Thanks for all the information. I have used auto zone and optima batteries and had good luck with both. The auto zone batteries lasted 5 to 6 years. The optima i liked because they are jell and there is no water to be added. I only used them for 2 years because i sold my boat. They seem to charge a lot faster but the cost is the down fall. Was Mart batteries have got excellent reviews so i bought 4 of them yesterday. They were 99.00 each for that price and they last 3 years they will be well worth it. I agree i think the life of a battery is how well it is taking care of. Don't know if this is right but this is what i do. I charge them up as soon as i get home from the lake with my on board charger. Once that is done i plug my charger into a 5.00 timer and they charge 2 hours in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening. Another thing i believe you can do if your boat sits along time is put the batteries on a 2amp trickle charger. All this seems to work for me. WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?

I also have a small boat with has 2 batteries that sit all year without charging them. I use the boat only in the winter and that is the only time they get charged. So what i'm saying is that the batteries si for 10 months without a charge and they last for several years. WHAT DO YOU THINK?