DIY Live bait well

[iNdlovu]

I had a new false transom installed in my boat and the previous bait well I made doesn't fit so I quickly made up a new one this evening.


I bought a realy cheap and nasty cool box for R 169
A length of plastic irrigation stand pipe, a hose connector and an end block.
A basin drain plug


I drilled a number of small holes along the length of the stand pipe, screwed the end block on one end, drilled holes on either side of the cool box, as high up as possible, threaded the stand pipe through and screwed the hose connector on the other end.
I then drilled a hole in the center of the long side of the cool box and inserted the basin drain and secured it as the outlet.


The boat already has a Rhule bilge pump mounted on the back, so I ran a re-inforced length of hose to the hose connector on the stand pipe and Bob's your Uncle.
The inlet sprays a nice gentle spray through the holes in the stand pipe and I can regulate the flow with the valves on the hose connector so that the drain water flow which hangs over the back of the boat is equal to the inlet flow, keeping a constant level of fresh water in the well.
It took about 1, 1/2 hours and cost no more than R250. Admittedly that's without the cost of the pump.


Pic 1: the well showing outlet which drains over the back of the boat with the help of an extention pipe which is simply an old piece of Barracuda hose
Pic 2: the inlet with Gardina hose connector
Pic 3: inside the well

[iNdlovu]

Pic 4: the outlet from the inside of the well

[iNdlovu]

If it works as expected at Inhaca next week, I'll cut out a square in the lid and hinge a piece of clear perspex in the lid for light, viewing and catching the livies.

[isivuba]

Nice one Tony.....and it will work I promise cause I have something similar on my boat. I recon you should be able to keep up to 10 to 15 small fish in that live well. Good luck   

[Peter Gordon]

Cool Tony

[iNdlovu]

Thanks Mike & Pete, it is very cheap and simple

[Hammer]

Well done Tony, nice job there mate. Like you said the big test is next week.

[L Hooker]

Nice one Tony should work well!

[FishStyx]

Looks like a winner bud... Nice!!!

[John F]

Good work there Tony!


A few comments on the design.

How long can you keep the baits alive with the water being fed from the top?

The way I see it you don't achieve much water circulation (especially when drifting) as the water comes in on top and gets expelled from the top of the cooler box. Also, you are basically aerating the system but not exchanging much water. You need to exchange the water to remove fish waste...

On mine I have the water getting in from the bottom and out from the top... does it make sense, or is my reasoning faulty?

[iNdlovu]

It makes sense Marcus, my previous well was exactly the same design as this one except bigger and it was no problem to keep livies alive all day and we tossed them back just before beaching.
The spray in from the top is under pressure so it drives the fresh water down quite deep and aerates very well, however it does not extract any waste.

[John F]

Well, if you kept the bait alive for the whole day, then don't worry. Why fix if it ain't broken?! 

[dugong]

I agree with John, mine is fed from the top and I am going to change it, some baits like shad and mozzies are ok but the last couple of times the mackerel battled later in the day, my last boats wells were fed from the bottom and it was better, no doubt.

Very nice - well done!!

[alfu]

 I like the idea to feed from the bottom. Do you install a non-return valve to prevent the water from running back? If so, where do we buy these? Never looked for them.
indluvu, you can also fit a round see through lid on the existing lid. No need to open the cooler lid each time.

[iNdlovu]

Ja alf, i have since put in a square perspex hinged lid. It is sitting in the lounge and I'm getting glared at by the missus, but I have to get some brass screws for the hinges this morning, so can't tick the job off as done just yet

[FishStyx]

Tony, if possible, rather get stainless screws.


Brass (the common solid brass that one buys in the better hardware stores) doesn't go well with salt water. Brass is generally copper and zinc in varying ratios and the zinc gets eroded by salt water and becomes pitted and weak.


If you need the brass colour then rather use Phosphor Bronze or silicon bronze as it's got no or very little zinc. They are usually only available through specialist stores like chandlers and industrial suppliers.


If you've used brass hinges, try and replace them too with s/s.


Sorry to criticise your awesome project 

[John F]

Tony, if possible, rather get stainless screws.


Brass (the common solid brass that one buys in the better hardware stores) doesn't go well with salt water. Brass is generally copper and zinc in varying ratios and the zinc gets eroded by salt water and becomes pitted and weak.


If you need the brass colour then rather use Phosphor Bronze or silicon bronze as it's got no or very little zinc. They are usually only available through specialist stores like chandlers and industrial suppliers.


If you've used brass hinges, try and replace them too with s/s.


Sorry to criticise your awesome project 

Fully agree! Only the best s/s you can get will survive years of use (and abuse) at sea!

[iNdlovu]

I don't take that as criticism guys, that's why I am a member here....there is so much knowledge and the will to share it. I bought the plastic hinges which seem solid enough for the small perspex trap door and will surely buy stainless screws. Thanks for that valued input guys.

[iNdlovu]

Can you believe it....no stainless 4mm bolts in Nelspruit, so I had to go with the fake brass. I'll change them when we get back from Inhaca. Anyway, here's the finnished article

[John F]

Looks bloody awesome!!!!!

Well done Tony!

I can source some s/s bolts for you Tony! They will be waiting for you on the 8th. Let me have the exact measurements....