Aluminum seat/livewell

[jburn25]

Many center console boats have a seat in front of the center console and often times the seat is actually a livewell or storage bin. I'm sure yall are all familiar. I'm looking to get a small aluminum livewell to put in front of my console on my aluminum center console boat. Do you know any people that sell the aluminum livewells similar to those that come standard on express or tracker aluminum boats?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Aluminum seat/livewell

your best bet is to find a tin bender, to make what you want, many roofing companies have a metal shop. i have one on my pontoon i had made, had it built to fit under the seat.

 

[kaferhaus]

Re: Aluminum seat/livewell

your best bet is to find a tin bender, to make what you want, many roofing companies have a metal shop. i have one on my pontoon i had made, had it built to fit under the seat.

I've had "sheet metal" shops fabricate all sorts of such items. MUCH cheaper than buying anything from any "marine" business.

However the shop I use cannot "weld" and the seams are soldered which is common in that business. It was never a problem though as nothing ever leaked.

One tip is to buy some gasket material and make sure the slid/seat is well sealed to the tank or whoever sits up there will get their legs soaked.

 

[FishnMike]

Re: Aluminum seat/livewell

I used to fish bass tourneys out of various small alum. boats. The quickest and best solution for livewells worked out to be using an ice chest. One of the big problems of having one made out of alum. was that the water would get very hot and broil the fish. With an ice chest its insulated and helps keep things cooler.

FishnMike

 

[jburn25]

Re: Aluminum seat/livewell

Ok, I might have to see if I can get a metal shop to make me a small aluminum box. I guess it doesn't need to be that thick of material. Only question now is how would I drain the aluminum box it I do in fact use it as a livewell instead of just a seat? It would be nice to have some sort of removable plastic insert...

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Aluminum seat/livewell

I agree that some form of insulation is a good idea. Aluminum in the sun tends to get pretty hot and the water will act as a heat sink. I also like the idea of using a cooler. simply because its an easy solution.