# Fishmaster 196 Livewell Hatch Leak!



## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

The livewell hatch on my Fishmaster 196 has leaked since the day I bought the boat new. I have made various attempts at sealing it but in any sort of chop the water slopping around in the livewell pops the lid & water goes everywhere. 

It is a cheap & poor design so I am looking at replacing it with a hatch cover that seals & has a latch that will hold it closed. 

Before I start I am wondering if anyone else has figured out a solution? 

Thanks in advance!


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

any way you could put baffles in the tank. keep the water movement down.


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## ohiojmj (Apr 16, 2004)

Shorter standpipe? I haven't used my new Starweld 20 livewell yet (it gets it's share of rain water), but plan to cut the standpipe down. Mostly, I plan to use cooler for fish and livewell for WET storage. They'll put a man on the mars before some boat companies figure out a sealed compartment hatch.


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

As bountyhunter observes I have 2 issues. First is water sloshing around with no baffle. So researching baffle is a good suggestion. Second is the lid does not seal (or even stay closed). I use my livewell for bleeding fish so I am leary of shortening the standpipe but I might remove the filter in top of standpipe as a start.

I did find a few hatch covers online but they are not close on size that would fit. Also most just give outside dimension & not cut out dimension. 

Thanks for suggestions. 


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## 2120Tom (Jul 2, 2008)

Not familiar with a StarCraft livewell.... but as you explain, it sounds like you have a latch issue more than a lid issue. A baffle - the size needed for slosh elimination would likely get in the way for bleeding purpose.
A stout(er) latch and some style of gasket, like the stick-on type window sealing foam applied to the mating edge of lid and/or frame? (BUT would it continue to stick due to being wet?) Foam gasket and Gorilla glue/silicone caulk? Gotta be an easier solution than buying a new lid/frame.
Good luck.


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## real reeltime (Jun 30, 2009)

I've never noticed that on mine. I put two vents in my lid when I first got the boat, that are suppose to let heat and gases escape. Don't know if that would have anything to do with the lid not popping. Then again I may not be filling my livewell as high as you are.


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## MICK FISH (May 10, 2010)

Get a cooler and put your life jackets in the live well. Assuming that you are fishing eyes on Erie why would you want the mess and stink of a dirty live well? I have a new Fishmaster and disconnected the switch for the live well on day 1. On ice in the cooler are where all my fish land. To each there own though I guess.


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

IMHO fish are much better bled. But additionally wIth the amount of money I spent on my boat I expect to have everything working. I don’t expect to have to disconnect the livewell because it leaks. To each his own. 


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

MEERKAT - I thought about trying this on mine...


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Mine sloshes out water at times when you catch a couple waves just right . It always catches my passenger off guard . 

It's just such a big livewell , and being so far forward when the bow drops off a wave at the right time it pops out . 

I think if you put in a flush mounted latch that would hold the lid shut it would solve the problem . I've just dealt with it but maybe I shouldn't . 

I love my fish master . But rod storage , and the livewell are my only gripes . It sloshes . And it's so wide , with such a small lid it's a pain finding fish in there . I also bleed all my fish before putting them on ice . Whether they taste better or not I can't say . But bled fish are easier to clean . Plus I feel better knowing they died faster by bleeding instead of suffocating on ice . 
That's just me tho . I don't fault others for doing things differently .


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

Seaturd said:


> MEERKAT - I thought about trying this on mine...
> View attachment 362831


I am working on this now. I epoxied super-magnets to the underside of the lid and bolted a couple of pieces of steel bar from Lowes to the frame. That should hold the lid down. Now I am working on the weatherstriping. Will update.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Meerkat said:


> I am working on this now. I epoxied super-magnets to the underside of the lid and bolted a couple of pieces of steel bar from Lowes to the frame. That should hold the lid down. Now I am working on the weatherstriping. Will update.


Won't be able to get it open now!..kidding.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Why not use some kind of rubber cooler latch type thing. I can't think of what it would be called I'll try to find a picture and post


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

https://www.amazon.com/Creatyi-Rubb...ocphy=9015547&hvtargid=pla-524782725078&psc=1


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

Okay – so here is what I did to fix the leaky livewell. It is not perfect but now it only leaks maybe a cup-full as opposed to gallons!










Marine silicone sealer on the piano hinge:

The solid blue arrows show where I sealed the lid to the hinge and the frame to the hinge.
The solid Purple arrows show where I sealed the edges of the lid to the frame. I put Vaseline on the edge of the hinge so it would not stick to the silicone and then I filled the gap between the edge of the hinge and each side of the frame. Then I closed the lid and let the silicone set. When the silicone had set, lift the lid, the Vaseline releases and the gap is filled with a pretty well water-tight seal.
Weather-strip on the hinge:

The solid green arrow shows where I put a strip of self-adhesive weather strip so that when the hinge was closed, it was waterproof. Here is a picture of the weather-strip. Comes as a double strip. I separated them and only used a single strip. Runs the length of the hinge & sits between the hinge nuts and the hinge fulcrum. 
I got the weather strip from Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PZYTWXQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1








Super magnets on lid:

The dashed yellow arrows show where I drilled & bolted 3/16” x ½” mild steel bar to the inside of the livewell lid frame. Got it from Lowes.
Next I stole some playdough from my grandkids stuck it to the lid and closed the lid so I could see where to fasten the super magnets.
The solid yellow arrows show where I put super-magnets on the lid. I marked where they needed to go using the indentations in the playdough. I glued them on with marine epoxy.
Got the magnets from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0772PFC89/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sealing the vertical lid edge to horizontal frame gap:

The dashed green arrows show where on the horizontal surface I put self-adhesive 1” wide x 1/8” thick high density neoprene foam strip. Also from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WTPVPKK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Then on the vertical edges of the frame I put self-adhesive translucent vinyl edge 'V' Seal. The stuff you use for sealing shower doors. Open side of the V facing down. Also from Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MU2DVKP/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Draining the frame:
The red dashed arrows show where I drilled 10 x 3/8 holes in the frame so that water that splashed up onto that shelf could drain back into the livewell. 3 holes on each of the long sides and 2 holes on each of the short sides.

Lastly I drilled 4 extra 3/8” holes into the top of the standpipe so that I could keep a decent volume of water flowing through the livewell to drain the blood from the cut fish while at the same time not overfilling the livewell. Standpipe is in the top right of the picture and you can see the extra holes.

Hope this helps somebody. Send me a PM if you want more detail.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

wondered if you ever fixed that problem. glad you got it done.


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## ohiojmj (Apr 16, 2004)

I'm resigned to using a cooler on my Starweld. Glad it mostly works

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## Whitefin (Sep 4, 2008)

My Crestliner has a thin sheet of closed cell foam across the lid. It insulates and keeps it from leaking out the top. It does seal on a flat surface instead of an upturned lip. It may work in your situation.


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

I have a Starcraft 206 Viper and have a sloshing live well problem. I have replaced the latch and small hinges but the latch breaks and the hinges bend. I’m going to look into your idea of a piano hinge and magnets. 
Thanks


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## Meerkat (Aug 10, 2008)

Whitefin said:


> My Crestliner has a thin sheet of closed cell foam across the lid. It insulates and keeps it from leaking out the top. It does seal on a flat surface instead of an upturned lip. It may work in your situation.


Too late for me now but that is an excellent idea!


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## berkshirepresident (Jul 24, 2013)

Folks...if we pay for two livewells on our $30K plus boats, is it too much to expect them to work?

My live-wells don't leak like that.....but I wish my other compartment lids were designed better so that the waves and rain didn't get inside the closed compartments.


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