Been very busy the last 2 days but finally have a little time to explain...
I bought this all aluminum livewell seat with flip-flop back from craigslist for $50 yesterday. Brand new equivalents run about $400 so I'm a happy camper. I'll strip the paint and clean it up and make it shine! My wife will likely re-do the upholstery.
The measurements make it about a 20 gallon tank, assuming not completely full to the very top. Counting every cubic inch of the inside volume would be 26 gallons. So I figure about 20 should be pretty close.
I really would like some thoughts and suggestions about which boat would be best suited for the livewell; Kingfisher or Chieftain? And if I end up going with the KF, I'll have to start planning for plumbing and location, etc. pretty soon. For the Chief, it can wait awhile.
In the KF, we'd use it to keep fish and bait alive. I can easily fabricate a divider to keep them separate. Learned my lesson about divider hole requirements the hard way one time when I put a catfish in my Bass Tracker livewell with some minnows. About 10 minutes later came a loud series of splashes and when I checked, half my minnows were gone! :lol:
In the Chief (for saltwater use) it would be for bait only. Pinfish and whatnot.
So I'll need to make a decision about which boat will get the installation. Thoughts from the Starmada will be very much appreciated!
For the KF, when filled, it will add about 160 pounds of extra weight which will be toward the stern. Not ideal for performance. Much like having another passenger sitting back there. Of course, there could
also be a passenger using the seat too, adding to the all-up weight.
The livewell seat itself is just about the same width as two regular seats, so I could then have seating for 5 people instead of four.
Two regular seats sitting on top of the livewell seat.
Putting the livewell seat in the KF might make the boat too cramped. I'll have to do another floor configuration layout in order to get a better view of the setup.
The livewell seat in the Chief would be a perfect fit, leaving plenty of walk around room. And it would be farther from the stern as well. The extra weight might be more helpful for ride comfort too. But it will be awhile before I can put it to use.
