boating. never a dull moment

[double trouble]

went to get the batteries out of my boat to charge and test them. the boat is in a garage that never gets below freezing. anyhow ,when i pulled the batteries i wanted to check the livewells for a leak in the lines. when i run the front livewell i get some water in the bilge. much to my suprize i found out that both of the livewells were partially full. i must have left the overflow tubes in .one had about 5 gallons, the other a couple quarts.after a bailing operation and a bleach cleaning i checked the lines as best i can and couldnt find any leaks so it must be from somewhere else.anyone have some ideas? also ,i was thinking about how dumb i was to not check the wells for drainage and if anyone else has left something over the winter that should have been taken care of that fall?or are we all perfect.

[TimT]

My livewells are plumbed all the way to and out of the stern. So, the lever is always in the "drain" position so it never holds water. That does not, however, mean that you don't have to take the slimy ice bags out after using the livewell as a fish cooler. :rolleyes:
Whats funny is, as repulsive as the coolers/livewells were in the fall, the stink and slime seems to have dehydrated and eliminated themselves. When I was cleaning up a couple weeks ago, all I had to do was pick them out and toss them in the trash. The livewells look clean and smell OK.

[FishTales]

when i run the front livewell i get some water in the bilge.
i checked the lines as best i can and couldnt find any leaks so it must be from somewhere else.anyone have some ideas?

DT,
Last winter I had drained the livewells and bilge. First trip this year, when I was running the re-circualting pump for the rear livewell, I had water blowing all over the place. Found out it must have had water in the pump that froze, apparently it forced the pump motor to release from the holding clips.
The motor ran, and pumped water, but was also pumping a lot into the bilge.
Check to see if your re-circulating pump motor is securely in place and locked in.
Mine only has two plastic clips that hold the motor to the pump.
Rich

[Beave]

That's common for the Attwood pumps. The good thing is theyr'e $20 and you can buy them anywhere. Meijer even stocks them.

[double trouble]

thats a good idea because on one of my trips ,my bilge pump quit last year. i had to take it apart and get all the slime out of it, clean the bilge, and blow the line out.the top half wouldn't lock back in. maybe the recirculating pump is doing something screwy too. beave you are right,they are both atwoods.hey beave , i never heard from you. how's the treadmill.wife asked about it a few days ago and i never heard back from you.well i'l take the other pump and fill the bilge up and test it when the weather gets warmer.looks like new pumps may be in order.

[Getaway]

I've got a 52 gallon live well in my Islander under the passenger seat. It is used for life jacket storage because if you fill it with water, the boat lists hard to the port because of the 400 frickin pounds of water over there. Well, it does have a tendancy to get some water washing in there when your in rough weather. Ever seen black life jackets? :yikes: Well, some of them used to be yellow until the mildew started growing on them...lol.

Note to self, Take the life jackets out every once in a while and let the live well dry out.

[ESOX]

Bob, I had the same problem with my bow livewell I use for storage. I solved it by taking out the stand pipe, cutting off the aerator head and gluing a cap on the stub I left of the pvc standpipe. I don't know if your setup is similar to mine though....

[Getaway]

That would work for me too Paul. You would think that I would have done something like that after owning the boat for 9 seasons...lol.

[double trouble]

i'm still mystified about how sometimes there will 10-20 gallons of water in my bilge and sometimes it will be dry.doesn't follow the pattern of rough days taking on water. the boat had a leak professionally repaired years ago(typical aluminum rip) and i thought it might be back ,but most days the hull is dry.could it be that one or both of the pumps (both located in the same spot in the rear bilge) are drawing water into the hull instead of out of it.i did take the hoses off both last year and clean, check and tighten all clamps(stainless hose clamps). or do i have a hose that goes to the front livewell that could have rotted.the front livewell access where the spray head and hose comes up is dry and clean. just fishing for more clues.maybe i'll cork the livewell intakes and drains one trip and see if it stays dry.

[johnshar]

MY neighbor has islander, he has had it in twice to have rivets repaired professionally. after last repair was still leaking. He had to have his prop shaft replaced and mechanic discovered that exhaust manifold bolts were loose and water was poring out of the system leaking directly into the bottom of the boat where it wasnt visible. so all the time motor was running water was continully pumped in. He know thinks second rivet repair was not needed was leaking manifold all along. Just a thought... good luck

[Beave]

I thought I got back to you DT. Sorry if I forgot, my bad.

The treadmill is working well when we use it. It gets about one use a week along with the exercise bike right now. I made an offer on a new boat so we'll work out the details of that trip I owe you sometime.