I am following this closely because although I have always pulled the batteries in the past, this coming winter will be different. There is a spot on one of my side work benches where the boat batteries live during the winter. They each get a dedicated maintainer as well. Once again though, I found that putting 30' of boat stuff in a 27' hull makes for some challenges, one is battery placement and access. As with many of the systems on this IP, I can see them, I can touch them but pulling the batteries out and putting them back in their little compartment is a challenge. The plan was to leave them installed over the winter.

At our club you are NOT allowed to have your boat plugged in over the winter unless you are on premises. What many people do is come down and hang out for a few hours with the boat plugged in and the battery charger on. I like TD's idea of a solar trickle charger though. I have heard stories of batteries freezing although that seems to be the extreme case for totally neglected units. This past winter, polar vortex central seemed to be located directly over our house. I didn't know the thermometer in my truck could go that low. Is there an actual "freezing" temp for a charged lead/acid battery?