Posts: 3478
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I have been leaving my fully charged batteries in the boat for about 25 years now and have never had an issue. The key is fully charged batteries.
The reason this works is when a lead-acid battery is fully charged, the fluid is all sulfuric acid, so it cannot freeze and because the poles (negative and positive) are isolated from each other, the battery when not hooked up cannot discharge easily to begin with. In the cold, the ability for the chemical reactions to take place during discharge generating water is significantly reduced by cold temps, so it is actually better for the batteries to be fully charged and in cold temps.
If the battery is not fully charged, then there is a distinct chance that the battery could freeze because the amount of sulfuric acid is not as high as it should be...the liquid is containing a higher concentration of water than sulfuric acid. Cold +water+contained environment = bulged/busted battery.
Charge them up, unhook everything, store and see you in the spring.. 
Steve
Edited by VMS 10/8/2020 8:48 PM
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