Portable Livewells - Opinions Please

[peterb]

I have the below noted 23' SeaCraft. Currently, it does not have a built in live well. In May/June I will use a small garbage can & a portable aerator to support live bunker. In Sept I will use a 5 gallon pail & battery operated pump to support peanuts.

I have had mixed results with both setups. I have been thinking of a better setup. I don't know if I want to create a permament setup (as I only use live baitfish for several months during the year).

Has anyone had any success with the larger portable livewells? I am thinking of the 20 gallon to 30 gallon sizes. Or are people going to to tell me that if I want to do it right that I need to install a permenant setup.

I do have a spare seacock, but have some misgivings about permanently giving up the space under neath my leaning post, and do not have the time and energy right now to rejigger my enclosed transom to install a livewell.

I would greatly appreciate any input that you have to offer.

Thanks,

Peter

[JohnB]

I put mine inside the transom.

[Old'sCool]

I built this one for my previous boat. I had to raise it with a Starboard stand to get the drains over the transom in this SC. It keeps menhaden alive here in August all day with 700 gph pump. I can detail the design with better pics if you want if your building one. I just put a ratchet strap around it to two mounts that are just out of sight in this pic. The ball valve feed is kept out of sight when not in use. It works great but I would prefer a leaning post style.

[abl1111]

I like the design of this a lot - Could you send some more pix. The missing link for me is what you used for the top ?

I have the same plumbing set-up you have with my livewell, but mine is a round, 15 gallon barrel - I securely mount it on the top of my i/o box.

But, since learning to throw a cast net, I catch too many bunker and need a bigger barrel to keep 'em alive. So, I will probably use a 55 gallon plastic barrel the way you have, mount it in on the floor, in front of the i/o cover and let the overflow go over the transom via a hose.

[Old'sCool]

Here goes.....it's 27" tall from a 55 gal. plastic drum. The top is 1/2" Starboard with 1/4" clear lid, the lid seat was hand routed, 3/4" ball valve drain, 3/4" pvc inlet fed from top w/holes progressively larger w/3/16" at top, 7/16" bottom, circulating counter clock wise of course , This is the "secret" to this system working. The bottom is capped and spaced away from side to offer support. The drains are 1 1/2". The 1/2" Starboard drain plates are spaced away inside to allow drainage when a fish lays sideways against it. It works really good. There are nice ones available but all I see are too short to drain over. This one is five years old.

[McGillicuddy]

I think reelescape1 has the right idea. The barrel should be cylindrical rather than oval. Take special note of the jets on his tank. They are jetting to the side creating a swirl at the perimeter of the tank. This makes for even flow and a constant current which allows bait to spread out in the tank and get equally oxygenated flow, and the don't beat each other up as much. Especially important when you're trying to keep big bunker alive in warmer water.

The 55 gal gals might be overkill for your application and another 440lbs at the stern is probably a heck of a lot more than you really need back there considering you've already got twins and a couple of guys fighting big fish God knows where. 30-35gal is probably plenty and ~ 200lbs less.

If you want to make your own, a good source of these barrels are car washes - they get soap delivered in them and they are tough! If you really don't want a thru-hull, a transom mounted bait pump is removable (uses a bracket) and can give you 700-800gph for about $80 from Rule or Kodiak. This tank is on the way out 'cause like I said I prefer round tanks, but this came with the boat, works and is portable. Note the brackets at the base - 2-4 short bolts and it's out of there. You can even release the pump from the transom and drop it in the tank to drain it... Good luck! Oh yeah, two drains is also a good idea - if scales, or grass, or belly-up bunker clogs or slows one down you're half as likely to over flow...

[abl1111]

Reelescape - again - NICE! A few questions:

The starboard top - the reason I never thought to use this is I didn't think that you could use a sealant / adhesive that would stick enough to starboard to make a watertight seal - what did you use to seal it and does it leak ?

Elaborate on this point ----> " The 1/2" Starboard drain plates are spaced away inside to allow drainage when a fish lays sideways against it ".

I'd rather have a set-up that is built-in, but I can't think of one that would work for me. My toughest obstacles are having to deal w/ the i/o box and having to use a barrel tall enough to vent over the transom ! The added weight is a b*tch too - but nothing is better bait than happy, fresh bunker or shad !

Thx for the great design !

[Old'sCool]

Reelescape - again - NICE! A few questions:

The starboard top - the reason I never thought to use this is I didn't think that you could use a sealant / adhesive that would stick enough to starboard to make a watertight seal - what did you use to seal it and does it leak ?

Elaborate on this point ----> " The 1/2" Starboard drain plates are spaced away inside to allow drainage when a fish lays sideways against it ".

I'd rather have a set-up that is built-in, but I can't think of one that would work for me. My toughest obstacles are having to deal w/ the i/o box and having to use a barrel tall enough to vent over the transom ! The added weight is a b*tch too - but nothing is better bait than happy, fresh bunker or shad !

Thx for the great design !

3M 5200 seals well enough. It doesn't have to be 100% although it leaks very little from those areas but the lid could use a gasket. The drains are 1 1/2" through hull drains, the plate with holes pictured is mounted with 3 screws but with 3/8' or 1/2" spacers to allow water to escape if (when) a fish lays sideways on it.....it's draining so the flow sometimes catches a weak one. My only complaint is the poop ends up in the center bottom with no where to go. Sometimes I'll "flush" it. I have a drum if your near Chas.

[abl1111]

Gotcha. Thx for the offer on the barrel, but I'm a long way off from you.

I had gotten a clean 55 gallon plastic barrel awhile ago, cut it, found and riveted a perfect sized plastic lid ( the 5200 worked great w/ this! ) and made a 25-30 gallon livewell. I thought it was too heavy to mount on my i/o cover so I gave it to a buddy. It is was a perfect size, but the weight was the issue.

The tough thing about having the livewell on the floor is that the water has to get over the side. And, you really have to have it placed somewhere in the centerline of the boat or it will make the boat lean to one side. You wouldn't want to vent over the side cause the hose would be in the way, so you're stuck with it having to go over the transom ( and it has to be a certain height to get let gravity work for you ).

Your design has re-ignited my interest in making another one.

Now, do you have a really nice design for a pen to hold the bunker when you get back to the dock ? I had built one, but it is not very durable. It floats and is about 3' in diameter x 4' deep. Those fish are wimpy and only seem to live 3-5 days for me... Aaah, the things you do to go fishing !!! The days of doughballs and worms are long gone.

[Fr. Frank]

I don't have pics, but I used to use an automatic 800 gph pump (which I hung over the side with a line) to fill my small 20 gallon on-deck tank, (cut down from a 30 plastic drum) and I used an 1100 gph automatic bilge pump mounted 3/4 of the way up the inside to pump the water back overboard, without having to get the tank drain above the gunwale or mount the tank in the back. I kept it in front of the console of my Carolina Skiff.
The automatic pump overboard cycled off when I pulled it out of the water to move somewhere else, and the auto pump in the tank only cycles on when the water in the tank was nearly full. The hoses both ran down the side of the tank, across the deck, and then up and over the gunwale. The only problem was I didn't plan on a simple way to empty the tank, so I would just tip it over on the deck to empty completely. The hoses just stored inside when not in use. Total cost was under $100.