You really can’t get by without a decent bait board, and I find it hard to imagine not having one. It keeps every thing you need at hand, up off the floor and provides a level work area to cut and prepare bait.
Most bait boards seem to be those ubiquitous plastic moulded units that stand elevated above an aluminium frame on a couple of alloy tube posts held in place by vertical rod holders. Some are made of stainless steel, with the board itself made of fibreglass and equipped with drink holders and bait containers. Any of these are fine. They work well and are very durable.
The boat I currently have came with one of those plastic moulded outfits and I fished with it for some time, but I was never that happy with it. Firstly, it sat too high and felt intrusive, so I cut the alloy posts so it could sit as low across the transom as possible. That helped for a while, but I still didn’t feel satisfied and always found it hard to clean at the end of the day. I wanted something flat, wider and without drink holders, or gutters that harboured old bait and off cuts.