2006 Starcraft Live well over flows

[janesy]

My neighbour took me out today to show me a problem, he has a 2006 Startcraft 186 C-star. First off his live well pump doesn't work at all, but we did not have a chance to check it due to the following more pressing situation.

At any speed the live wells fill up and over flow through the drain holes. at rest the back live well fills to the water line, but at any speed will quickly over flow(very quickly). The previous owners had them all plugged so they would not fill up, but I do not understand how this would allow you to use the pump to fill them and use them. On my legend, I put in the tube and pump water in until it flows over the tube. Got it.

I don't under stand, If the drain have to be plugged, why does it come with over flow tubes? Then after you filled them once with the pump and the plugs in, if they don't drain out after you pull the plugs(in fact they do the oposite), How the heck are you supposed to use these live wells?? It makes no sense.

Also it appears to drain and fill through one hole in the transome.

Anyone have a startcraft that could possibly tell me how this setup is supposed to work? It make no sense at all. It's like you can fill them, plug them and they are fine, but as soon as you pull the plug it does the opposite as you would expect.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

My experience with several live wells on different boats made me wonder what the designers had in mind when building them. Always seemed to be a problem regarding fill, drain, filling at rest and then draining out on plane, overflowing once the boat is in motion, circulating water, aeration not functioning properly...if aerated at all, not holding water so that you can take your live catch home.

So, I just made up my mind that I will figure out what I need and modify accordingly as is with my current boat. I added an aerator that I bought at WW for $10 or thereabouts, and put in a PVC on-off valve ($4 at a local hardware store) in the drain line so that I can take my prize catches home with a full tank of water...aerated water. Then I bought a float valve/switch, like you would use to control an automatic bilge pump and installed it so that when my tank filled to a certain level the switch would float thus shutting off my fill pump and stop it from overflowing into the boat if I forgot to turn it off. That was $15 or so.

Now I haven't bought one of those $40,000 bass boats and I know that they have some fancy functions so I'm not referring to one of them.

Mark

 

[roscoe]

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

There are many ways these can be set up.

I'm guessing the pump is broken, or removed.

I don't like the ones that don't drain out, above the waterline.

I would go straight to Starcraft.

 

[TyeeMan]

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Are there drain holes in the bottom of the live wells that go out through the hull? Your average live well will have 2 "holes" in it and a sprayer/arator. One hole should be the drain, it will either drain directly out the bottom or run out the rear, some will even drain into the bilge, or there will be a valve in the floor that in one position will allow the pump to pump water to the spray head and in another position will allow the water to drain back out through the pump. The other hole should be the overflow where the livewell dumps water above the water line.
Your spray head will either be a plastic tube with slots in it, or it will look like "knob" to where you can turn the knob and adjust the amount of spray.

My Lund has two bow live wells, one pump feeds both. If I only want to use one I screw shut the adjustable spray head so only one fills. The livewells drain out the bottom right through the hull and each live well also has an over flow above the water line. I never have to keep them plugged as they do not fill by themselves. That said, once I had two people riding up front, we were probably running about 15 mph and all of a sudden my wife said, "hey, my butt is getting wet!" So that live well filled through the drain hole. We stopped, it drained, I put the plug in and all was fine.
Does the Starcraft have no overflows above the water line to where you can put the plug in the bottom and you could basically leave the pump run all day (I know you wouldn't do that) and all the extra water would just dump out the side of the boat?

 

[mphy98]

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

My starcraft has one drain with a removable overflow tube. you can use a rubber plug as you described but it will not drain that way. The overflow tubes drain out on the port (left) side of the boat. If it is plugged then you need to snake it clear. I just run with the tube in the drain and never have a problem.

 

[janesy]

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Re: 2006 Startcraft Live well over flows

Thanks for all the replies guys.

This boat's livewell's only have one drain, as mphy98's does, with a vertical overflow tube. I did not see any thru hulls on either side of the boat, just through the transom. If there was one, and it was below the water line than it would explain the problem. I mean the water was flowing in through the drains so fast its no wonder the boat wasn't sinking lol, actually spraying in like a garden hose. Didn't make sense at all. It's even more of a PITA that his pump doesn't work so I couldn't even trouble shoot the whole system.

The Hull was bone dry as well.