Live Well Repairs & Questions

dave524

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 27, 2005
Messages
116
Hello. I have a 17ft Bluefin Sportsman that has a livewell in it, but I dont understand how it fills and drains. I have a hole in the starboard side of the boat that I assume is the drain. Also in the back of the boat there is what looks like a inlet by where the plug goes in, but it is capped off inside the boat. If you need pictures please email me at dave524@ptd.net, and I will send them to you. I am trying to get this fixed for the spring thaw. Thanks in advance for the help. :)
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
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Apr 17, 2002
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71,310
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

Well Dave,........<br /><br />My Guess is,...........<br /><br />There's Supposed to be a Pump mounted down where that Capped Off fitting is,.........<br /><br />It would pump water up thru a hose that probably Isn't there, to the livewell........<br /><br />When the livewell Over-flows,..... It runs out the drain you found...............<br /><br />But,........<br />I'm Just Guessing.......... ;)
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,771
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

The simplest of livewells has three ports. An inlet at the back of the boat is connected to the inlet of a livewell pump located as close to the back of the boat at the level of the inlet. The outlet of the pump feeds the sprayer (aerator) fitting in the live well. A drain is normally provided at the bottom of the livewell. You insert a plug into the drain when using the livewell. The fitting you have out the side of the boat is for an overflow. The pump can be controlled by a simple on-off switch, or one that has a timer function. ON (for filling the live well) OFF (obvious) and TIME (runs the pump for 30 seconds and then turns off for two or three minutes).
 

CN Spots

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
1,612
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

A few aluminum bassboats were more simple than that... they just located the livewell lower than water level. You pulled a plug on the side of the livewell to let in the water. Wanna recirculate? Rock the boat back and forth. :D <br /><br />spots
 

dave524

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 27, 2005
Messages
116
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

Originally posted by Upinsmoke:<br /> The simplest of livewells has three ports. An inlet at the back of the boat is connected to the inlet of a livewell pump located as close to the back of the boat at the level of the inlet. The outlet of the pump feeds the sprayer (aerator) fitting in the live well. A drain is normally provided at the bottom of the livewell. You insert a plug into the drain when using the livewell. The fitting you have out the side of the boat is for an overflow. The pump can be controlled by a simple on-off switch, or one that has a timer function. ON (for filling the live well) OFF (obvious) and TIME (runs the pump for 30 seconds and then turns off for two or three minutes).
 

dave524

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 27, 2005
Messages
116
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

OK, so i am guessing that this pump should be by the beilge pump located at the rear of the boat. Do I need to plug the drain inside of the livewell ? What will keep it from overflowing ? Thanks again for the help.
 

jtexas

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 13, 2003
Messages
8,646
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

Dave, <br />right, it'll go back by the bilge pump. Search for a "livewell fill pump" on iboats or basspro or cabelas or any marine store...you'll immediately see how to install it...basically a thru-transom fitting where it draws water in. Mine just has a piece of plain garden hose leading to the livewell.<br /><br />The hole on your starboard side (overflow drain) doesn't need a plug (it is above the waterline, right?), but if there's a drain hole in the bottom of the boat you'll probably want a plug. I sometimes forget to put that one in, only consequence is water in the livewell, no big deal. A lot of bass boats have a pump-out instead of drain, and a different overflow arrangement, but sounds like yours is like mine, just a hole in the side of the boat. The hole leads directly into the livewell, right?<br /><br />I also have a bilge pump inside the livewell that's plumbed to throw water out thru the overflow, but I think that was a prior-owner-installed option. I use it sometimes to refresh the water - on warm days when you got a lot of fish in there, it's good to pump out the old fouled de-oxygenated water while pumping in fresh. You'll want one if you don't have a drain hole in your livewell.
 

dave524

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 27, 2005
Messages
116
Re: Live Well Repairs & Questions

jtexas;<br />Thank you for your responce. Yes I do have the setup that you described, however the drain hole on the outside of the boat is below the water line. Originally I thought that when the boat was in the water that the livewell filled up. On one of my trips, I opened up the livewell, and it was dry. When I got home, I poured water into the livewell, and it did run out of the hole on the lower side of the boat. It appears that there is some kind of piping under the livewell, that i am going to investigate. It kind of looks like a pump. Thanks again for the info, I will post more details next trip to the garage.
 
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