Self Filling Livewell question

[completetech]

I have a 1981 Sportcraft Fisherman 170 SS that has a livewell/ baitwell up front on the deck. From what I've been able to gather ( I've had the bit less then a week now), it looks as though there is a single hose from an inlet that is on the side of the boat under the waterline. However our first trip to the lake proved that it isn't filling up. I silly as it seems rocked the boat side to side to try and get the water flowing. Lol. However as I suspected. It didn't work ( I'm sure it look cool at least. Lol).

So my question is this/ these.

Who has a single inlet / outlet that can provide some sort of advise as to how to get this to work properly?
Secondly is any sort of other pump or other livewell things needed??

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[Bayou Dave]

I certainly am not a livewell expert. Are you sure it is s livewell and not an ice chest/bait box that drains out that hose as the ice melts? A photo of the box and hose will help.

 

[savetexomabeaches]

I'm pretty sure that isn't a bait tank as mentioned.

 

[spartyon8]

I am interested as well. It seems as though my Skeeter Starfire has a similar setup.

 

[briangcc]

IF you lift up the cover, is there a filler, possible with a control valve, somewhere close to the top? IF so, you should have a switch and/or timer to engage the pump and fill the livewell/baitwell. It may take rocking the boat a bit to prime the pump. Don't forget to plug the drain at the bottom otherwise you'll be wondering why the livewell/baitwell isn't filling quickly. If the boat is out of the water, you should have a screened pickup on the transom. Can you tell I had a bit of experience with this myself this past summer with my first livewell?


Otherwise, if you just have a drain, you have a cooler, not a livewell. You could plug the drain, manually fill it with a bucket, and use an aquarium pump with airstone to aerate the water to keep the fish/bait happy.

 

[completetech]

I have attached a link as apparently my stupid iPhone takes to large of pictures to upload. Lol.

Please let me know what you guys think. I am stumped on this one.

And also. If it's not a livewell (which I am hopping it is). How can I convert it to be one so I can hit some tournaments.

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[briangcc]

Umm, unless I'm mistaken, that's not even a cooler location. That's an anchor locker with an overboard drain. I'm going off the cover and location of the hatch on this.

Generally, a livewell will have a second outlet, up high, to avoid overflowing the livewell and subsequently flooding the boat. There will also be a fill nozzle which may or may not have a valve to control the flow of water into the livewell.


Cheap solution to all this...get a large cooler and a battery operated aerater.

 

[Bayou Dave]

I agree... looks like an anchor locker and not a livewell. Use it for an anchor, a cooler or storage of anything.