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