baitwell ideas

[gofshn]

guys, can really use some help with ideas and pics of some baitwells installed on classic 25's. the one in the stern is not large enough, and am planning on using that as a fishbox or ice storage. pics would be great, any ideas are appreciated.

[JohnD]

stern bait well

Only change to my baitwell is painted inside.. it will hold and keep fresh a lot of liveies. How much bait do you need?
As to making it ice box/fish box. I use a cooler on the swim platform for fish and ice. Found that ice doesn't last long in 'bait well'. Maybe pull it out and insulate?
Let us know your final solution.
johnd

[TwinFin]

Me too

I've wrestled with the notion of adding a second bait tank to my 28 for 3 seasons. As most know, we are big on fly-lining live bait out here. My integrated live well works well but I can't put much more than what we call a single scoop (3-4 passes) of dines in it without crowding. (4-5 inch sardines are what we typically have at our receivers.) Nearly half of our bait dies on each offshore trip. With 3-4 guys on board we usually run low on bait and never have enough to do much chumming to bring a school to the corner. Hard to tell how much of this bait loss is due to weak bait to begin with vs the pounding the bait takes during the trip out but pounding seems to be the major contributor. Calm weather runs result in more bait living longer. Rough trips beat it up more. Short, calm trips - almost nothing dies. Our boats ride well but on rough trips the bait sloshes around and gets beat up none-the-less.

I've considered adding a 30 gallon tank from Offshore http://www.offshoreproducts.com/index.html
in the center of my cockpit. Issues are less open cockpit space, the added weight (240 lbs), the need to bore holes through the deck for two water lines, and the addition of 1 more seacock & 2 through hull fittings. I once saw a CC28 with such a tank installed and it looked fine to me. If I do add a second tank I will not drill through the deck above the fuel tank compartment. Mac strongly recommends against doing that since it's important to keep salt water away from our Al fuel tanks. I'll run the lines through the deck above the fish boxes - just outside of the fuel tank compartment.

Still thinking about it.

[Mario Di Russo]

Baitwell modification

Steve I have an idea for your live well problem I live in Vista Ca my phone # is 760 639 1612 if I'm not here leave a message on my machine and I'll get back to you. Mario

[Mario Di Russo]

Baitwell modification

Hi Steve:Give me a call 760 639 1612 and I will tell you my plan for a better live well configuration with our existing bait tanks the drain pipe in the center of the tank is a no no for our tiny baits,It beats them to death I have a better idea for our livewells and a fill that will circulate rather than just fill. Mario

[Captain Spike]

Hi Mario, Do you have any sketch that you'd be willing to post showing how to improve the live bait well on a 28?

[Mario Di Russo]

live well modification

Hi capt. Spike, I have to get a new scanner mine stopped working If the 28 live well is like the 25 which I believe it is,the parts involved will be simple. the new drain should be at the end of the well where the fill is, they are compartmented off from each other the height of the well and angled away from each other approximatly15 degs. so that the well will circulate. the 1 1/2" elbow is removed and replaced with a tee and two elbows one for old drain which will be used to empty the tank when you are through fishing a sink stopper will do the job. the other elbow will go to the drain that you will install at the top of the well the same height as your original drain pipe is, mine was 15" high from bottom of the tank. The partitions that I am adding are shaped like a slight V with a partition in the center. There are three edges that get glassed to the well on the fill end of the tank. In the after compartment the panel that faces aft will contain the fill hose as is. remove the shut of valve and let it flow free into the compartment. prior to installing that partion you will drill two lines of holes 3/8" in dia.spaced two in. apart all the way to the top as the water fills the compartment it will start at the lower holes working it's way to to top while filling the well. The drain side will have slots cut into it's panel the width of a saw blade approx 1/8" I have five across three inches high three rows going up. The drain slotted partition faces foward away from the fill that is how it will circulate.and the best part no more drain pipe in the middle of the tank. The wash down is done with a y valve or you could use another pump which ever is easiest for you. I hope that my explanation helps. I will try to post pictures of this thing for you from a friends pc which is much newer than mine plus he knows how to do it. Mario

[Laukia]

baitwell.......

Mario.......welcome to the forum! It's really good to hear another CC owner on the West Coast. I am in a slip in SD with my 2005 28.

I think I see what you are doing with your baitwell in terms of "partition" and drilled holes for the water inlet. It sounds like you are going the Mark Wisch theory and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I think we can agree that this bait well simply does not cut it in terms of what we do here on the West Coast with live bait (sardines, anchovies and mackeral). I made a point of asking Mac to modify my bait well and he did help out by getting rid of that ridiculous center standpipe. But even with that there are serious issues. I got the drain located on the upper port side of the tank. That is a good thing. The inlet was on the starboard side of the tank but it was a large obnoxious fitting that stuck out 3 inches with an on/off valve like on a garden hose. Definitely an obstruction to fragile swimming baits. Also the bathtub like plug on the 'end of the day' drain on the bottom of the tank is very problematic. If you don't believe me, just wait until you get in semi- rough seas and the bathtub plug comes off and 6" sardines end up plugging your drain........(not a pretty sight).

