Northwest Fishing Reports

Now on my second one, only two years old and the latch broke and both "hinges" are badly cracked. Repair kits are available, but they will just fail again. Short of paying big money for a really high end cooler like a Yeti (it's just to keep fish in) does anyone have a recommendation for a good one in 54 - 72qt capacity that doesn't cost a couple hundred or more $$? I'm tired of junk.

Me to! ive got a big white 72Qt thats falling apart

Steve

I've got an old Coleman I bought in the early '80s and it is still in good shape. You might give them a try. AND it is MADE IN THE USA!

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemanc ... 581&brand=

Amazon has one on sale....

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-70-Quart- ... m_dbs_sg_6

Mine is an old coleman as well. It's been through a lot and doing quite well. Only problem I have with it is that it doesn't have a drain plug. But it's a hand me down from my inlaws, so it's been around a while.

Hewes - line the fishbox in your boat with 1" pink foam board. Be sure to cut out a hole so it drains, works great. For portability I've been using a Rubbermaid cooler for the past decade or so. No latches to to go bad or break and if you need to positively secure the lid a small ratchet tiedown does the trick.

Mines an Igloo, about 15 yrs old, pin style hinge instead of the bending plastic plate, $10 at Aberdeen Wal Mart, 15 yrs ago on the way to a 3 day tuna trip. Ridden hard and put away wet!

I did just repair my GF's 3 yr old cooler hinge by utilizing the broken hinge plate as a retainer, I ran downrigger cable in under the old plate in various routes under the plate and retightened the screws. So Far, so good on several outings. Everyone has a spool of used downrigger cable lying around! LOL

I've been using an Igloo Playmate that we got for a wedding present in the Spring of '82. It has never failed me, but I don't usually catch a lot of fish. Before that I used a metal coleman with metal hinges and metal latch and one metal handle in the middle of the lid. I don't think they make them anymore. Was a GREAT cooler.

Some good suggestions here!

Marc - I've got one of those Coleman coolers, but it's the 120qt size and way too big for the boat. Maybe I need to get the 72qt version and call it good.

G-Man - I've seen a similar approach on the Hewescraft Owner's forum, so I might have to give that a shot. The fish box is small, only 24gallons, and all the way up front. It has a lockable door and the only thing I've ever used it for is storing electronics overnight somewhere I'm not comfortable leaving them out.

Lotech - I've got a Playmate cooler, and that one is nice. It's too small for our use though especially since Debbie uses the cooler as a step to get into and out of the boat at the dock. Whatever I get has to be big, and stable, enough for that.

I had an old Coleman, green steel sides, (I think they called them "steel belted") and it was a good cooler. Had that one for many years, but finally wore it out. That's what the Igloo Marine cooler replaced, too bad it didn't/doesn't measure up.

I'm in no hurry, so I'll search for awhile before replacing the crappy Igloo.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I have a metal Coleman from the sixties in excellent shape. Its a bit heavier but ice stays ice for a good long time. I bought mine in a garage sale for 10 bucks. It was a very worthwhile investment.

I've got a couple of the Coleman extreme coolers. The only way to go from there is Yeti. They aren't your old Steel Belted Coleman they actually have insulation in them. I have the big green one and the blue one one size down. I use the green one for storage and try not to open it more than a couple times a day. It will hold a couple bags of ice for darn near a week. Tested at Rufus in July/Aug. in 100+ temps. The blue one does very well too but I use it for drinks and stuff and it gets opened a lot more. so it needs to be re iced every couple days. They seem to be pretty tough rigs. They do have flex hinges but after 5 years I don't see and fatigue in the plastic.

IMO very good product! I had thought about an igloo becuase it was white but my buddies igloo that gets used a week a year has a detachable lid as well. The insulation is not even close, cleaned fish from the commercial cooler layered with a few bags of ice and left for the trip from the coast only lasted barely 32 hours.

I's a Coleman review.

I cheaped out, bought a replacement latch and pair of hinges for $11. When these fail, and I know they will, I'm getting one of these.

You won't be sorry. That there is a king salmon sized cooler!!!

G-Man, here's what Hewescraft forum member SkinnyRaven did with his fish box using 1" blue board (?). Looks pretty nice too! Might be a winter time project for me to do on our boat especially since I never use the fish box anyway.

Better cut some ABS sheet and glue up a liner. That foam will get nasty fast.