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#1
posted to rec.boats
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Setting Up a Livewell
I need some info in setting up a livewell in my boat. I have a 18-ft
center console, and it doesn't come with a livewell. I am thinking of setting up a livewell either in the stern or near the bow. The specific info that I am looking for a o How big a livewell should a 18-ft boat have? I know this is kind of an open-ended question. But I am just looking for a "rule of thumb" kind of thing. Based on discussion from the web, I am under the impression that a livewell that comes with a boat tends to be smaller than it should be. I figure that if a livewell that comes with a 18-ft boat tends to come with a X-gal water tank, I may do well with a X-plus-20% water tank for the live well. o Where is the thru-hull fitting for water-intake installed? Does it have to be installed all the way near the rear bottom of the boat in order to extract water when the boat is on plane? I guess it should. But I am wondering whether this may disrupt the water flow and make the boat hard to get on plane. o Can the pump suck water into the thru-hull fitting while the boat is running in high speed? You see I have a hard time visualizing the water getting sucked into the thru hull fitting when the water is passing by very fast. o There is something called "transom mounted livewell pump". Can it suck water while the boat is on plane? I cannot see how it will work because the pipe for the water intake must go below the bottom of the boat and cause a lot of disruption on the water flow, right? Thanks in advance for any info. Jay Chan |
#2
posted to rec.boats
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Setting Up a Livewell
o How big a livewell should a 18-ft boat have? I know this is kind
of an open-ended question. But I am just looking for a "rule of thumb" kind of thing. Based on discussion from the web, I am under the impression that a livewell that comes with a boat tends to be smaller than it should be. I figure that if a livewell that comes with a 18-ft boat tends to come with a X-gal water tank, I may do well with a X-plus-20% water tank for the live well. Depends entirely on the species of fish you plan to put in there. I freshwater fish, mostly for bass. Most of the freshwater boats I've fished out of had perfectly adequate livewells for most bass species, and many other freshwater species, except striped bass and catfish. o Where is the thru-hull fitting for water-intake installed? Does it have to be installed all the way near the rear bottom of the boat in order to extract water when the boat is on plane? I guess it should. But I am wondering whether this may disrupt the water flow and make the boat hard to get on plane. Usuallly through the transom, near the bottom, close to the drain plug. o Can the pump suck water into the thru-hull fitting while the boat is running in high speed? You see I have a hard time visualizing the water getting sucked into the thru hull fitting when the water is passing by very fast. On any planing boat, there will be a void of water right there. When you install the livewell, best to put in some type of fixture (ball valve with a remove lever) that will keep the livewell from emptying when up on plane. Many livewells also have a recirculate feature for this very reason. Aerates the water already on board when you are moving at speed, so you don't need to replace water right away. o There is something called "transom mounted livewell pump". Can it suck water while the boat is on plane? I cannot see how it will work because the pipe for the water intake must go below the bottom of the boat and cause a lot of disruption on the water flow, right? The transom mounted pumps don't accomplish anything other than mount the pump directly to the thru hull in the transom. The amount of suction is not signficantly different than a pump using a hose to reach the thru-hull fitting. I don't like the transom mounted pumps. I had one fail at the fitting (stress from the weight of the pump on the plastic fitting). If I hadn't been there, the boat would have swamped. Best to have a stainless or bronze fitting through the hull, with a double-clamped hose leading to the pump, and an above the waterline loop leading to the tank's aerator. Thanks in advance for any info. Hope to read more about your project. |
#3
posted to rec.boats
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Setting Up a Livewell
On Feb 26, 2:39 pm, "rbstern" wrote:
o How big a livewell should a 18-ft boat have? I know this is kind of an open-ended question. But I am just looking for a "rule of thumb" kind of thing. Based on discussion from the web, I am under the impression that a livewell that comes with a boat tends to be smaller than it should be. I figure that if a livewell that comes with a 18-ft boat tends to come with a X-gal water tank, I may do well with a X-plus-20% water tank for the live well. Depends entirely on the species of fish you plan to put in there. I freshwater fish, mostly for bass. Most of the freshwater boats I've fished out of had perfectly adequate livewells for most bass species, and many other freshwater species, except striped bass and catfish. I know the kind that you are referring to. The bait fishes for freshwater tend to be quite small; therefore, a very small bucket is good enough based on my experience -- that is as long as I change the water every half hour or so. But I plan to use the boat for both freshwater and sal****er, and I am under the impression that sal****er bait fishes tend to be larger, and honestly I don't have any experience keeping sal****er live baits in any kind of livewell. This is the reason why I need to ask. Hopefully someone around here can share his/her experience on sizing a livewell for sal****er use for a 18-ft boat. o Where is the thru-hull fitting for water-intake installed? Does it have to be installed all the way near the rear bottom of the boat in order to extract water when the boat is on plane? I guess it should. But I am wondering whether this may disrupt the water flow and make the boat hard to get on plane. Usuallly