My cranking battery has died; it was an Interstate 27m-xhd, and it lasted almost 2 years.  I think the many days that I spent in late spring and summer fishing some of the wonderful properties that we get to fish had a lot to do with it.  fishing 12+ hours running 2 lowrance HDS units and the live well on a timer, without ever starting my mercury 115, probably drained it much lower than a battery designed for cranking power would enjoy. 

so, to keep this from happening in the future, i plan to buy a "dual purpose" battery.  These batteries have the cranking amps to get my motor running, but also have the deep cycle characteristics needed to operate electronics for a long period of time.  i am undecided on whether to get a regular battery or an AGM type.  also, there are many options for brands.

i don't have room for a 4th battery in my Ranger RT188.

so, any comments would be appreciated.

James. I don't have any feedback on the battery as I fish from a kayak. However, I am always concerned about battery power especially with a new Garmin duel mode donor and large display. Have you also considered adding a solar charger to your set-up?  I have one and it maintains battery voltage fairly well.

Bill Fetech 

hey james,, as most know i highly recommend the Delco Voyager Batteries.. THE BEST no doubt.. i get 6-7 years out of all of mine ez (no joke) i have 2 on my pontoon boat, 3 on my bass boat, and a battery for my pro 120 i use on our club lakes.. and have NEVER been stranded.. after all the cold weather we had i decided to get out my charger and hit all my batteries.. not a single one needed a charge since my last trip in fall.. they can be tough to find, but they truley are the best,, delco has been making the Voyager battery as long as i can remember.. i think it helps that they are sealed maintenance free batteries..  i get mine at 214-420-4000.. i use the M27MF  and for crankin the C24HP.. you wont be sorry

Thanks for the input.  I ended up getting a group 31 AGM Duracell (made by East Penn; same as a Deka or Super Start from Oreilly).  It came with a 30 month free replacement warranty.  Has 1000 MCA's and amp hours of 105 (meaning you can run something that pulls 5 amps for about 20 hours or so).  While i was there installing it yesterday, i checked the amp draw for my Lowrance Gen3 units; they pull 1.4 amps (0.8 amps in standby mode).  i am good to go, and really excited about spring fishing.