Livewell by transom

[Capt. Richard]

Hi,
Just put my boat in the water for the first time and not planning on taking it out until late October.  This CCP 200 has a livewell which immediately fills up once the boat is floating.  Where is the inlet for this as I would like to plug it and bail out this space.  Does anyone have any ideas if it can be blanked or is there an easier way to empty it?

[slvrlng]

Jdupree would know for sure, I will try to call him later to tell him about your question. In my mind there has to be some kind of pickup somewhere. My 222 osprey had a simple standing pipe through the hull bottom connected to a hose. A garden hose in my case.

[seabob4]

There should be a pickup WITH a shut-off valve on top of it in the bilge.  Simply close the valve.

Lewis, does your pickup have a valve on it?  If not, you need to install one...

[Capt. Bob]

  This CCP 200 has a livewell which immediately fills up once the boat is floating.  Where is the inlet for this as I would like to plug it and bail out this space.  Does anyone have any ideas if it can be blanked or is there an easier way to empty it?

Here it is. Just above the hull drain.

http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=10645.msg103948#msg103948

[slvrlng]

No Bob that junk has been ripped out for 2 years. I now have a 800 gph piranha with a Groco high speed pickup.

[Capt. Richard]

Thanks for your replies and help. Looks just like the picture above the hull drain.  Is there a value of some kind that I can close or is this something that could be installed to take care of the problem. Can this be taken care of with the boat in the water? Or do I need to wait until next season before emptying this space? Don't really want this added weight at the back of the boat.

[Capt. Bob]

It's been a l o n g time since I removed mine. and hopefully other CCP owners will chime in.
Seems water entered through the scoop and filled the well to a given level (water level outside of hull) Then I had a bilge pump that circulated the water (also had a "spray bar") in the well. Level in the well varied due to hull position.

I removed mine completely and sealed the transom penetration so never used it. That's why I'm hoping others will comment. There was no thru hull (rather a "thru transom") fitting with a seacock shutoff. There might have been a valve at one time in the well itself but you should be able to see that. There was not one in mine.

You may be able to get a neoprene expansion type plug to fit inside the well (just a guess) and then "bucket out" the water (assuming the boat is in the water). Hand pump would work well also once the hole is sealed. Once out of the water you can adjust your course of action for plugging or removal.

Good luck.

[seabob4]

Gonna put my 2 pennies in here regarding shut off valves.  Any t/hull fitting below the waterline absolutely requires a shut off valve.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  Should a hose break, you are going to have a LARGE amount of water enter your boat in a very short period of time.  Yes, a bung will stop the leak (if you have them aboard), but a bung is designed to fit into the fitting itself, which means you have to cut off the broken hose to use the bung...try doing that in an emergency situation, oft times in cramped spaces, maybe not with the appropriate tools on board.

So anyone out their that has a livewell or washdown pickup with no shut off valve, just a barbed fitting and a hose, and in some cases God knows how old that hose is, install a shut off valve now!  Period...

[seabob4]

I will also add this.  I do not believe in cockpit drains that drain below the waterline.  The t/hulls in that case should have shut off valves on them as well, but you never see that.  The way I look at it is this.  If, because the weight of the boat as it has gotten older has negated the "self bailing" concept, then treat the boat as non-self bailing and drain the cockpit into the bilge, where the bilge pump can take care of it.  Cockpit drains are typically 1 1/2" t/hulls and hoses, the hoses oft times in extremely difficult areas to reach, hence they go unchecked for years.  One of those babies lets go, you are SOL!!

[Capt. Bob]

Well in the case of the CCP livewell, the thru transom acts similar to the transom stern mounted livewells used on the older Aquas. Hull goes down, water comes in. Hull goes up, water goes out. Problem lies in the fact that the well has space between the inside face of the transom and the outside face of the well. This space is spanned by the brass "nipple"/casting of the thru transom itself and I could understand with age that casting could fail as with any thu hull and leak into the bilge. Not at all unlike the splashwell drains (usually brass tubes but some are plastic).

Still, it could wear through and that's why I removed mine though it was far from worn out. The plug (if it would even work) is a stop gap until hull removal from the water if you don't want water in the well. Now a breach in the well would lead to water in the bilge so I'd be looking at the well for cracks/holes/damage.

Good luck.