How does my Bayfisher livewell work?

[DasRave]

Title says it all. I just became an owner of a 1996 16 Bayfisher. While I mostly fly fish, I do like some early season striper action with bunker in the rivers here in CT. For that reason I am trying to get the livewell on this boat working again. I don't fully understand the system though! Please bear with this bait fishing noob.

Upon purchasing the boat I was told the livewell didn't function properly. I have recently dug in and found that the pump is bad and there are seemingly no alterations to the original system. That being said, how does it work? I realize I am missing a standpipe for operation which I've ordered. My real question is how the system works with only one pipe plumbed to the water. One pipe connects from the transom pickup to the center "drain" of the livewell. Does this function as the pickup and drain? How? There is one other pipe plumbed from the pump which connects to the spray nozzle at the top of the well. The pump seems to connect on the pickup end near the center drain. I am wondering how the pump functions as a pickup, and recirculating pump without a separate line from the drain? Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Any pump recommendations as well?

[justfish]

Maybe some pics would help, but I had same boat for 10 years so maybe can help.

I think what you have is a recirculating pump only. It's how mine was and I ended up adding a raw water pump and overflow drain. I think what you are seeing as an from thru hull to bottom of well is actually your drain. A raw water intake will have a pump in between intake and well and more than likely go into well towards the top.

A recirculating pump will have a strainer/intake at bottom of well and discharge at top and be a closed system. I'm betting that's what you have.

[justfish]

Now that I think about it , I believe what you have is called a "crustacean well" maybe that will help your search. It's been years since I researched or modified mine, but will try and recall what I did to add raw water. I know the "standpipe" overflow wasn't part of mine, I ended up doing my live well overflow through the back of live well into splash well where water ran out. 1.5" overflow if I remember. It was how they were doing the Hewes at the time and worked fine.

[justdriftin]

My 2000 Bayfisher had a seachest (cheese grater) set up similar to what they still use. The pump was plumbed on the intake end to the seachest through a seacock and then to the nozzle out the other end. The pump just filled up the well with raw water and it drained out the top of the standpipe to the drain. That is about it. If you don't have a seachest or any type of raw water pickup, then you'll need to plumb all of that, and I'd probably just add it as a completely separate loop and keep your recirculation system as well so you can operate either or both ways.

[DasRave]

It is a recirculating well. Screened intake at bottom into pump. My question I guess is how the well gets filled? Are you supposed to do this manually? Seems like it won't work well for keeping any bait alive. Crustaceans sure.

[justfish]

Yeah at this point filing manually is it. You should have room on your panel to add another pump.

The difficult part is going to be accessing the top of well for a new spray nozzle. If your not going to use the recirculating pump, you could do what I did and just remove it since it's not working anyways. I think I just cut mine off and used a screw on cap, maybe a valve to drain...I can't really remember. Then you could set up new pump on clamshell scoop on bottom of hull, do overflow through back of well and use that spray nozzle.

[justfish]

I think the recirc well was just one of the cost saving measures of the Bayfisher line. Not a big deal to fix. Most of the other stuff that was "omitted" like color, lighting and under gunnel carpet and up being a great thing on boats this age. You have an awesome little boat

[DasRave]

Thanks for the insight. I'll have to take the steps to make this an overflow system. There's no way a purely circulating system is going to keep a bunker alive for more than 5 minutes. They're pretty large bait (12 inches) and a bit fragile to begin with.

[hurricane]

Just add a pickup to the transom and plumb the recirc pump to the new pick up, or add another pump.

If you ordered the standpipe, the overflow should work, what you called the pick up is most likely the drain. Plug the hole that has the screen in it, unless you add another pump. Should work.

Pics will help give accurate info.

Something like this.

http://thmarine.com/ez-pump-advanced-water-pick-up-system.html

[jason p]

Tie up some big baitfish flys, grab a 10wt. and be done with it! Besides the fact that pumping water INTO a boat makes no sense, livewells should really only be utilized for empty beer cans and lobsters

[justfish]

Just add a pickup to the transom and plumb the recirc pump to the new pick up, or add another pump.

If you ordered the standpipe, the overflow should work, what you called the pick up is most likely the drain. Plug the hole that has the screen in it, unless you add another pump. Should work.

Pics will help give accurate info.

Something like this.

http://thmarine.com/ez-pump-advanced-water-pick-up-system.html

The drain on mine was 3/4" so I don't think that a standpipe is going to fit that or keep up with any sort of flow of it does fit. I think the 1.5" drain out of back is better option. Plus it leaves a nice big open well with nothing sticking out of middle of it. Just my opinion

[hurricane]

Ya would agree, if it's 3/4 won't work. My 97 Bayfisher had a large center drain, maybe 1 1/2.