www.iFourWinns.com

My 2006 Vista 378 has one battery isolated to the port engine, one to the starboard engine and the remaining two are tied to the ships systems.

I may have to replace them this season and I am wondering if anyone has a recommendation regarding the proper battery group size (27 currently) and CCA/MCA (625 currently I believe) for these batteries? Should all four batteries have the same characteristics or should I look for “deep cycle” for the starting batteries and something else (e.g. dual purpose) for the ships systems batteries? I have ready a lot about the difference between deep cycle and multi-purpose and it seems every author has their own opinion.

I anchor out quite a bit and have three refrigerators running on the ships systems when the generator is not running. Often, after a few hours, the freezer compartment is being to thaw and the refrigerator cycles frequently. Never had any issues with the radio or chartplotter though.

Thanks
(inside of 90 days to lauch)

_________________
Lime Cutter
'06 378 Vista
Lake St Clair, MI
Mac Ray Harbor

My V358 shipped with three Group 27's (plus one for the thruster) which was deemed to be mistake (the trays are for 31's). They were all cranking batteries - also a mistake. FW is replacing them with 31's in the spring - cranking batteries for the engines and thruster and deep cycle for ship's systems (I will be adding a second one). I would think for the 378 you would also want larger batteries than 27's and set up in the configuration I just mentioned and go for the maximum amp hours on the deep cycles.

_________________
Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

As far as I know, batteries are not shipped with the boats. The dealers get "battery certificates" from Four Winns.

For example, I received 3 certificates for 3 Interstate Group 27 Marine XHD batteries. Because my dealer was across the country, he sent me the certificates and I went to a local Interstate dealer and got 3 batteries from them.

Four Winns is pretty particular about which batteries they identify. You should be able to see what batteries were "allocated" with your boat to compare with what you actually received. If they are different - it's a dealer issue - not Four Winns.

I've heard of cases where dealers put in cheaper batteries than what Four Winns provides certificates for... Gives them the chance to bring in those expensive batteries to sell rather than put in boats.

Check your invoice or call FW to see what your boat "should" have on it.

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

In my case, it was not made clear who made the mistake, but the replacements were specified to my dealer from FW and I decided to wait until this coming season to swap em' out and start fresh. And to be clear, you do not want cranking batteries as your house batteries on a cruiser. Deep cycle batteries are designed to withstand the constant drain of your ship's systems and subsequent recharging. I learned that the hard way last season with a cranker house battery that would barely last an hour after a few discharges.

On the same subject, some other scenarios for house battery setups in cruisers have been detailed in the V358 thread for anyone considering adding more juice. I will detail and add pix of my new setup in the spring.

_________________
Previously:
2008 V358/Volvo 5.7 GXi Inboards

I was surprised that Four Winns has my house battery as a normal cranking battery.

I'm in the same boat where I'll how it goes and possibly upgrade to dual deep cycles.

_________________

2008 318 Vista -SOLD, but I am still around!
All Night Long, Seattle WA

Definitely go for 'cranking' grp 27 batteries for the engines and 'deep cycle' grp 27 for ships systems.
I'd steer away from 'dual purpose' styles.
If you use cranking or dual purpose for both applications... they won't last as they can't take the constant deep discharging cycles.

_________________

"ROCKHOUND"
2005 Vista 298
Georgian Bay, Ontario.

When I bought my boat it had the normal start battery for each motor and a single house battery. The start bats were newer Optima Blue Top group 31M's. I replaced the single house bat with dual Optima Blue Top G31M's this fall because I added a 2500 watt inverter to run my ice maker at anchor (no genset). They work great. Just don't leave them in the boat in winter if you are in a cold climate. They (and most gel batteries) are prone to freezing. Found this out the hard way on my daughter's Eclipse (Optima Red Top). But thanks to the outstanding warranty, Autozone gave me a brand new Duralast Gold and 68 bucks for the 2 year old block of ice last week in East Lansing, where it was below zero F for about 5 nights in a row! Needless to say, the boat is in inside heated storage and plugged in!