Necessity is certainly the mother of invention when it comes to improving systems on a boat or skiff.
Captain Steve Betz was frustrated by pump failures. He was going through pumps about every 3 months. They would air lock at times so he would have to get the boat moving to start the flow. Most of the times the pumps were noisy. They also seemed to lack the power to supply a good flow to the live well.
Capt. Steve first learned about Pump Boxes and their benefits from fellow Capt. Jim Lemke. He had been using one for a couple of years without any failures. After some research he thought he could build a better one on his own. It wasn’t about the money for Capt. Steve, it was the fact that he liked building things. As with any boat project, he had more in time and materials when he built the first one than he could of just purchased.
Steve found that using a pump box removes the chance of an air lock. Drop the boat in the water and flip the switch. Instant flow. Being inside a box and surrounded by water at all times the pumps not only run cooler and last longer they are practically silent. He’s never had any issues with water flow since.
The first one he built for his boat was big and took up a lot of room in the bilge. He kept looking at it and decided to build a smaller version. He needed someone to test it and found a fellow captain to put it in his boat and give it a shot. It worked flawlessly but he still wasn’t happy with the mold design.
Captain Steve’s wheels are always turning and he thought if he can make the box nicer and cleaner he would take it to market. That is when he went to work building a new mold and figuring out ways to make it easier to replace pumps.
That was the start of the Betz Box. So far his design is as pictured. He is constantly working on improving it.
Coming to market soon will be a single and triple pump box, both of which have been heavily requested.
Captain Steve has not had a pump failure in over 2 years. The other captain running the proto type box is going on 2 years with no failures.
Learn more about buying a boat box for your boat on Capt. Steve’s Facebook Page:
Capt. Steve Betz
Tampa Flats and Bay Fishing Charter’s
