# Hobie live bait tank - first impressions



## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Being the first kid on the block with this new toy, I thought I'd give a quick roundup after the first couple of trips.

The tank is rotomoulded PE like most of our yaks. It's designed to clip in with straps & buckles just behind the seat - the clips stay on the yak so that its just a matter of plonk it on board and do up the clips. Water inlet is via a scupper, with a tube directly off the base of the pump that fits inside the scupper. The pump is theoretically self priming, more on this later. Water outlet is via a tube positioned above the other scupper, this tube can be adjusted up and down to control water depth somewhat. At full capacity I'd say it holds 25-30l of water (est). A pull switch turns the unit on and off, the 6V 8Ahr battery sits under a bungy secured cover at the rear of the tank. There are 3 rodholders attached to the back of the unit, which have answered my rod storage issues admirably.

First trip out was to Longie - despite recent reports do you think we could find a yakka? I decided to run the unit anyway to test performance and discovered that the "self priming" pump does prime - eventually. I left it on to see if it would prime after a slow start and after about 20 mins the sound changed and the tank filled up. There was a bit of swell, and the changed handling characteristics were quite noticeable - my snake hipped revo felt like it had been on the Elvis diet for too long, with a definite wallow action. Not really a problem once I got used to it, and I didn't come close to falling out. Certainly easier than similar conditions dragging a bait tube. The pump itself is right at the bottom of the tank (to reduce "head") - close inspection reveals that it's a 12V pump, but the supplied battery is 6V, presumably to reduce flow (not sure why this would be desirable). I think this is probably the main reason the pump is slow to prime.

Second trip was from Watsons Bay, inside the harbour. This time I primed the pump manually with a bucket of water into the tank, and it pumped happily after that. We stopped off at a handy wharf near the launch and caught bulk yakkas fairly quickly - very convenient to just drop them behind you into a brimming tank. I probably caught around 20 from tiny to XOS models, and the tank didn't seem crowded. Access to the tank is fairly good from the seat, but a bait net is a necessity to remove the slimy little buggers. With lots of baits swimming happily, we made for the markers.

With the first bait in the water I found the first design oversight - the pull switch that turns on the pump is positioned so that when you turn around to access the tank its very easy to turn off the power. First time I did this I noticed straight away and turned it back on, but twice this trip I managed to hit the switch without noticing and found the tank nearly empty both times. Fortunately I lost the knob off the switch soon after, so I have a good excuse to replace it with a rocker switch with cover - I'll be doing this asap. All baits survived the low tides nonetheless. After a kingless outing, all remaining baits were in excellent condition and were released near the wharf they came from.

Bottom line - pretty good. I'll persist with the 6V battery for a while, but I'll probably up the ante to 12V when it gets tired. I'll replace the annoying switch and then the tank will be a definite asset. One minor problem occurs on landing - because the inlet is from a tube down the scupper, this has to be removed before the wheels can be plugged in, not really more than a slight inconvenience. The tank drains if the pump's not on - could be problematic if power fails - I may be able to improve its hold time with a bit of silicone around the outlet. The tank looks pretty purposeful too - a guy asked me if it was an engine when I landed (the rod holders could be construed as ram tubes).


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Hi Roberta,



arpie said:


> If it empties when the pump is not operating, they must have the outlet hose lower than the inlet hose.


No, the outlet is from a tube open at the top of the tank and draining through the bottom to the other scupper, but the seal is not great at the base of the outlet, allowing water to run out (slower than it comes in). This is probably fixable when I get around to it. The pump also allows some back flow when not running - I'll consider adding a valve to this if it becomes problematic.



arpie said:


> Also, Is the outlet hose wider than the inlet hose?


The outlet is wider than the inlet (nearly twice the diameter) so I don't think overfilling would be an issue, even if the water flow was doubled. The outlet tube on mine didn't have any holes drilled around the top (necessary to stop a bait accidentally plugging the outlet) - I've drilled big holes all around a small pill bottle and taped this to the top of the outlet to avoid this. Newer versions have the top of the outlet tube cross drilled to acheive the same result.



arpie said:


> I am sure all hobiephiles & others will be interested in your observations!


There's no reason the tank couldn't be used on non-Hobies if desired, provided there are some suitably positioned scupper holes.



arpie said:


> hopefully for keeping bigger fish alive for longer as well??


The tank holds about 200mm of water with my current outlet configuration. I haven't tried it yet but I bet it would keep bream etc quite happy, as long as the tank remains full. More water flow would probably assist with this. It's unlikely to keep a kingfish kicking though.


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

it looks very handy on the revo. I am glad I went with the Esky option on my outback however with the extra room on the outback. I tend to take the wheels with me when I am out as I am very lazy and dont want to have to go back to the car to get the wheels when I am coming back into a boat ramp.

I just dont understand why it would be designed to drain out when the pump is not turned on. I would think that a few livies would be quite happy to swim around for at an hour or more in my tank without the pump giving them new water. I only have to turn the pump on every now and then to refresh the water.
I would certainly look at a way to stop it draining the water automatically.

I use a 12v battery with mine, and it fills it in about 20 second. Though I am sure the battery would not last all day if I left it on. Plus the hobie version having the larger outlet hole would not overfill as mine does if forgotten about.

The question I have is: what happens if you roll the yak, does the tank fall out nicely or does it jam in the scupper holes. Is there any chance of the inlet pipe getting damaged in such an event.


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## yakattack (Jan 12, 2008)

Gday SBD,

I love the bait tank. What is the recommended retail on these and do they come in all of the hobie colours.
Cheers Micka


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

yankatthebay said:


> I just dont understand why it would be designed to drain out when the pump is not turned on.


Not designed to, it just does. To be fair, my tank is the one that did the rounds of the boat shows, and has suffered some wear as a result. I'm sure that the seal on a brand spanking one is better.



yankatthebay said:


> I tend to take the wheels with me when I am out


Yep, I take mine too. I've started undoing the clips and taking the tires off, then they'll fit in the front hatch - keeps the deck clearer.



yankatthebay said:


> what happens if you roll the yak, does the tank fall out nicely or does it jam in the scupper holes


The tank is firmly held in, if I were to roll it I think it'd pretty much stay put. There's only one tube in the scupper (inlet) and if push came to shove it'd just come out. The inlet pipe is flexible PVC, unlikely to get damaged and cheap to replace if it was.



yakattack said:


> What is the recommended retail on these and do they come in all of the hobie colours.


Try your local Hobie dealer Micka, they'll be able to give you better info than I can.


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## polylureosis (Jul 24, 2006)

yankatthebay said:


> it looks very handy on the revo. I am glad I went with the Esky option on my outback however with the extra room on the outback. I tend to take the wheels with me when I am out as I am very lazy and dont want to have to go back to the car to get the wheels when I am coming back into a boat ramp.


Hi YATTB,

I guess it depends on the wheels you have but mine fit in the front hatch of the outback.


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