Rod storage, live well, and hole filling on 23se

[klawler9]

Just took delivery of a new to me 2001 23se. It has no t-top and bucket seats. It came with a huge above deck live well bolted to the bow. I removed the live well and puttee screws back in the holes temporarily.

1) how do I fill these small screw holes in the deck? West Marine told me 5200. O bought it but after poking around here there are those that think this is a bad idea.

2) there are 4 or six gunnel rod holders. I don't like running with the rods in the gunnels for a few reasons. Short of adding a leaning post with integral live well (getting pricing on this from local dealer) where do people mount vertical rod storage? I guess I could mount to side of console but I am concerned about getting past them.

Thanks

PS - where should I post the live well for sale?

 

[dave-j]

Depending on what kind of fishing you like to do, having a live well can be an incredibly handy addition to your boat. Additionally, bucket seats are next to useless on a boat this size, in my opinion. I greatly prefer a leaning post.

To save room, be sure to get a design that incorporates the live well at least partially beneath the leaning post, rather than behind it. Like the stock Parker CC setup.

Lastly, i would fill the holes with epoxy or Marine Tex. Just be careful, and take your time!! The stuff is a pain to clean up. I would agree that using "52 billion" is not a good idea.

 

[papasown]

I fill holes, after drying out well, with marinetex, but make sure to mask around each hole with tape, preferably" fine line" tape. after your holes are filled, you can remove the tape, but come back after the epoxy is starting to cure, with just a small cup of water. Dip your finger in, and smooth gently to make a glass like finish. Be careful to NOT step on the uncured product, as you will track it everywhere. Good luck, and the key is in the prep. Papa

 

[GaryM]

I also have a 2001 23SE. Great boat. Mine originally did not have a T-top and one of the prior owners installed 4 plastic rod holders to the port side of the console. It was similar to this one:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/st ... sNum=10801

After the T-top was added I mounted it to a 150 qt cooler that I place in front of the console.

Gary

 

[klawler9]

Thanks for the replies.

Gary - was there plenty of clearance getting past the rods when mounted to the console side?

 

[klawler9]

BTW - the price I got for installing the Parker leaning post and livewell is over $3200 - jeesh!

 

[GaryM]

Thanks for the replies.

Gary - was there plenty of clearance getting past the rods when mounted to the console side?

It's hard to say. Either the first or second owner of the boat installed the rod holders and the third owner installed the T-top without removing the rod holders. So when I got the boat (I'm the 4th owner) the T-top made the rod holders nearly useless. Both the canvas and the frame of the T-top were an issue. I took the rod holders out and installed a four drawer tackle box in that location. It looks to me like the rod holders would have worked well and the rods would be easy to access, but I don't have any real world experience with them in that location. Those same holders work great on the cooler though.

Gary

 

[dave-j]

i had two additional thoughts on this. First, my old boat, an Eastern 22 CC without a T-top had the rod holders on the side of the console and it was never a problem at all, including my fly rods with large diameter reels.

Second, the T-top on the 23 has supports that come to the outside of the console itself, restricting walk-around about as much as rods mounted to the outside would.

In short, I don't think it would be a problem.