Little Under Floor Live Bait Tank Project

[gazza2006au]

decided today to make the tank into a kill tank for now but my floor is going soft in one spot so i will need to tear it up and re-do it over winter i plan on making another kill tank but instead of using the already cut hatch i will make a nice long skinny kill tank with a flat bottom

we mostly target King Fish and Flat Head which are both long slender shape fish and the odd Salmon so i'll tailor a tank around those fish, in NSW king fish must be 65cm for a legal take, the tank i just built is only 50cm wide so they may not fit

also looking to replace my plastic live bait tank with a custom aluminium tank with 8 sides hopping to get rid of the 1.6mm aluminium sheet i have been working with for the past couple of years its just too difficult for me to work with as im inexperienced at welding all together but giving it a go, actually just bought another welder today a AC/DC TIG machine so hopping to practice some more and nail out some nifty accessories

this is my current live bait tank just made from a plastic Bunnings water container but does the trick

[Dignity]

Gazza, have you thought of upgrading the boat, seems simpler, but then I am looking through a red colored glass at the moment. Honestly I know where you're at, I've replaced the half floor in my tinnie with a full floor requiring a raising of nearly 70 mm, raised the transom, added a casting deck, welded a bracket on the front and added a leccy motor, never ending. Don't even bother asking about the big boat or the yak, I think we are just destined to keep tinkering.

[gazza2006au]

Gazza, have you thought of upgrading the boat, seems simpler, but then I am looking through a red colored glass at the moment. Honestly I know where you're at, I've replaced the half floor in my tinnie with a full floor requiring a raising of nearly 70 mm, raised the transom, added a casting deck, welded a bracket on the front and added a leccy motor, never ending. Don't even bother asking about the big boat or the yak, I think we are just destined to keep tinkering.

i bought the boat not long ago mate its had a few mods done the transom has been raised about 40mm for optimum outboard performance, the transom has been beefed up, the floor was added at some point along with the floor supports, the fuel tank and battery trays have been added, carpeted throughout, middle seat removed

im just adding little things i need or would like for my own comforts the kill tank is a good idea so it gets rid of the esky

[gazza2006au]

half way thru welding the new bait tank, decided on moving my battery and placing a 49 litre custom built by me live bait tank in the rear right corner

im new to welding and teaching my self to TIG weld aluminium, getting a little bit of contamination here and there still unsure where its coming from

but here is the tank so far

i will be adding a internal removable divider wall to keep yakkas and poddy mullet separate from squid

[brett62]

Mate what are you cleaning the joint with before you weld ?

half way thru welding the new bait tank, decided on moving my battery and placing a 49 litre custom built by me live bait tank in the rear right corner

im new to welding and teaching my self to TIG weld aluminium, getting a little bit of contamination here and there still unsure where its coming from

but here is the tank so far

i will be adding a internal removable divider wall to keep yakkas and poddy mullet separate from squid

[gazza2006au]

Mate what are you cleaning the joint with before you weld ?

nothing mate because its fresh aluminium the plastic was just removed before tacking together, looks like my contamination is from my effected filler rods

ill put up more pictures as i progress

[brett62]

nothing mate because its fresh aluminium the plastic was just removed before tacking together, looks like my contamination is from my effected filler rods

ill put up more pictures as i progress

The material will still have oxidation even with the plastic cover. If you get a s/s wire brush and some Metho and clean you will be all good.