I have an 8' Bass Raider made by Pelican.  No livewell.  There is a possibility of a "small craft" tournament series starting locally, I would love to get involved.  I am wondering if anyone has any clever ideas for a livewell.  Here is the catch.  I don't really have room IN the boat.  I am thinking of something that floats, but won't create alot of drag.  Something that will keep a limit of bass alive, that is obvious. And most importantly, CHEAP!!   ;D  Now I did have one idea regarding the space problem in my boat.  How do you think it would work out if I made the livewell from a cooler then attached my seat to the lid of the cooler?  Also this would only be in the boat when fishing a tournament, otherwise i would leave it home.  Any ideas are welcome y'all, I know someone can help me out!!!!

Thanks

Cliff

I was looking to put a livewell in my boat. My idea was to take a large cooler (which was stolen recently so now I have to wait), and hook two bilge pumps up to it. One bilge to pump lake water in, the other bilge to drain the water back out. With both bilges on at the same time, its aerating. I can't see you getting away with an "external" livewell, you're better off making or finding the room inside the boat. If bilges aren't your thing, you could manually fill and drain and just use a small aerator to keep the water oxygenated. Just some thoughts.

Me and my fishing partner used to do this for our small boat club. We had a cooler and two bubble boxes. we drilled holes in the top of the cooler for the bubble box lines and mounted the boxes on the side of the cooler. We never had a problem keeping 5 fish alive. the only part the sucked was filling the livewell. We had to fill it with a bailer bucket.

Me and my fishing partner used to do this for our small boat club. We had a cooler and two bubble boxes. we drilled holes in the top of the cooler for the bubble box lines and mounted the boxes on the side of the cooler. We never had a problem keeping 5 fish alive. the only part the sucked was filling the livewell. We had to fill it with a bailer bucket.

X2  Thats about as simple as it will get.  You should periodically replace portions of the water as well during the tourney.  Even with adequate oxygen, other toxins build up over time.  A bilge pump makes filling and unfilling a little easier, but a bucket works fine.

Can someone point me to a bubble box?  not sure what that is.  And can all this stuff be run off the battery I use for my TM?

Thanks, keep the ideas coming.

Another thing, the weight.  How much do you think a cooler full of water and bass would weigh?  My capacity on the boat is 500lbs.  With me and my gear I am probably at around 300lbs or so.

water is around 8lbs per gallon.