aftermarket livewell options - FryingPanTower.Com

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:06 am Post subject: aftermarket livewell options

After several fishing trips on my new to me 18’ Hancock skiff, I have determined that a livewell is a must. The way I see it I have 3 options. A bait bucket with bubble box, a self-contained unit that I can take completely off the boat or a permanently plumbed unit.

Bait bucket – I think this is out of the question because I would like to be able to hold menhaden. Even if I have a big bucket, I have heard that menhaden need to have new water running through all the time.

I have been thinking about some sort of self contained unit that has an intake that I can throw overboard when I am fishing but pull in and turn the pump off when running from spot to spot. Most pumps I see have to be in the water – they don’t have any suction force to lift water up and over the gunwale into my well so I’m not sure if this is an option. I guess I could drop the pump overboard just as well as I could drop an intake line overboard…

Last is the permanently plumbed unit. The worst part about this option is I have no bilge access. It is completely sealed and filled with foam. So I would have to use a transom mounted pump and I will have hoses running on the deck – unless I put the livewell in the corner of the boat which may cause some listing. I would prefer to have a permanently plumbed livewell, just not sure how best to do it at this point.

Anyone have any ideas on how I could set this up – or mind explaining what you do on your boats that don’t have built-in livewells? There is 28” clear distance from the helm seat to the transom.

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:21 am Post subject:

cut some holes add a door to the bottom clam shell intake plumed to a perm or a rewmoval tank !
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:41 am Post subject:

Do you have four drain holes in the transom and are they above or below the waterline?
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:07 am Post subject:

Backlash - not 100% sure I follow. Cut holes through the deck and hull to add a clamshell? There are no thru hulls on the boat. There is no bilge area - the bilge is sealed and the deck drains through the scuppers.

Speck - yes, 4 scuppers all above the waterline - well, a little water gets in if too much weight in the back. I thought about using 1 of them as a dedicated tank overflow with a overflow pipe that would actually insert into the scupper with a tight fit using some sort of o-ring around the overflow pipe.

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:12 am Post subject:

You could use one as the inflow and one as the outflow. The green box in the picture, does it have a liner and is the liner oval or round or have square corners?
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 10:52 am Post subject:

Unfortunately, the box is not lined. It has square corners in eat. The connection to the hull is caulked but it is not meant to be waterproof.

So using one of the scuppers as an intake - that sounds like a good idea. I had presumed I would use a hose up the outside of the transom but I like this idea better. Would it require a transom mounted pump or do some pumps have a suction capacity as well? Would love to mount the pump on the livewell so that I could pull the whole unit out while not fishing. If I can use an intake line through the scupper and not transom mounted pump, is there a way it would be able to get water while underway or would I need to turn the pump off running from spot to spot?

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:00 am Post subject:

You can mount a pump on the outside of your transom below the water line or mount the pump in the boat and even in the livewell as long as the water pick up is below the water line. Do nopt know how big a live well you want but this might be a good option http://baitben.com/ You also might consider replacing the green box with a leaning post with a live well built in. Just do a google search of leaning posts with built-in livewell

You can get 32-40 gallon units for about $900.
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:29 am Post subject:

BeeReel take a look at this
http://keepalive.net/index.html

really your installation is simple just dont make it harder than it can be
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Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:54 am Post subject:

Back-Lash - thanks for that link. Good educational info on there as well as some good looking product. I think the 14 gallon tank is the size I would like on the Bait-Well system.

So the portable, recirculating tank seems by far to be the easiest. Will a recirc tank keep menhaden (peanut size) alive? This is all for inshore fishing. Would it be beneficial to do a water change every now and then? You know, drain a quarter of the tank and refill with fresh water?

The leaning post/livewell combo would be great, but just don't have the budget for that right now. And I like the look of the Bait Ben as well - need to send them an email for some more info - their site is pretty bare bones.

Thanks to you both for your replies.

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 2:48 pm Post subject:

Went to Tex's and looked at the 14-gallon Keep-Alive tank and ended up buying it. Just looks to good not to try. It is a recirc tank but can be modified to be used with a raw water supply. So if it doesn't work for me as a recirc tank, I'll get out some tools and replumb it for a raw water livewell.

Thanks again for the replies.

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:36 pm Post subject:

i have a keep alive 30 gal also with the recirculating pump it does a good job , i also have my boat plumbed so I can run the 30 gal with my builtin live well so I do not have to use the recirulating pump much but it does work
I would really think about fixing it to where I could run water to it ....... a intake run to a pump inside of the boat with a quick disconnect adpater would work
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Ol'Salt Joined: Oct 01, 2008 Posts: 837

has been in the keeping fish alive business for a long time.

Use their self contained unit in a 55 gal. drum to run bait back to the pen, seldom lose a bait and they arrive in excellent condition to put in the pen. Some days we travelled from Harkers Island to Swansboro without losing a single bait.

Here is an article that I wrote on Aeration, etc., lengthy but should help you understand. Saw a boat the other day that ran a tube from an oxygen bottle into the bottom of the well, so some one out there still doesnt get it.

Keep alive has an inexpensive defuser stone for oxygen that makes the bubbles so small the water turns milky color from the bubbles..

http://www.captainstanman.us/forum/showthread.php?t=932
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