Under Deck Livewell solutions

[bigi]

I'm refitting a Sceptre. The under deck livewell has no pump. Just a drain through the transom under the waterline. The through hull fitting is shot. I need to decide whether to replace it and add a seacock or glass it in and let the well drain into the bilge. Of course it wouldn't be used as a livewell in that configuration. Can the hatch be made to be water tight?

What solutions have you all tried?

Thanks!

[mikeyk]

While my situation is almost the same as yours (my 3/4" thru transom drain still theoretically works), I am not satisfied at the time and effort it takes to empty the livewell. I have another boat - not SeaCraft- that I fish commercially and it has a 150 gal. livewell. It fills, and drains, through the bottom of the hull. While these dimensions are overkill for our SeaCraft livewells, this should give you an idea of what I did: I hole-sawed thru the bottom of the hull just ahead of the rear bulkhead. The hole was just big enough to epoxy in a 3" PVC pipe ring. On the underside I attached a v-shaped fiberglass scupper tapered about 3 1/2" to 4 1/2" front to rear. It's about 1 1/2" deep at the rear outlet. Outlet dimension is not critical as long as it is not less that area of the PVC pipe. To seal the hole I used a plastic 3" pipe plug which I had replaced the stock carriage bolt and wingnut with stainless. On a plane, I can drain 150 gal. in about 2 minutes. Water moving past the scupper creates a venturi effect to drain the livewell.
I 'm sure something like 1 1/2" would be adequate for the SeaCraft livewell.

Originally Posted by bigi

I'm refitting a Sceptre. The under deck livewell has no pump. Just a drain through the transom under the waterline. The through hull fitting is shot. I need to decide whether to replace it and add a seacock or glass it in and let the well drain into the bilge. Of course it wouldn't be used as a livewell in that configuration. Can the hatch be made to be water tight?

What solutions have you all tried?

Thanks!

[Islandtrader]

I made a dry well...let the live well drain into that...have a bilge pump in the dry well and let it pump the excess over board.

[gofastsandman]

[QUOTE=bigi;263323]I'm refitting a Sceptre. The under deck livewell has no pump. Just a drain through the transom under the waterline. The through hull fitting is shot. I need to decide whether to replace it and add a seacock or glass it in and let the well drain into the bilge. Of course it wouldn't be used as a livewell in that configuration. Can the hatch be made to be water tight?

What solutions have you all tried?

I cut my in deck live well out.
This allowed me to plumb an above deck live well under deck.
3/4 clamshell w rule 800 intake on top and 2 3/8 drain out the transom.
35 gal LW under the LP and she loves the weight there.

[bigi]

Thanks for the ideas!