Fitz's 73 22-2

[slvrlng]

Some people will never figure out photobucket!

Fitz sent me some pics of his boat as I have been wanting to see it for a while.
So here ya go!

[gran398]

Fitz, you've shared these pics earlier via e-mail....thank you...she is a true classic.

Lew, thanks for sharing them with us all...what a beauty.

Pristine, all original....from the light green windshield to the lima bean green cockpit sole to the twin external baitwells.

Modeling my rebuild exactly to this ride... as they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

Thanks... good work guys!

[RickK]

Sweet  

[fitz73222]

Hardly pristine Scott, lots of trailer rash and marine tex repair through the years. Lots of work since some of these photos. both engines removed / reinstalled and did some cosmetic transom work; I think she had about 25 assorted patched holes from past transducers and various hardware that I refilled, smoothed out and repainted with a can of old OMC white paint that matched up pretty well. Made some 3/8 6061 aluminum transom plates, powder coated white to give the old transom some more backbone; considering she is maxed out for engine weight and horsepower the transom does pretty well with no major cracks or delamination. Also had to replace the transom brass drain inserts that were nearly rotted away. Not to crazy about the Todd leaning post and plan on replacing with a custom tubular leaning post that will some how incorporate with original factory fiberglass cooler seat that was donated from the Miss Marco parts bin! (Thanks Scotty). Next project will be to recore the front hatches; they are getting pretty creaky from what appears to be termite damage. She was stored in a warehouse for the last 27 years that looked like it was snowing in the springtime when the termites would swarm. Luckily they never got into the floor or transom.
More to come!

[Skoot]

Dammmm fitz, Why have you been out on the pics??????? She is sweeeeeeet!!  

How well do those fish boxes work?  Have you made any modifications to them????

[fitz73222]

Thanks Skoot,

I really need to sit down and learn the photobucket process and will do so. As for the bait boxes, the previous owner did not use them and foamed them in for added stern bouyancy. I defoamed them and now have a different idea about how they should fill and empty. I have a lot of experience using them in the past. When I worked for the dealer while I was in high school; most of them were ordered with the stern livewells and they worked almost too well. The water exchange through them was similar to a washing machine when you were running and your bait got beat up pretty bad; but if they survived the ride, they were well oxygenated and very lively all day long without any pumps or aerators. I'm going to use a thru hull  brass clam shell type intake strainer under each box and I`m working out the details on how to adjust water flow using a very simple design yet allow water exchange while the boat is at rest.

[MarshMarlowe196]

That's a sweet rig Fitz.  Unique boat and I love the T-Top.  

Fitz is right- the original design allowed way too much water to flow into the boxes at higher speeds.  Menhaden didn't stand a chance, and other hardier baitfish end up with mild brain damage after a good ride.

If I may make a suggestion, I've modified my boxes with a simple design to eliminate the "washing machine" action of the original bait boxes.  Using a single 3/4" PVC pipe in both boxes, placed through a 3/4" hole in the bottom of the boxes, with a small shaved "lip" of the pipe protruding just past the bottom of the box, and a simple in-line PVC pipe valve has given me complete control of the water flowing into the boxes at high speed.  I've found the small lip dragging in the water is more than enough to pick up water while cruising.  The pipe inside the box rises a few inches above the waterline, is capped and has several holes drilled for aeration.

Scott (Gran398) made a good suggestion when he was down my way- He says to round off the sides of the hard corners of the bait boxes with some inserts.  PVC Half Pipe anyone??      This would save the baitfish from hard collisions.

Now, achieving the adequate flow of water at rest without using some kind of mechanical pump is something I haven't figured out yet.  I just try to fish harder and keep moving around the boat to keep the water flowing in and out.

[fitz73222]

Thanks Jesse,

My thinking is to cross drill the brass pipe just above the flanged nut with a series of holes that I can regulate water flow by simply screwing down or up a threaded cap that will expose the holes to allow different flow rates as needed or completely seal off the holes to allow the well to be used as a closed well if I want to stop by the bait store to pick up some live shrimp and dump them into the well and not lose any water. That said, one of the wells will have supplimental aeration via a pump and air stone. Years ago, I bought some surplus air pumps that originally came from some sort of air delivery system inside an ambulance that work very well with very little amp draw. Very high quality German diaphragm pumps. When I used to do some very serious shiner fishing for largemouths years ago, one pump with a 2X2X6 commercial air stone would keep 6-7 dozen big shiners alive for 12 hours without issue in a round plastic drum. I currently run three of those pumps in my flats boat; one for each livewell to keep fish or bait alive. Anyway, my thought process is to keep the fill holes as close to the bottom of the well and there will be enough exchange at rest to keep the well with enough O2. I thought about the stand up pipe but the water won`t go up hill at rest to exchange water plus with holes on bottom you will get more O2 in the water column instead of just discharging through a standup pipe and straight out the overflow without saturating the water below with fresh water/ O2. This I learned from shiner fishing days.

[MarshMarlowe196]

That's an interesting point about the water flowing in from the bottom to saturate all the water in the well as opposed to just the surface. I wonder if I were to drill holes all throughout the pipes instead of  just at the top, and achieve the same effect?  The air stone is a good idea too.

[gran398]

Jess, thanks for mentioning the rounded corners.

Fitz had a great idea to eliminate the hard corners... Heavy neoprene, feathered in.  Quick, easy, cheap, effective. Then we discussed placing one inch PVC pipe standing up and glued tight in each corner, as a "bumper" for the neoprene.

Makes sense....and no more corners