Livewell Flooding on Plane

[rcski]

I just picked up a used 2006 Starcraft Starfish 176. Everything is working well except when I get on plane, the front livewell floods in a second. It filled so fast it blew the door open and a mud bucket worth of water was thrown at my son and I. As soon as we slowed down, the drain worked like advertised. There aren't any leaks and it doesn't happen at slower speeds. Is there anything that I can do other than use the old cork that I found in the bottom of my tackle box to fix this? Both livewells are gravity drained and the back one has no problem at all.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[njrextreme]

Re: Livewell Flooding on Plane

I have a rear live well on my ski and fish and it has a plug to drain it. I leave the plug in at all times. I dont think I would use cork but you can try it and see if it stops over filling.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Livewell Flooding on Plane

the only reason it should do this is if theres something funneling the water into the pump, drain or overflow. check all the openings to see if you have anything broken thats causing water to get diverted

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Livewell Flooding on Plane

Chances are it was built with a rubber flapper valve in the fitting or hose to keep water from coming up the drain. It is probably gone or something is stuck in it. It probably drains at the front side of the hull and when your moving water gets rammed up the hose.
With a boat that new you should be able to contact Starcraft and they can tell you if there is and what to do.
They have great customer service.

 

[rcski]

Re: Livewell Flooding on Plane

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. It does drain out the rear of the boat. I put a garden hose in when I got home and it came out -free flowing - one of the two openings at the stern. (The other was for the rear livewell) I don't plan to use the cork next time, but it sure was handy out on the lake when I discovered the problem. I'm hoping that bifflefan is right that there is some sort of mechanism that should keep the water from back flushing. I can't believe that they designed the wells to have a plug in the drain hole all day.

I'll give Starcraft a call and see what they say. It's a great boat otherwise.