okay 15 foot eagle bowrider ,,first boat getting the bugs worked out .my question is the live well .got it working .somone give me the run down on it .do i fill it up then plug from the inside .i dont leave it runing do i ..kinda lost :% thanks
Live wells are a number of different designs. Some have a removable stand pipe that slips into the drain at the bottom. You fill the live well and any excess water goes into the pipe and out the drain. Others have a plug in the bottom and an overflow out the side of the boat. Pull the stand pipe to empty the live well. Next, the pump switch may be simply an ON-OFF switch. Switch it on to fill the tank and off when full. Cycle it now and then to keep water fresh. Other switches include a timer function. These have an AUTO setting so the pump runs for 30 seconds and then off for three minutes or so. Some are even adjustable. More sophisticated live wells have drain/fill valves so you need to figure out what you have and let us know. We'll help you with the details. You don't need to fill the live well until you actually have some fish to put in it. No sense dragging a tank of water around needlessly.
thanks for the tips silvertip.pretty generic setup on the livewell .it has an intake for the water in the back .above the drain plug .usual looking pump that runs into the top of the tank .with a spray looking nozzle .with a valve on it ,.inside the tank its got two drains one close to the top of the tank and another on the bottom .the tubes on the back tie together and run to the back corner of the boat and out the side .
Some livewells have an aerator switched separately I find if I have small bait fish in the well and use the aerator it sucks up the bait fish and shreds them making a big mess, plugging up the drain hole (not the overflow) and destroying my bait. Learned that the hard way!
Make sure you have a screen on the hose where your pump pulls water in at the back of your boat to fill the livewell, helps to keep debris out of the pump and extends the life of the pump.
The advice about the screen over the intake should be taken seriously. If you don't have a screen there, you can remove the plastic nut and replace it with the threaded screens available here at iBoats or any store that sells boating stuff. They are usually two sizes. If there are enough threads sticking through the nut you don't need to remove the nut. Just screw on the screen.
The spray head on the live well may be adjustable as well. Some use a tube with multiple holes and obviously those are not adjustable. Enjoy the boat.
