Fish box

I have an '86 25' Sportcraft Sportfisherman 250, very similar to a Wellcraft.
I would like to put some fish boxes in the deck. Any ideas?
I would prefer permanent but would consider removable. The deck would have to be cut and I'm not sure if any stringers would be in the way. There are no existing access hatches in the deck so I don't no what's down there. I was thinking of one on either side of the fuel tank.

 

Unfortunately unless you have access to a few previously cut open 250's, you're pretty much in the same boat we are. Stringer locations can be pretty much anywhere, but most commonly, you'll find one about 12' off each side of the centerline. These two are usually the deepest and biggest in the boat. There will be other reinforcement pieces in there too, which compartmentalize the areas below the sole.

How do you find these compartments? Well, you have to cut an access hole or two. You might hit a stringer, you might not. Odds are you will not, but it's a crap shoot if your first cut is in a place, that can be made into a live well or bait box.

You also may run into foam, lots of it. This will make finding the interior dimensions of these compartments more difficult, but a resourceful person with a reciprocating saw can handle the job.

If cutting near your tank, you can pretty much bet you'll find foam. It's not a place I'd put the fish boxes, just because of all the stuff you can cut into while you install the boxes (fuel lines, tank sender wires, etc.).

Eventually, you'll have a few pieces of cockpit sole cut out and the inside of the boat exposed. Decide where you want your boxes and frame them in with fairly thin (3/8" or 1/2") plywood. Tab these into the hull shell with a few layers of cloth. If you'll need to insulate the boxes (it keeps beer colder) 3" of foam is my personal minimum. This too gets covered with fabric and 'glassed into the hull shell.

Making in deck boxes requires more thinking then you may realize. You have to consider where boarding water is going to drain once it finds you new hatch covered fish boxes. It would be nice if you could design a lid that will seal perfectly, not letting water in or out of the box, but you can kiss this idea good bye right now. Hell, the factories can't do it, so you aren't. So you'll want some sort of channel, drain, scupper, waterway or something to move water from the edge of the lid to somewhere it will not be under foot or trying to get into the box. Typically this mean a drain or waterway aft to the sump, where the bilge pump can toss it over the side.

They do sell pre-made boxes, which you might want to look into. They'll save you a bit of heartache, but you'll still have some heart burn when you start cutting up the cockpit, looking for a place to hide a box.

I've done this very thing on many boats over the years, with each being different in some fashion. It's not hard, but will test your "problem solving" abilities. I prefer these types of boxes to be above the waterline, so they can't cause trouble and can drain easily, while afloat or ashore. Boxes in the sole can be problematic, if a leak occurs or if a direct drain is unplugged.

 

Boxes

Thanks for the ideas. I was sort of thinking about borrowing a scope from an auto parts store and using that to take a look around down there. I use to have another boat that I cut holes into and would prefer not to do that again. It might be compartmentalized like you said which would make that harder. The aft of the boat is compartmentalized.

I'm still in the thinking phase so I'm not in a hurry yet. I had thought about using the transom area and putting in a box there. Just have thoughts of fish ending back in the water rather than in the box. I would also have to move some things around.

I was thinking of putting a drain on either side of the transom, at deck height, to remove water in the cockpit. The way it is designed now it has to go down to the bilge to get pumped out. I'd rather it drain directly overboard.

Are the premade fish boxes you mentioned the type to be recessed in the deck? I had looked on the net and didn't see any. Any ideas where I could find some?

If you have more ideas let me know. I know a lot of people out there have a lot more knowledge about this than I do and I appreciate any advice and ideas.

 

I doubt that you will find much usable space below the floor, the gas tank usually occupies or at least monopolizes the best spot down the center, and The angle of the bottom doesnt allow much room near the chine. As mentioned above, you will be opening many cans of worms when you cut into the deck, and can easily compromise the safety of the original design.
Add scuppers with caution too, even factory installed deck drains are not always well thought out, and will let water in instead of out as the deck floods. (as you fill that big box with fish) Get a bigger bilge pump, or better yet two, and another battery, cheap insurance!
There are many excellent plastic ice chests available nowdays, in a variety of dimensions. You could fill your entire boat with these and still spend less than custom building them. They can also double as emergency liferafts!
Google Icy Tek, Icy Cool, Aussie Cooler

 

These fish boxes, are they for keeping bait (dead fish) in or is it for a live well to keep fish alive in ?

 

Faine they're for feminine hygiene products (I couldn't resist).

As I mentioned, I like boxes higher up, for several reasons. They're self draining, directly over the side, no pump necessary. Because of this they don't threaten the boat with a potential flood point. At this height it's much easier to stuff a pissed off snook (or whatever) into it. It's easier to clean and easier to build.

In most cases you can use space on each side of the splash well if an out board or engine box if an I/O. They can be made removable. Another location is seat boxes. Again the same reasons, you don't cut the deck, it doesn't threaten the boat, they can be moved, etc.

Below the sole of your boat will be foam. This means a fluoroscope, snaked under the deck will just see lots of foam. You may poke into areas where there's not much foam, but, I don't think this will be especially fruitful.

At this point you should post some pictures so we can see what layout you have, etc. Eventually, you have to decide how serious you are about these boxes, because the easy way to do them in the sole (floor) is cut a big hole, build your boxes, then bond the sole (floor) piece back down, of course with hatch covers where the boxes live.

 

Of course, I knew that

For a live well you don't want to drain all the water out. The idea is to have the live well at such a level that water flows into the well and to the level you want it. When you take off to another location, a certain amount of the water drains out, but just enough remains so the fish keep alive. When you stop, new water flows in and it keeps the fish alive and healthy.

One of the reasons for doing it this way is the pumps scare the fish sometimes, in a competition you may not want to take that chance. The live well should actually be a cooler box or similar properties to keep the fish healthy. If the box is dark inside the fish also remains calm and relaxed. Probably only because they cannot see how some okes drive...

When you take the boat out, you drain all the water. One of our guys parked his boat for the winter, some months later when he cleaned the boat prior to a competition he discovered some very alive fish in his well. Didn't give him a start on points though, we searched him thoroughly before he was allowed to weigh any