But before we address that issue there is one fundamental issue that has to be corrected first. The top inner seam of the tank has to be sealed. This is mandatory if your fishing live bait in that tank. If you don't seal that upper inner seam you are constantly pumping water into your bilge, which is not a good thing in my opinion.

I'll be down at the boat this weekend and will take some pics to clear up the issue. But basically it boils down to this:

1) seal the upper edge of the tank with 5200


2)overflow drain high up on port side of tank


3)low profile inlet on starboard side for good flow and no obstructions (Kodiak)


4)a standard thru hull fitting installed down the bottom of the tank so a 1"
compression fitting can be used instead of the 'bathtub plug'


5) and finally ......replace the rigid blue hose from the pump to the inlet fitting and you'll reduce the noise by 50%+


Pics to follow........

[Mario Di Russo]

bait tank modified

Hi Laukia, I haven't had a chance to test my live well in real world conditions as of this posting but plan to soon.I have a friend that will put my photos on his P C for me If you would like to see the tank in person I live in Vista and keep the boat in my backyard. I am going to install led lights in my well after the Holidays I'll keep you posted asap. Mario

[jjjscooo]

fish box to livewell

Hi i turned my in deck fish box into a livewell works great. I made it so i can adjust the hight of the water .Keeps alot of bait alive if you need more details i would be glad to give them to you JIM

[Laukia]

fish box to livewell

That's very interesting! Do you have a 25 or a 28? Tell us more.

[Rizzle]

I like this idea! My only question is on the overflow fitting?? Did you use the 1 1/2" or the 3/4" overflow fitting? Assuming that your tank will fill in 8 minutes can you get the tank to pressurize with the 1 1/2" overflow drain or do you need to choke it down to the 3/4" fitting? Planning on doing this to my new to me 25CC before the Albies get here in July! We fish Anchovies and they are pretty fragile.

Thanks,

Rizzle

[Rizzle]

Mario.......welcome to the forum! It's really good to hear another CC owner on the West Coast. I am in a slip in SD with my 2005 28.

I think I see what you are doing with your baitwell in terms of "partition" and drilled holes for the water inlet. It sounds like you are going the Mark Wisch theory and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. I think we can agree that this bait well simply does not cut it in terms of what we do here on the West Coast with live bait (sardines, anchovies and mackeral). I made a point of asking Mac to modify my bait well and he did help out by getting rid of that ridiculous center standpipe. But even with that there are serious issues. I got the drain located on the upper port side of the tank. That is a good thing. The inlet was on the starboard side of the tank but it was a large obnoxious fitting that stuck out 3 inches with an on/off valve like on a garden hose. Definitely an obstruction to fragile swimming baits. Also the bathtub like plug on the 'end of the day' drain on the bottom of the tank is very problematic. If you don't believe me, just wait until you get in semi- rough seas and the bathtub plug comes off and 6" sardines end up plugging your drain........(not a pretty sight).

But before we address that issue there is one fundamental issue that has to be corrected first. The top inner seam of the tank has to be sealed. This is mandatory if your fishing live bait in that tank. If you don't seal that upper inner seam you are constantly pumping water into your bilge, which is not a good thing in my opinion.

I'll be down at the boat this weekend and will take some pics to clear up the issue. But basically it boils down to this:

1) seal the upper edge of the tank with 5200


2)overflow drain high up on port side of tank


3)low profile inlet on starboard side for good flow and no obstructions (Kodiak)


4)a standard thru hull fitting installed down the bottom of the tank so a 1"
compression fitting can be used instead of the 'bathtub plug'


5) and finally ......replace the rigid blue hose from the pump to the inlet fitting and you'll reduce the noice by 50%+


Pics to follow........

I like this idea! My only question is on the overflow fitting. Did you use the 1 1/2" overflow fitting or the 3/4" overflow fitting??? I want the tank to pressurize and wasn't sure if it will do that with the 1 1/2" fitting assuming that my tank will fill in 8 minutes... I plan on modifying the tank on my new to me 25CC before the Albies get here in July!! We fish anchovies and they are pretty fragile!

[Laukia]

baitwell ideas........

The overflow is 1 1/2" hose. I will mention that I have glassed over the front and half way up the sides of the overflow fitting. This fills the tank to the top (or very close to it) with a slower/less drain. What do you mean by 'pressurizing' the tank?

[Rizzle]

"pressurizing" the tank would fill it clear to the lids, preventing any room for the water to slosh around. I wasn't sure if i could achieve this with the 1 1/2 overflow or not? After fishing on my friends 36' yellowfin the advantages of a pressurized tank were ver obvious. His pressurized tank behind the leaning poat holds bait almost twice as long as the conventional tank in the transom(keep in mind the ride is pretty dramatic on this boat come tournament day!). My tank wouldn't be a true "pressurized" unit, but should be close if I can get it to fill clear to the lids and still alow enough transfer... Any thoughs??

Thanks,

Rizzle