First Flatbottom

Okay guys I have a few newb questions here so please don't bash me lol I've always been a passenger and never truely owned a boat so I decided to start out with a 14' flat bottom with a 60lb minn kota trolling motor... Here goes the questions ANY AND ALL help will be appreciated!!!

1) Using a Exide st31dc205 what a decent charger to use? What will it read when the battery is full?

2) Should I buy a small car battery to keep in boat full charged for emergency purposed?

3) Should these batteries be in a box?

I use a small 2 amp 12v charger I got from Walmart for less than 30 bucks been using it for five years or longer. I always put the charger on when not using the boat if you keep the battery charged it will last longer. I have never taken a back up battery with me but do recommend keeping a paddle at all times. I also don't keep mine in a battery box but it sure wouldn't hurt to do so. Hope this helps you some.

Thanks are there any other ideas tips or tricks you got for me? Im the type of person to have all my basis covered lol

peak chargers are ok when there working right, i just don't trust them, get a digital volt meter to monitor your batteries/charge instead of trusting a peak charger. deep cycles are rated in cycles, 1 cycle is drain down and charge up, i stand firm on 2a chargers for deep cycle batteries, always store your batteries with a full charge and monitor on a monthly bases, and believe it or not, but a deep cycle also has a break in period, a new battery is charged to 70-75%, so after install, charge to peak, try to stay above 50% on your dod or depth of discharge and watch the water levels

Battery boxes are too cheap not to run one. Especially in a metal boat where shorting out is a huge concern if it happens to tip over in rough water.

Most any low amp charger will do you just fine. 2amp for long trickle charges, 6-10 amp for overnight charges. Ideally you'd want to use the 2amp whenever possible. but at times we just don't have the time when on a multiple day trip, and need the faster ability of a higher amp charge. I have a cheap Schumaker (sp?) charger from Walmart, and it's been doing a fine job for many years. Only problem I have with a 'smart' charger is, they can refuse to charge a battery that is almost completely dead. They think the battery is bad if below a certain voltage. I have had to run jumpers to a second battery to get the voltage up enough so the smarty will come on, then remove the jumper after an hour or so. Just a way to fool it when it's too smart for its own good.