2002 Arima 21' Sea Ranger | Bait Table Build

[Pacific27]

I'd first like to thank everyone that has posted (with photos) your bait table builds, very helpful in visualizing possibilities.

Extra special thanks to Diablo, your build is what I centered on. I would have duplicated it entirely but I still store my boat outside (unfortunately) and need to be able to remove the table so my boat cover snaps down and would not have been possible had I went with a "fixed" design like yours. Would have been quite a bit cheaper had I not needed the Miller Marine rod extenders for legs.

I had left over 1/8" Baltic Birch (table) and 1/2" plywood (U-shaped lower), Epoxy and Fiberglass so I chose these materials rather than HDPE. I think this turned out to be the same weight or lighter than had I used HDPE.

Project Goal was to keep the table at 20 pounds. My original build had a box below the table that held (3) Flambeau WP5005 Tuff Tainers, but that added 7 extra pounds so had to scrap it. As it sits I'm a hair over 20 pounds so hit this project goal.

Project Cost:
Miller Marine Aluminum Rod extenders (for legs) $240 (Ouch!! but worth it really easy to install/remove the table when needed)
Scotty Rod holders (Scotty #244L-BK) $50
Stainless Steel Piano Hinge $8
Stainless Steel Fasteners $20
Wood, Epoxy, Fiberglass, Paint $100 (guesstimate, lost track)
Roller for outboard $20

The 1/8" Baltic Birch was easy enough to cut with a razer knife and straight edge eliminating sanding. Then glued (epoxy) and stapled (stainless) the "core" together.Used 1/2"W x 1/8"H strips to make support channels for all the pieces to fit in. In hindsight I would have done those in 1/4" strips as it would have made the corner epoxy fillet much easier. Drilled drain holes in the main table and each storage compartment so it wont hold water.

The U-Shaped lower support was cut with a jigsaw and corners routed then fiberglass/epoxied. Didn't get one of the sides quite right, but its a fishing boat not a Ferarri!! What I keep telling myself when I get hung up on trying to make things "perfect".

I would have kept the original table, but I'm 6'4" so having a table that sits up higher has been a huge quality of life improvement for my boat.

Here are some photos of the build, others in my Gallery.