Has anyone turned a bench seat into a live well?

[paper]

I'm thinking about turning half of my center bench seat into a live well and was wondering if anyone has taken on a project like this and can make any suggestions?
My plan is to split the center seat in half (front to back) and hinge it.. I'd fab an aluminum tank and plumb in fittings for filling and draining and just use the seat top as the top of the tank, sealing it with foam.

Here's the seat.

With flotation under the floor and in both the front and rear seats, I'd think (Guessing here) that I have enough flotation for the boat. I'd only be removing half, or maybe 2/3rds of the flotation under the seat to make room for the tank, and I'd be supporting the tank with brackets and filling all voids with more foam (all closed cell)

So, what I'll looking for is suggestions, anything to look out for, or if you think I'm doing a huge No-No, I'd like feedback. This would be a winter project, but I'm thinking and planning now.. My concerns are the seat structure, hinge, and loss of flotation. The tank is the least of my worries as I've been a TIG welder for a few decades and was a full time fabricator in a previous life.. :wink:

 

[-CN-]

Looking forward to input from others as well as your progress. Same principles should apply to my front deck storage portal that I'm hesitant to do.

 

[onthewater102]

I made mine out of pvc sheet & pvc angle - cutout the rear bench & dropped the livewell in & filled around it with foam. I put a 3/4" square aluminum tube frame over the top of it to support the thin deck I was using along with to give the hatches somewhere to mount.

 

[momule]

Lowe turned all their benches into live wells. Check out their website.

 

[bonz_d]

Been done many times before and I plan on doing the same thing with my14.4 Sea Nymph.

Try and keep the tank centered in the seat with the same amount of foam on each side. That way if a disaster happens and the boat flounders there is a better chance of the boat staying level which is what the foam is supposed to do from all 4 angles.

Much harder to stay with a capsized boat than it is a swamped one.

 

[lucescoflathead]

My last Polar Kraft had a live well factory installed in the center bench seat. I've removed foam from seats and front decks to install storage hatches in every boat I've ever had. I don't see a problem. Good luck. Todd

 

[Attwanl]

Please take lots of pics, I want to do the same thing , but not a live well just storage.