clear bait well lid

[Lt.Mike]

:hmm
When at the recent Atlantic City boat show one neat trend I see on a lot of boats is the clear bait well lid.
Add a LED light and it really looks cool. I had already picked up an LED light for the bait well now I'm wondering if I could or should cut the lid for a clear deck plate window. Has anyone done this and I wonder how effective it would be to see the bait?
A 6" plate (4"ID) is only $15, 8" (6"ID) $23, and a 10" (7 1/2" ID) at $32. Could mount two? Might look pretty cool.

 

[fellinger]

Interesting. I don't see why it wouldn't work. I am sure a 10" would give you the look that your are going for. The only thing I would check is the thickness of the livewell lid compared to the thickness of the round lid. You wouldn't want any of the underside of your livewell lid to be exposed to water.

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,
It could work. Some things to consider.
- What is the coring material of the lid? It likely is wood or even balsa, if you cut it you could be opening yourself up to problems down the line.
- If you decide to do it, maybe get two and mount the outer ring inside and out to cover the hole. Seal them well. Just install the clear cover on the top.
- I'd go with the larger one versus two. You want to keep the integrity of the lid as strong as possible.
- GW uses a water proof led in the live wells (red in color). Something like the in the link below. Put it in a place you have backside access on the side so the led beam is not toward the clear port hole. It will be more than enough and won't blind you.
https://www.google.com/search?q=waterpr ... g9JrpJM%3A

 

[Lt.Mike]

I already have the LED, its a blue waterproof courtesy / livewell lamp from WM. Is mounted in the side and works well. It's tied in with the anchor and navigation lamps.
This would be for the rear livewell between the rear seats. Its not that thick so I don't know how much of a core it has but if I do this I'll be liberal with the 3M 5200. I've got a bunch of stuff to do before I get to this so it's still in the "kicking it around stage". As I said the lighted baitwells with the clear lids looked pretty cool on the new boats.
Mike.

 

[Old Cypress]

Mike,
Like you I thought the clear bait well idea was good one. I took the lid off of my bait well (Fisherman 222 w/Livewell behind the console) and traced it on a piece of plexiglass the same thickness and cut it out. I sanded the edges smooth and rounded them over some. Just was real careful in drilling the holes for the hinge and latch. Used it all last season. I do like the fact that you can look into the livewell and see how much bait is left and how they are doing. I don't have a pic or I would post one
Glenn

 

[Lt.Mike]

I'll bet that came out nice. If mine were flat I'd make a clear lid in a heartbeat. That way if you don't like it you can put the original back on.
The lid on my Overnighter is built like a box lid. It's not like you can just pick up another lid to cut while leaving the original intact and I am having second thoughts about making that cut.
:hmm
Right now the wheels are spinning with what you've done. I'm thinking I might make a lid out of Plexi (top) with white starboard (sides).
I'll post the pics if I do :wink:
Mike.

 

[Fishtales]

I like the idea of removing the old cover and fabricating a replacement much better. You always have the original if you want to put it back on.
Maybe do as you say. Some ideas.
- Get the clear piece of lexan, just about the same size as the lid on the well.
- Get (4) pieces of starboard approx. 2" in width (top side) to make your frame.
- Cut the ends of the pieces creating a mortise and tenon joint. You may need to borrow a jig or have a wood worker do this for you. By far the tightest and strongest joint for this application.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mortise ... AcIn5pM%3A
- If too hard, maybe a rabbit joint. Not as strong, but I'm sure glued properly would work.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rabbit+ ... Sj8ARyM%3A
- On the inside edge of the frame, cut a dado on all (4) pieces the exact thickness of the lexan. You could also rabbit it, but then you would see the glue. The dado is much nicer and you can glue all three sides of the lexan that will sit inside the dado.
- Rabbit the bottom edge of the frame to account for the lip on the livewell.
- Dry fit it all and adjust the lexan if needed to give you the perfect size. Glue it up and add hardware.

You don't need a lot of stock and if you buy extra, you should be able to mess around until you get one side figured out. Then bang out the other three sides.

 

[Mwills98]

This is a neat idea. I have a 204 also and thinking one of these rectangular hatches might work well.

http://www.beckson.com/hatches.html

 

[Mwills98]

Anybody here a beckson dealer? Can't find a seller stateside for the clear hatch and the Canadians want $35 to ship a $90 item. Any help? Going to pick up a 3/4 piece of starboard as well and just cut the center out to replace existing lid and wha-la.

 

[Lt.Mike]

Anybody here a beckson dealer? Can't find a seller stateside for the clear hatch and the Canadians want $35 to ship a $90 item. Any help? Going to pick up a 3/4 piece of starboard as well and just cut the center out to replace existing lid and wha-la.

Try this site.
http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?pa ... 3&id=47563

 

[Mwills98]

Thanks, but this is the one I am looking for. Defender didn't not have but I will see if they will special order maybe.

 

[Mwills98]

Re: clear bait well lid (installed 204c)

Never a shortage of good ideas on this site and finally had a chance to modify my live bait well lid. I think this is going to work well when cobia fishing using eels and easy to keep an eye on other types of live bait.

I just got a piece of cut to order 3/4" starboard, with the edges already routed in "seafoam" which was nearly an exact color match. Cut the hole out and dropped in the clear lid. Have my old cover for back-up.

 

[Lt.Mike]

That came out slick as all heck.
:goodjob
Where did you end up finding the hatch and what did it run you?
Mike.

 

[Fishtales]

I agree. Looks great.

 

[Mwills98]

That came out slick as all heck.
:goodjob
Where did you end up finding the hatch and what did it run you?
Mike.

Thanks. Sorry, I hadn't been on here in a while...been busy fishing. I ordered it from go2marine. It wasn't cheap at $121 with "free" shipping. It has been handy as expected.