Reference Charts

Dense, citable tables: thrust by boat weight, published amp draw by motor, AWG circular mils, voltage drop, ABYC fuse sizing, battery group sizes, run time, charger sizing, sonar cone angles and coverage, screen dimensions, anchor scope, downrigger blowback and line class drag.

23 pages in this section.

Anchoring

• Anchor Scope Chart A full rode-needed chart by depth and scope ratio, and why bow height and rising tide both belong in the vertical number, not just water depth.
• Anchor Size Chart Anchor weight by boat length is convention, not a standard, and bottom type decides holding far more than pounds. Full weight and scope chart inside.

Marine Electrical

• AWG Circular Mil Chart for Marine Wire The published AWG circular mil area for every marine wire gauge, the copper drop constant, and the round trip factor a lot of wiring jobs get wrong.

Sonar

• Chartplotter Screen Size Chart Width and height by diagonal for every stocked chartplotter screen size, with the full 16:9 versus 4:3 usable area difference explained and charted.
• Sonar Coverage at Depth Chart A full depth by frequency chart showing sonar cone coverage from published trigonometry, with worked examples of why shallow water shows almost nothing at all.
• Sonar Frequency and Cone Angle Chart Published sonar trigonometry for coverage diameter and area by depth and cone angle, plus typical angles by frequency for common transducers.
• Transducer Compatibility Guide The five transducer mount styles, which hull material each one actually requires, and why a plastic thru hull housing never goes in an aluminum hull.

Downriggers

• Downrigger Blowback Chart True depth by cable out and blowback angle in a full chart, plus how much extra cable to let out to hit a target depth once blowback is accounted for.

Kayaks

• Kayak Capacity Chart Kayaks carry no federal capacity plate, so a rated maximum is the maker's own figure. Full 70 percent usable load grid by weight and paddler size.

Line and drag

• Line Class and Drag Chart IGFA line classes are published; strike drag at a quarter of that rating is convention. Full drag chart by class, and why knot strength is not printed.

Batteries

• Lithium vs Lead Acid Battery Comparison Chart Peukert exponents, depth of discharge and a worked 50 amp example show why a 100 Ah AGM and a 100 Ah LiFePO4 deliver very different usable capacity.
• Marine Battery Group Size Chart (BCI Group Sizes) BCI group sizes like Group 31 set the case and terminals, not the amp hours. Real Group 24, 27, 31 and U1 examples show why capacity varies.
• Trolling Motor Battery Run Time Chart How the published 20 hour battery rating actually works, with Peukert run time and usable amp hours at real trolling motor draws for AGM and LiFePO4.

Livewell

• Livewell Pump Sizing Chart Livewell gallons equal length times width times depth divided by 231. Full turnover and fill rate charts, and why a timer beats a bigger pump.

Glossary

• Marine Electronics Glossary Thirty-three marine electronics and rigging terms, each defined in one plain sentence, stating which are published standards and which are convention.

Marine electrical

• Marine Fuse and Breaker Sizing Chart ABYC E-11 overcurrent placement distance, stocked fuse and breaker sizes, and the 125 percent continuous load rule applied to real trolling motors.
• Marine Wire Gauge Chart AWG circular mil chart and the published voltage drop formula for sizing marine wire. This chart deliberately does not publish ampacity by gauge.
• Voltage Drop Chart Voltage drop chart using the published marine formula, showing drop by run length and system voltage, plus the ABYC 3 and 10 percent limits.

Electrical

• NMEA 2000 Wiring Reference The real NMEA 2000 topology explained: one backbone, short drop cables, a terminator at each end, one power tap, and the mistakes unbranded kits make.

Charging

• Onboard Charger Sizing Chart (Amps Per Bank) Charge rate and charge efficiency by chemistry, worked charger amp examples per bank, and why a lithium bank needs a charger with a lithium profile.

Trolling motors

• Trolling Motor Amp Draw Chart Published maximum current draw by trolling motor thrust and voltage, plus the speed-setting draw model used for battery runtime and fuse sizing.
• Trolling Motor Shaft Length Chart Trolling motor shaft length chart using the 16 inch sheltered and 20 inch rough water convention, plus the full stocked shaft length lineup.
• Trolling Motor Thrust Chart Trolling motor thrust chart by loaded boat weight, using the 2 to 5 pounds per 100 pounds convention, plus stocked thrust ratings by system voltage.

Researched, not professional advice. Everything in this section is compiled from published engineering and regulatory figures, manufacturer specifications and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Published figures and rules of thumb are labelled separately wherever both appear, and where a published figure does not exist we say so rather than estimating one.