Livewell leaking Questions

[tdismydog]

I own 2003 Alumacraft Trophy Sport 17.5. It has a front livewell. I use the livewell quite a bit, mostly because my kids and my wife can catch fish. Low and behold last fishing season, my boat started taking on a bit of water. Enough to where the bilge would kick on after an hour or so of fishing. I think I narrowed it down to the drain or something else under the livewell, at least I think I did. Anyway, the design of the boat makes it just about impossible to access without taking up the floor.
Anyone have a better way of accessing? Or know how to fix? Or anyone want to buy a good running boat with a little water on occasion?

 

[Downrigger]

I had this exact same boat at one point in time and I can't fully remember but is the livewell on the passenger side? I had an issue with mine and removed the panel under the passenger side which gave me access to the hoses. Mine was a hose / connection point under the livewell.

 

[wslayer]

Sure it isn't loose clamp for the intake/fill hose? I had that on my Crestliner a few years ago.

 

[Allen]

Another option, this happened on my 04 Lund, is for the bulkhead fitting for the fill line to the livewell became loose. That took longer to diagnose than it did to fix. My boat only took on water on windy days, it was the sloshing of the water in the livewell that would leak past the bulkhead fitting.

 

[thriller1]

I have the SAME problem on my Crestliner. The crazy thing is, there are days when I dont even pump water into the livewell(s) and the bilige pump will kick on. Im guessing the previous owner didnt drain something out properly and there is a fitting/line that most likely froze and cracked. I have several drain holes coming out the back for the livewells/cooler and I think im just gonna buy extra plugs and plug every drain hole except for one to see if I can narrow it down. Otherwise I will have no choice but to start disassembling stuff to try and figure out where the leak is.

 

[guywhofishes]

I own 2003 Alumacraft Trophy Sport 17.5. It has a front livewell. I use the livewell quite a bit, mostly because my kids and my wife can catch fish. Low and behold last fishing season, my boat started taking on a bit of water. Enough to where the bilge would kick on after an hour or so of fishing. I think I narrowed it down to the drain or something else under the livewell, at least I think I did. Anyway, the design of the boat makes it just about impossible to access without taking up the floor.
Anyone have a better way of accessing? Or know how to fix? Or anyone want to buy a good running boat with a little water on occasion?

I have an Alumacraft 2004 TP175. I can't imagine NOT having to yank the floor out to fix my front well - but it looks easy (tiller).

OR maybe you have an adjacent compartment that is accessible? Drilling out rivets and replacing them is easy peasy.

But you should make sure it's up under the livewell and not toward the back first - before you tear it out and find that's not the issue.

You should ask around to see if anyone had an inspection scope. They're dirt cheap these days and it'd be good to figure out where the leak is - it might be in a handier repair spot.

What city you in/near?

 

[Davy Crockett]

I put the water hose in my livewell when the boat was on the trailer and dry , it was easy to find the leak , mice had chewed holes in fill line. My Lund has a manhole right by the livewell so it was easy to fix .

 

[Obi-Wan]

I own 2003 Alumacraft Trophy Sport 17.5. It has a front livewell. I use the livewell quite a bit, mostly because my kids and my wife can catch fish. Low and behold last fishing season, my boat started taking on a bit of water. Enough to where the bilge would kick on after an hour or so of fishing. I think I narrowed it down to the drain or something else under the livewell, at least I think I did. Anyway, the design of the boat makes it just about impossible to access without taking up the floor.
Anyone have a better way of accessing? Or know how to fix? Or anyone want to buy a good running boat with a little water on occasion?

Can't you take the floor out in front of the windshield to expose the live well sides and even the bottom? I was able to do that with my boat a few years ago it was about a dozen screws.

 

[Slappy]

I've used the cell phone camera (with flash enabled) to record video in all kinds of tight spots in boats to find leaks, trace hoses and wires, find stuff my dumb ass dropped in the process, etc. Add a headlamp for more light if needed.

As mentioned by others, start with the spots that are accessible or easy to expose and use the camera to scope around.

The seals on the cartridge style replaceable pumps also dry out or degrade over time so check those if that's what you have. Using a hose in the driveway as mentioned can save you from hauling to the water to replicate and find the leak.

 

[tdismydog]

I had this exact same boat at one point in time and I can't fully remember but is the livewell on the passenger side? I had an issue with mine and removed the panel under the passenger side which gave me access to the hoses. Mine was a hose / connection point under the livewell.

Yes, there is spot for batteries right there and you can access everything but the drain....

 

[tdismydog]

Can't you take the floor out in front of the windshield to expose the live well sides and even the bottom? I was able to do that with my boat a few years ago it was about a dozen screws.

Yes, but the edges are riveted in, my next step is probably this and taking chances the wood is still good enough when I put it back on.

 

[tdismydog]

I've used the cell phone camera (with flash enabled) to record video in all kinds of tight spots in boats to find leaks, trace hoses and wires, find stuff my dumb ass dropped in the process, etc. Add a headlamp for more light if needed.

As mentioned by others, start with the spots that are accessible or easy to expose and use the camera to scope around.

The seals on the cartridge style replaceable pumps also dry out or degrade over time so check those if that's what you have. Using a hose in the driveway as mentioned can save you from hauling to the water to replicate and find the leak.

I used the hose trick that iswhy I think it is the drain. I think my next step is removing the floor and hope it is close to the live well bc much of the drain hose runs under the gas tank......

I suppose I could remove the whole dang hose a run it somewhere else.