Internal Hoppers

 

Virtually all commercialy available bait boats use internal hoppers (hoppers that are built into the main structure of the boat).  This is for good reasons.  They look good for sure but they have other advantages too.  It's much easier to protect the boat while transporting it if there aren't bits and pieces sticking out that could get damaged.  It's also much easier to prevent water from getting in (from a design perspective) and it improves the balance of the way your boat will sit in the water and handle.

 

I use internal hoppers in my current boat and would happily chuck a bucket of water over it while remaining confident that everything inside would remain bone dry.  Some examples of commercially available bait boats with inernal hoppers below: