Hey folks - long-time fisherman & paddler, 1st-time bass boat owner.
I was bequeathed a 1985 Ebbtide Dynatrak with a 90 hp Yamaha 2-stroke. Here she is all yakked out while I'm working on it -
BoatSide.jpg
Previous owner was my best friend's father (and a 2nd father to me) who recently passed away. He took very good care of this boat - especially the engine - but 30+ years of use, wiring & parts fixes, etc. took a toll and it was in need of some updating and TLC to get it back on the water. I've finally started in earnest (mostly re-wiring), but even after pretty thorough research I'm a little puzzled by the livewell plumbing situation.
The old pump & hoses were tossed before I had a chance to decipher the original setup. Here's some pics to show y'all what I'm looking at -
BoatRearHatch.jpg
Livewell Lid in center between the seats. I have removed hatch & the gas tank to access the bilge.
BilgeCU_Port.jpg
There's a depthfinder /transducer (?) in center of the bilge. Is there a better location for this? It's sealed down pretty tight. (Will be installing a new bilge pump here, once I figure out the livewell situation).
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Two thru-hull fittings in rear of bilge: - one with 3/4" barb fitting on the inside (Right now there's a drain hose connected to this, running from the cooler hatch in front of the console). The other thru-hull - lowest and centered - has a brass bushing & 1" snap-handle drain plug.
LivewellPlumbingCU.jpgLivewellInsideCU.jpg
On the back of the livewell, there's two holes up top and a drain outlet at the bottom. A 3/4" ID hose goes into the top-most hole and connects inside to a perf'd horizontal tube with a little shutoff valve. I assume this is for fill & aeration. Overflow hole (I assume) is 1-1/8"., slightly lower than the fill hole. Bottom drain outlet is a 3/4" OD barb. Drain hole is 1/2" ID on the inside with a snap plug for it, no threads or anything for a screen/strainer._Sooo...my question, I guess, is how would you plumb this livewell?
- I feel like the barbed thru-hull fitting in the bilge should probably be a raw water intake, no? Except there's no threaded fitting on the outside for a strainer to screw onto (just the bulkhead fitting). Would you replace it with a different fitting to feed a water intake? I don't think the cooler drain needs to be connected to a thru-hull port (below the waterline). Can't it just trickle into the bilge to be pumped out?
- Overflow of livewell : piped out to...where? I have one thru-hull above the waterline in the rear, for the bilge discharge.
- Can I do a full recirc / aerate / exchange / pumpout with the existing holes in the well and hull?
Thanks in advance for hearing me out. This is a labor of love for me and will mean a lot to the previous owner's family.