In deck fish box

[Capt. Lou]

Thinking of turning a live well tank under my deck into an insulated fish box. Here are some pics of current tank. I was thinking of glueing 2" foam insulation on the existing glassed over plywood and then just glassing over the top of the foam insulation. Idea? Thoughts? Advice appreciated

 

[Capt. Lou]

I guess 1 pic at a time

 

[Capt. Lou]

Another of tank

 

[Capt. Lou]

And another one

 

[Capt. Lou]

18" deep towards stern and sloping towards bow approx to 24"

 

[Capt. Lou]

38" wide by 92" long

 

[Capt. Lou]

Damn iPad! Sorry for double posting that one

 

[F/V First Team]

Not all foam insulation is created the same. Some for example melt on contact with resin. Others take a few moments for the melting to start and you may not realize it until you're two feet down the line continuing with the project.

Talk about a soupy mess when it all comes sloughing off into a big pile of pink/blue madness.

I would recommend using a foil faced foam panel like a Celotex product. And if you are planning on doing the surface below your deck you might consider filling the space between your cross members flush with the bottom and then putting in strips of hard glass that you've pre-drilled and counter sunk so that the screw heads are flush with the surface. This way you can just do the joints with fiberglass tapes and save yourself many headaches from trying to fiberglass upside down in a small hole with poor/no ventilation.

 

[steveinak]

You could just line the box with blueboard insulation and use a waterproof slush bag, a outfit called Nomar in homer,ak makes custom sized ones. I used them in my fish holds and they worked great they even had 2" drains installed in them.

NOMAR Commercial Fisheries Equipment & Accessories, Slush bags, Brailer bags, brailers etc

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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Made with a waterproof, 18 oz. vinyl coated nylon. This water-tight bag is built to custom-fit your fish hold area. Put ice and water in the bottom, and hang your NOMAR Brailer Bag inside. As the fish are placed in the brailer, water and ice circulate around the fish, chilling and greatly improving quality. Built with- or without a threaded drain and plug. Brailer can be lifted and fish can be delivered without draining ice or having to handle fish one-at-a-time. Size requirements determine price.
Please call toll free [/FONT]1-800-478-8364 for a quote and ideas.
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[Capt. Lou]

thanks guys, appreciate the advice. any suggestions on a hatch cover?

 

[tunaorlater]

I used the roofing insulation with the paper on each side and it glasses well. If you are going to be dropping any buckets or anything heavy in there you want to cover at least the bottom with 1/4 or better plywood.

 

[cb34]

fish box

Cooler on deck makes much more sence, easy clean up

 

[starrfish]

i have a similar box, used A/B foam to insulate the sides and botton, as others have stated the rigid stuff doesnt do so well with the glass. i used 1/4 luan with 1.5 oz matt glassed over it, works like a champ, also made a gutter on the inside to keep water out of the ice from the deck. as for the lid, 3/4 ply glassed with 2" of insulation underneath.
keeps 1000 lbs of ice for about 6 days, depending on how many times lid gets opened and air temp etc

 

[starrfish]

heres what it looked like under construction

 

[Capt. Lou]

Cooler on deck makes much more sence, easy clean up

This is still an option. the xactics box works real well, if i do keep it i will ad a genny in the current box below deck.

 

[Helen L]

anchor makes some big hatches that are much more affordable than freeman/bomar. they leak a little but not bad

 

[MDI45]

L.D.marine products makes beautiful hatch frames like the anchor hatches....you can then make a top out of balsa panel www.ldmarineproducts.com....i was friends with the old owner of the company Carl Johnson(RIP)

 

[CEShawn]

Any idea on the prices on the LD Marine hatch frames?

 

[Capt. Lou]

anchor makes some big hatches that are much more affordable than freeman/bomar. they leak a little but not bad

would i need to insulate these type hatch covers? i understand if i get a hatch frame like the one LD makes i can make a cover out of any kind of material and insulate it. Am i wasting my time? will the strait aluminum cover work fine?

 

[F/V First Team]

anchor makes some big hatches that are much more affordable than freeman/bomar. they leak a little but not bad

I will NEVER use anchor hatches again
Unless they redesign with a much better sealing agent

They'd leak less if I took the damn plate out and just left the frame.