Ice Box Esky - Suitable Size And Where Should I Put It On Boat?

[Timmy76]

Hi all again!

We have a 2005 Stessco Skipper 420EC boat.

Last 3 months have been taking it out for test rides, getting to know the basics of owning the boat and respecting the water. Now its time for the fun to start & wet our lines on the boat!

Which leads me to this question ....

Where do I put the ice box/esky on the boat?

Is there a suitable size I should go for? The esky will basicially be for cold drinks and any fish we catch. (50L & internal length measurement of about 63cms okay or too short? Eg: http://www.bigchillicoolers.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=156)

Most important of all, where should ice box/esky be put on boat?

I have been thinking ice box/esky should be put next to drivers seat? .... if I remove the passenger seat and use the ice box/esky as a seat with cushion and to store drinks and fish(if we catch any!). Is this possible or not such a good idea?

See picture of boat:

Any ideas or pictures you can show me of your boat or boats similar to mine to better understand would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks muchly

Timmy

[shefford]

Hey

We are getting 2 ice boxes from big chilli coolers as well

50L is just way way to small we have a 60 litre eski and we can't fit fish into it as its too small

We are getting a 90 litre flat mackeral box for the back of the boat to store keeping fish.

And a 105 L box one for the front of our boat to store bait, drinks and im going to add a few shelves to it for food

We have a big chilli store near my place and i had a look at them again today and 50L is like a little hand eski it's so small!

And yea we have a 6 metre boat and are doing it up, rather then making storage areas/carrying extra buckets and putting in new seats we are going to use the ice boxes for that very purpose.

Ps If do you live on the coast?

I reckon you should upgrade to the 80ish L capacity but.....

depends how much room you want to take up!

[slinkymalinky]

From the look of the layout of your boat it's pretty clean internally. I'd get one and place it behind your seats in the middle of the clear space. It will make a useful additional seat and you could even put a cushion on it. Esky's are a bit of a pain in small boats but I agree with iricangi that 50L is too small (particularly if you're going to catch Kingfish).

I've got a 480 Quintrex bow-rider so I have less clear space behind the seats than in your boat and I use a 70L cooler. It's long enough to hold good sized kings and importantly, plenty of ice as well as a separate small esky in which I keep bait to keep it separate from the take-home fish.

I'd love a big Mackerel box and if I did more fishing north of Newcastle I'd probably get one as there's a much better chance of catching cobia, mackerel, long tail tuna and other bigger fish out of a small boat. I'll probably get one at the end of the year when I move up to the Gold Coast.

Cheers, Slinky

[Josh88]

Hi Timmy,

Ours was good enough to be a standard feature and is fitted directly under the seat. You need to make sure that it is somehow secured whether it be against the side of the boat or preferably the floor so that it doesn't slide around and damage stuff whilst you are driving.

Cheers

Josh

[slinkymalinky]

Hi Timmy,

Ours was good enough to be a standard feature and is fitted directly under the seat. You need to make sure that it is somehow secured whether it be against the side of the boat or preferably the floor so that it doesn't slide around and damage stuff whilst you are driving.

Cheers

Josh

Hey Josh,

Like the rig. Niiiiiiiice

Slinky

[Josh88]

Hey Josh,

Like the rig. Niiiiiiiice

Slinky

Thanks Slinky,

It gets us from a to b, lol.

Josh

[humesy]

G'day,

I have a 4.2m quinnie and am toying with the idea of cutting out a section of floor and installing a sub-floor kill tank/cooler. I had a quick look at another identical boat that had extensive modifications, including this one. He had taken out the passenger seat though and my assumption is he fishes alone. I am not sure how much work is involved but it would be great to do because floor space gets tight in a boat this size, especially once you try to start fishing with any more than 2 people or in any sort of swell. It is way better to have a clear space to move around in and space to catch your balance if necessary.

Cheers

[shefford]

Just bought a 105 L 91cm long ice box for $130 and a 18L 1 for my cans of drinks and food for $25

[pelican]

If you start looking at pulling out seats etc you may as well look at the fibreglass replacements that have esky or live bait in them. Do a search for boat box - not cheapest but you get a fair bit.

I would eep it simple with an esky and a couple of tie down point so it is safe and it will still be usefull and you can change it if your fishing style changes. Pedestal seats are such a waste of space as even with the simplest box under a seat you could store life jackets etc. Must be cheap and lightweight for the manufacturers.

Pel

Edited June 4, 2008 by pelican

[Timmy76]

Thanks to all those that replied.

You have given me a couple of ideas that I will seriously look into over the weekend.

Fingers crossed I will make a decision soon.

Thanks again guys, much appreciated!