[akonyha]

My parents just retired and moved to Bayou Vista from New Orleans. They just about have their house all fixed up...new boat house, hoist, power, etc. However, my dad is still having to bring his catch into the house to clean...much to my mother's displeasure.

I would like to build him a fish cleaning table but I am a little strapped for ideas. I was hoping to draw on some 2cooler's experience for some options. I want to hook him up with a nice cutting surface and sink that he could hook a hose up to. I guess what I am asking for is some pictures of what works for other people. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[kenny]

You'll get plenty of ideas but I have two suggestions.
Go ahead and run a PVC water connection to the sink and a GFI electrical service nearby for a light over the table and a plug for an electric fillet knife.

 

[SaltH2oAssassin]

Here's a link to a thread with WD's fillet table.

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=118381&highlight=wd+fish+cleaning+table

 

[akonyha]

There are plenty of GFI outlets on the boat house. I think there is even a capped waterline coming from the garage. I think the previous owners had a wet bar on the bottom patio.

 

[jtburf]

Here you go:

Fish Cleaning Table Shower

Rinsing your hands, knife and fillets while cleaning fish was always a slimy proposition. The focus of this article is about having a foot-operated showerhead on your fish cleaning table. This entire table can be built for about $50 depending on the size and materials you choose. Just adding the plumbing to your table asshown costs less than $20 and a couplehours work. This small investment pays back in spades when you are cleaning up after a long day on the water.

The foot-activated showerhead uses a ball valve with the handle drilled to accept a bungee (the spring) and chain down to the foot pedal. I have used the spring-loaded valves before and found they do not have enough spring to close the valve completely with a pedal, and they cost about $45. The ball valve cost about $5 and works much better. I attach the copper tubing and valve to the underside of the table using a 'drop ear elbow' at eachend. This gives the feed line, the valve, and the shower head stability. To the feed line side, I added two hose bibs on this particular table. A short hose and nozzle passes through the table top at the back to rinse the table, and the third to wash the boat, rods or whatever.

The design for thetable itself is as variable as imagination allows, and not the focus here. Accompanying photos are of the table I built for where I winter, designed to fit and compliment the dock, whichis 48" wide and all pressure treated material. I will however make a few suggestions, you will find several incorporated in the table shown. A kitchen counter is 36" high, so that is the height I recommend. Depth of 18-24" is what I have found to work outbest, more than that is generally a waste of space and makes it harder to clean. You'll want a width of at least 30 inches, if you work alone. I have 42" at my home and it's great for me, but crowded with two guys cleaning flatties, you need 60" if you do that with any frequency. If you're building a 60" or wider table, I would recommend moving theshowerhead near the center of the table so it could be shared easily. Always put just enough pitch to drain water off the back, too much and you'll have fillets sliding and blocking your drain. To drain off water I found a space of 3/8" - 1/2" between the end board and backsplash to be the right size. Any more and you can lose your knife or a fillet through it too easily. Holes are harder to keep clean and are easilyblocked with fillets, if you make large holes you risk losing your knives. Fora cutting surface, most like the Starboard type material, or for a lot less money, two cutting boards sold at department stores work well. Many people like cleaning fish on a woodsurface also, use a piece of ¾" exterior plywood (not pressure treated) and replace when it gets beatup. Using serrated knives tears up anything in its path including cutting boards, so the disposable plywood can bea very viable option. Whichever surface you go with, be sure to countersink the screw heads well below the surface to prevent damaging your knife blade. A shelf under the table is a nice addition to keep a sharpening stone, brush, and other items relevant to cleaning fish and your boat, and it's also a good place to keep your fillets away from the seagulls just waiting for you to turn yourback! Tight Lines!

http://www.fishcleaningtable.com/

different company:

http://www.fishcleaningtable.com/

John

 

[Tortuga]

http://www.wdsfillettables.com/deluxe.html

Here's a link to Walt's Fillet Table site.. On his new models he has done away with the plywood altogether and is using all poly...Really a neat deal...

Walt's a member here and a regular advertiser on the classifieds...and one helluva nice guy with a quality product..Got 2 myself... If you wanna dodge all the work of putting one together yourself and give your folks sumthin they will be pleased with and proud of, you might wanna give his tables a thought...