them soon. They get good marks for customer service and I think they are as good as you could hope for a Chinese company to be. And buying from Amazon gives you a little more protection if there is a problem. I'm not recommending this, but they are now about as cheap as FLA batteries.


Litime 36V 55Ah TM LiFePO4 Battery, Low Temp Protection Deep Cycle Rechargeable Solar Battery, Built-in 55A BMS, 4000+Cycles, Ideal for Trolling Motors, Marine, RV, Solar, Off-Grid Applications, etc. https://a.co/d/7D1bZ6N

PCP, was doing some research on batteries and stumbled on those lifepo4 batteries, if I understand they don’t have cobalt thus they don’t get as hot and looking found a set of 3 for under $700, really got me thinking, seem like a good option
They were 100amp/hour

I think these will be the batteries of the future, and they are one of the few things actually coming down in price. The biggest disadvantage I see is that nearly all of them are made in China. Many of them are also not great as starting batteries; you can get some but they are really expensive.

Everything I've read says it's better to buy a single battery at the rated voltage instead of using 2 or 3 in series. That gives you just one BMS and less chance of a problem. The lead acid batteries are more forgiving; if a cell goes bad in a 36 volt string you can still fish. If a BMS dies, your TM is dead.

I have an Epoch 36V LiFePO4 100 amp hour battery and I've never been more happy with it as a trolling motor battery. I freed up approximately 50lbs on the transom, gained thrust on my TM (Garmin), and simplified my setup with a single 36V battery. Only downside is I can't use a single TM battery to start my engine if I run the starting battery down.

I use my boat for fishing and hunting and have put probably 15 hours on my trolling motor and I think I'm only down to 65% on the charge. Also, I really like the Epoch app on my phone so I can see exactly where the charge is at, time remaining, individual cell charges, etc.

Like PCP said, disadvantage is they are made overseas, not really suited as a starting battery, etc. They're also sensitive to cold weather, but the Epoch battery I have has a warming feature, but obviously that will drain the battery (not an issue for me as my boat is garaged).

Edit: My boat is a SeaArk 1860 CC VPLD. So obviously not as heavy as a 24' Cape