through the transom, near the bottom, close to the drain plug. o Can the pump suck water into the thru-hull fitting while the boat is running in high speed? You see I have a hard time visualizing the water getting sucked into the thru hull fitting when the water is passing by very fast. On any planing boat, there will be a void of water right there. When you install the livewell, best to put in some type of fixture (ball valve with a remove lever) that will keep the livewell from emptying when up on plane. Many livewells also have a recirculate feature for this very reason. Aerates the water already on board when you are moving at speed, so you don't need to replace water right away. I see. This means you don't think this is necessary to add new water into the livewell when the boat is on plane -- all we need is to use an aerator to add fresh air into the water. You are probably right considering the fact that I will be using the boat for inshore fishing -- meaning that I will not be spending a lot of time planing. OK, good to know this, and this should make locating the thru hull fitting easier. o There is something called "transom mounted livewell pump". Can it suck water while the boat is on plane? I cannot see how it will work because the pipe for the water intake must go below the bottom of the boat and cause a lot of disruption on the water flow, right? The transom mounted pumps don't accomplish anything other than mount the pump directly to the thru hull in the transom. The amount of suction is not signficantly different than a pump using a hose to reach the thru-hull fitting. I don't like the transom mounted pumps. I had one fail at the fitting (stress from the weight of the pump on the plastic fitting). If I hadn't been there, the boat would have swamped. Best to have a stainless or bronze fitting through the hull, with a double-clamped hose leading to the pump, and an above the waterline loop leading to the tank's aerator. OK, I can ignore the transom mounted livewell pump. Thanks for sharing your experience with setting up livewell with me. Jay Chan |
#4
posted to rec.boats
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Setting Up a Livewell
wrote in message ups.com... On Feb 26, 2:39 pm, "rbstern" wrote: o How big a livewell should a 18-ft boat have? I know this is kind of an open-ended question. But I am just looking for a "rule of thumb" kind of thing. Based on discussion from the web, I am under the impression that a livewell that comes with a boat tends to be smaller than it should be. I figure that if a livewell that comes with a 18-ft boat tends to come with a X-gal water tank, I may do well with a X-plus-20% water tank for the live well. Depends entirely on the species of fish you plan to put in there. I freshwater fish, mostly for bass. Most of the freshwater boats I've fished out of had perfectly adequate livewells for most bass species, and many other freshwater species, except striped bass and catfish. I know the kind that you are referring to. The bait fishes for freshwater tend to be quite small; therefore, a very small bucket is good enough based on my experience -- that is as long as I change the water every half hour or so. But I plan to use the boat for both freshwater and sal****er, and I am under the impression that sal****er bait fishes tend to be larger, and honestly I don't have any experience keeping sal****er live baits in any kind of livewell. This is the reason why I need to ask. Hopefully someone around here can share his/her experience on sizing a livewell for sal****er use for a 18-ft boat. o Where is the thru-hull fitting for water-intake installed? Does it have to be installed all the way near the rear bottom of the boat in order to extract water when the boat is on plane? I guess it should. But I am wondering whether this may disrupt the water flow and make the boat hard to get on plane. Usuallly through the transom, near the bottom, close to the drain plug. o Can the pump suck water into the thru-hull fitting while the boat is running in high speed? You see I have a hard time visualizing the water getting sucked into the thru hull fitting when the water is passing by very fast. On any planing boat, there will be a void of water right there. When you install the livewell, best to put in some type of fixture (ball valve with a remove lever) that will keep the livewell from emptying when up on plane. Many livewells also have a recirculate feature for this very reason. Aerates the water already on board when you are moving at speed, so you don't need to replace water right away. I see. This means you don't think this is necessary to add new water into the livewell when the boat is on plane -- all we need is to use an aerator to add fresh air into the water. You are probably right considering the fact that I will be using the boat for inshore fishing -- meaning that I will not be spending a lot of time planing. OK, good to know this, and this should make locating the thru hull fitting easier. o There is something called "transom mounted livewell pump". Can it suck water while the boat is on plane? I cannot see how it will work because the pipe for the water intake must go below the bottom of the boat and cause a lot of disruption on the water flow, right? The transom mounted pumps don't accomplish anything other than mount the pump directly to the thru hull in the transom. The amount of suction is not signficantly different than a pump using a hose to reach the thru-hull fitting. I don't like the transom mounted pumps. I had one fail at the fitting (stress from the weight of the pump on the plastic fitting). If I hadn't been there, the boat would have swamped. Best to have a stainless or bronze fitting through the hull, with a double-clamped hose leading to the pump, and an above the waterline loop leading to the tank's aerator. OK, I can ignore the transom mounted livewell pump. Thanks for sharing your experience with setting up livewell with me. Jay Chan Get a bait bag for off the transom for salt water. will work fine on fresh also. Easily removable when not needed and I use a snap in transom mount for the pump. |
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