Live Wells

C

Capt'n Bill

New member
I would like to see a discussion and pictures posted about how people have set up live bait wells on their boats. Couldn't find anything here under the fishing topic. Has anybody used the factory installed box on the port side's transom? If so, how did you set up the pump and drainage? Has anybody used any other live well set-ups? Here in Hawaii, we do catch fish trolling lures and with dead baits, but the most effective method seems to be slow trolling a live ballyhoo, opelu, or aku.
 
Check out the bait tank on Fishtales. It is ~17 gals and hold a good 1/2 scoop of live fin bait. I have, on occasion, held both fin bait and squid in the tank.
 
I can't tell you from personal experience so I'm gonna follow this thread with interest.

My dealer converted his personal C-22 and he put one of those removable transom mounted bait tank pumps on it with a hose that comes up and enters the lazarette through the side of the splash well. Everything plugs in, including the pump power. Inside the lazarette, he piped the drain over to the outboard side of the lazarette, then up to about 2" below the hatch so he could easily net the bait. He drilled around the top of the drain pipe and had a screen up there as well so no dead bait could foul it. The input hose has to be directed inside the tank so the incoming jet tends to push the water clockwise.

A couple of URL's that will shed light on the project:
Coastside
Kodiak

The lazarette definitely isn't ideal but it's better than a bag type and it's big enough for 1/2 scoop. A good day trip size.

Don
 
I appreciate the feedback. I took a look at your boats...very nice. I will be refering to some of your photos when outfitting my boat. I am continually amazed at the creativity of C-Dory owners when it comes to outfitting their boats. It's too bad, I lived in Malibu for 15 years, and always wanted a C-Dory to take out to the islands and to trailer down to Baja. Always had the dream of cruising down around the cape and then back up the Sea of Cortez. Could never afford to buy one then with the mortgage on my home in Malibu and all. Probably would have gotten to get together with you guys. Oh well, now I'm stuck in Hawaii, and will just have to make the best of it now that I've got my boat. Roger, I liked your set-up. Would like to know what mounting brackets you used to secure it. Have you found that it helps deflect some of the water over the transom when your hit from behind? Have you thought about putting some matching material to finish sealing the area off to better serve that purpose? That would make a great base for a cleaning station or serving table. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to put my live well there vs. a fish box/cleaning station.

Don, I was thinking about using the lazarette as a live well, should I decide to put my fish box on the transom. It appears that my lazarette has a hole in the bottom for either a drain or pump hose. Did your dealer even use that? Is your friend happy with his lazarette set-up? As far as the size of the thing goes, we typically catch our own bait over here with a handline, and usually may only carry maybe a dozen baits at a time, although our baits are a bit larger than sardines.

Thaks,

Bill Showalter
 
Wannabe":z0okz55z said:
Don, I was thinking about using the lazarette as a live well, should I decide to put my fish box on the transom. It appears that my lazarette has a hole in the bottom for either a drain or pump hose. Did your dealer even use that? Is your friend happy with his lazarette set-up?
Click to expand...

Bill, my boat came from the factory with the hole connected to a hose going to an overboard discharge on the side of the boat. Some folk remove that hose and run it to a rear bilge pump, maybe yours was set up like that. Yes, the lazarette drain was connected to a "stand pipe" which travelled along the bottom inside to the tank side then up to about 2-3 inches from the lazarette top and acted as the bait tank drain. It used the stock hose and overboard discharge for the bait tank drain. Yes, he was very happy with it and I think Rick's new "Foggy Dew" is rigged similarly.

Don
 
My port lazarette was also rigged with drain and hose over the side. I use it as a fish box all the time and have used it for a bait well (without the benefit of fresh water or aeration) for brief periods of time. I've been meaning to hook it up to a raw water feed to make it more useful but for that I want a stand-pipe that I can screw into the current drain and then remove when I want to use it for fish storage. Problem is, the threads on the drain plug do not seem to be any standard NPT threads...

The typical use for mine is fish storage while out fishing. Then when I return and clean the fish I put a little water and bleach in there and toss in the towels I used during the day to wipe off slime etc. On the way out the next day they get "washed" a bit by the boat's motion and I drain the box out for the next set of fish. That keeps both the fish box and the towels fairly clean and sterile and really keeps the odor down. Otherwise, one day in the heat and the box is awfully smelly. The bleach water plus some waves on the way out automatically cleans things.

I did have one problem I discovered when I filled it with water for bait storage. The bright fellow at the factory who did th wiring put several screws into the box near the bottom to hold wire hangers. I wound up putting some big daubs of 5200 on them from the inside of the box and that solved the problem but I wish the wiring hadn't been mounted that way. Something to specify if you're ordering new from the factory and want the box to hold water.
 
I made my port side lazerette into a wonderful live well. I bought a through hull live well pump installed it and ran the hose to the upper part of the lazerette with a spray bar for airation. To conatin the water I ran a 8" tube that I can screw into the drain hole when needed. I set up the pump with a timer from cabela's. When it's full the water goes down the drain tube a into the splash well. Works great for kokanee keeps them alive for hours. Brooks
 
Since we won't pick up our boat until mid June, it will be a while until I can post some pics, but when we get settled in, I'll take a bunch of detail pics and post them in our album and the tech section. Sounds like an interesting project that lots of folks are interested in. The previous owner of our boat loved the livewell, and it kept his bait alive a heck of a long time. I'm going to see if I can somehow modify the existing set-up so we can use the livewell or turn a valve and use the pump as a washdown, too.

Rick
 
Wannabe":5gzylg5o said:
Roger, I liked your set-up. Would like to know what mounting brackets you used to secure it. Have you found that it helps deflect some of the water over the transom when your hit from behind? Have you thought about putting some matching material to finish sealing the area off to better serve that purpose? That would make a great base for a cleaning station or serving table. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to put my live well there vs. a fish box/cleaning station.
Click to expand...

I had a stainless mount fabricated to fit. I haven't experienced much water coming over the stern. I can remove the tank and mount an ice chest in its place if needed.
 
Thanks again guys,

Fireguy, I would love to see som Pics of your set-up. Loved your fishbox. That's pretty close to what I had in mind for a future fishbox. Rick, can't wait to see what yours looks like.

Bill
 
I added some pics of the bait well on our boat. It was installed by the dealer when the previous owner bought the boat new. He reports that it really worked great, circulating water continuously and kept his bait alive a long time while chasing tuna and other stuff in the salt water.
 
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