Live well or no live well?

[Bad Wolf]

I’m restoring my new to me 14’ Sylvan. It came with a split seat instead of a middle bench, and the left hand side was removed at some point. From what I can find out a live well was an option but I don’t think this had a factory one. There is an over flow fitting that was installed but it has the look of an owner modification. It’s through the hull about 8” in back of the seat. There is no live well now though.

Anyway my dilemma is whether to just put in a seat with some storage or try to fabricate up a live well. This is my first boat in 40 years and I’m just starting to get into fishing. Is a built-in live well worth the trouble, or should I just stick to storage? It would only be 8-9 gallons.

It strikes me that it would be cleaner to run any tubing now while I have the floor up. Also If I do put in a live well I would move the overflow so that the thru the hull fitting would be under the seat. If anyone has a similar set up I would appreciate some pictures. What did you use for a tank?

Thanks

 

[muskiemike12]

Unless you're going to be fishing tournaments, you really have no reason for a livewell. Fish for the pan keep better on ice anyway.

 

[MrSimon]

That through-hull fitting on the left side might indicate there was a factory live well at one point.

I agree with the post above though, it all depends on your fishing habits. If you aren't sure you really need one, then you probably don't.

 

[chrispy186]

What you could do is put a livewell in, and use it for storage. That way there, if you ever did fish a tournament or want to keep fish for some reason you have it. Until then, just use it for storage.

 

[Bad Wolf]

The hole for that fitting is pretty rough, I'm thinking it was an after market mod, and its not a very clean setup.
I've got a lot of work to do and this is a non critical mod. If I run the tubing now I can always go back and add the live well in later.

 

[turbotodd]

My last boat had 2 live wells. One in front and one in the rear deck. The one in the rear got used for dry storage. The front one got used for storing fish, but I always loaded it with a couple bags of ice and just put the keepers on ice right away. I had it I think 4 years and I think I used the livewells for their intended purpose once; and that was a tournament. I bought that boat as a project. I had put a pair of aerators in each well, one to pump in and the other to recirculate. I fished a tournament with it ONCE....didn't take long to realize that I was the low man on the totem pole. Everyone else had $70,000 boats and I had this little $1000 16' boat with a little 90 hp motor. And won that tournament. But it was not fun....no more tournament fishing for me. From that point on, it got used for recreational purposes only. GF would lay out on the rear deck and I'd sit at the front and catch dinner. Worked well.

The boat I have now doesn't have a livewell. And I don't miss it. If I'm trout fishing, I take a cooler with ice. Otherwise, a stringer hung over the side. Or sometimes a basket. That is when I actually catch fish to keep (catch & release most of the time).