Aquasport 200 Livewell Baitwell

[copacetic]

Howdy everyone. I'm a new owner of an old boat and wanted to pick yalls brains. I have an '87 200. Its pretty much stock with no mods done to it and I've decided I want to keep the cooler flip flop seat but plan to scrap the cooler and build a storage compartment for life vests or whatnot. With that being said I've seen baitwells built into the helm seat and like that idea but want to keep things simple and budget friendly. The seat in front of the console has a drain on it and I was wondering if anyone ever converted it to the baitwell? If so how would you get raw water into it and would you just let it drain out onto the deck and rinse when you're done for the day? So many questions but I figured I'd start here. I look forward to hearing everyones ideas.

[Capt. Bob]

Start here.
https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=15301.msg149599#msg149599

https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=14573.msg143600#msg143600

Thoughts and ideas.

https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=2408.msg15740#msg15740

https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=13818.msg143546#msg143546

https://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=13568.msg136203#msg136203

The point here is that some find the baitwell under the front seat to be "sloppy" while underway. You would need to add a pump, either to fill/circulate the water, To fill you then need a raw water pickup. You could just fill it with a 5 gal Homer bucket but then the water heats up and the oxygen depletes. You can add just a pump to circulate/aerate the water but then only the hardiest baits survive.

I mounted a small (17 gal) on my CCP platform with a rule pump that both filled and circulated fresh water (look closely at Boatnamedsue's setup). This is fairly easy to do, allows for portability and works quite well for a large range of baits.

Stow your life jackets under the front seat or just wear them.

Good luck.

[copacetic]

Thanks Cap'n! I'm going to stew over it and see what I can come up with. I would like to keep the well in the front of the console for storage or as cooler use. I like the idea of the  leaning post/seat with the bait well built into the back and storage under the seat but don't like the price. I have since removed the console in order to get to the fuel tank. I will post pics in a restoration thread. I have been toying with the idea of building one which would be a heck of a lot cheaper plus I can use it as a learning lesson on glassing. Thank ya!