Live Bait Tank On A Caper

[SpeciMan]

As I'm going to the trouble of making a custom tankcrate to mount my trolling motor I figured I might as well incorporate a small live tank in there. I'll add to this thread with info as I go along.

 

The livewell will only hold about 2 gallons of water due to weight/size constraints. 2 gallons should be enough to keep a few critters if there is continous flow (e.g. sandeel, joey mackeral, prawns, cans of beer )

 

As I will be using plywood on a softwood frame to contruct the tankwell there will be extra things I have to consider compared to using a plastic container. The tank will need to be sealed with epoxy resin and I will need to find a way to seal connections through the wood.

 

After trolling the net and reading about other installs there seems to be two ways to extract the water. One is to use a bilge pump hung over the side of the side of the yak - however this can create drag when paddling. On kayaks with water in the tankwell this isn't a problem as the bilge pump is placed on the bottom of the tankwell and water sucked up into the tank.

 

The second way is to use an aerator pump (usually similar/same motor as a bilge pump) to take water through a scupper hole in the tankwell. This is the method I wish to try.

 

My pump arrived this morning - a Rule 360 aerator. The smallest in their range but a total overkill at 360gph! I will reduce the rate of flow on this.

[Starvinmarvin]

Good luck with it SpeciMan, you should be able to use plumbers mate or similar, these products are designed for permanent immersion so can't see a problem, you may need to paint the inside of your tank with a waterproof gloss paint to give a good bonding surface.

 

You trying to sink that yak of yours.

[Zzippy]

Just wait till you see his Trawling net and boom he is rigging up

[darnsarf]

Thats the back end sorted.

 

As a future newbie who knows nothing, what about a harpoon on the front. Not for fish, obviously, but jet skiers could give some good sport. Saves on the jet propulsion unit.

 

Possible tactic for the comp, would cover a lot of water

[SpeciMan]

Update:

 

Finished off the crate structure today - lots of left to do on it though. Also trimmed down the inlet tube attached to the pump and fitted a hose adapter so I can fit a hose into a scupper hole to collect water.

 

Guy at local plumb center gave good advice on how to attach tubing into crate. Bought some connectors from them which should do the job nicely.

 

Darnsarf - can't help you with a harpoon but perhaps with a water cannon. I was wanting to connect my pump to a Y piece so I can connect up a water gun to hose my catch and kayak with - could also be used to spray ignorant boaters.

 

Pump I will be using. Tested it out in a sink. Runs nicely.

 

 

Pump with inlet tube trimmed. The tube is strong plastic designed to pass through the hull of a boat. Hose adapter fitted at the end.

 

 

Front view of crate in Caper ready to be treated/painted. Have a structure I can build on now. A hinged lid will be fitted which will also feature a chopping/fish prep board (and seat should I fit outriggers using RAM tubing at later date).

 

One battery in the crate - perfect fit. This is only temporary. One battery will be fitted in the front hatch and another mounted offside to the motor.

 

[ 16. August 2005, 10:36 PM: Message edited by: SpeciMan ]

[SpeciMan]

Holy baloney.. its been a month since I opened up this thread. Anyway my crate now has several levels of epoxy resin and is waterproof. I'm a stage further than in the photo below as I've drilled inlet and outlet holes and overcome the 'noise problem'.

 

The Rule livewell pumps are advertised as silent running - rubbish! I had to overcome a high flow rate by buying a voltage regulator however even with the power low it was still a bit noisy for my liking.

 

Although not advertised it turns out the Rule livewell pumps can be fully submerged like the bilge pumps. The problem is now solved - the pump will be on the inside of the livewell. I have a few more coats of epoxy to apply then I'll post a pic with the pump and tubes connected.

 

[ 16. September 2005, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: SpeciMan ]

[Starvinmarvin]

It's looking good SpeciMan you managed to get a good finish with the epoxy, how easy was it to do the inside of the box, looking forward to the rest of the build.

 

SM

[SpeciMan]

Thanks Starvin. The inside of box was quite easy to do. I sought advice from a local chandler and bought some fine glass powder to mix into the epoxy to give it bulk. I then filled all the gaps around the inner edges of the tank with this mix before painting the inside with epoxy.

 

I've never used epoxy before. Its hard to get a good finish - lots of light sanding before reapplying. I've found out the hard way that its best to paint each side and leave to dry in a horizontal position. It won't be perfect but will do.

 

[ 16. September 2005, 09:03 PM: Message edited by: SpeciMan ]

[Newt]

Just saw this thread - somehow missed it when you first put it up.

 

A suggestion for your tank - put some triangluar pieces in the corners to more-or-less round them off. You will lose a little volume from your tank but will have lots fewer of your bait items bashing themselves to death in the corners.

[chesters1]

instead of a tank why not a floating cage you can use as a "trailor" ,no need for pumps or tubing and fresh water as you move :confused: