bailer burial

Z

Zeppo

Member
I find the bailer very vulnerable, and more a pain in the butt than It has proven to be worth.
Has anyone who has removed their bailer found this be a regretable move?
I'm pretty sure a plastic bailing jug will suffice. It has so far.
 
Works under way, kind-of-sometimes. Really nice when the boat is on the trailer for draining the tub. Good fix would be a drain plug that is flush with the bottom of the boat.
One that screws in from the tub side. I can live without the siphon part.

Somewhere there is one.
 
Zeppo said:
I find the bailer very vulnerable, and more a pain in the butt than It has proven to be worth.
Has anyone who has removed their bailer found this be a regretable move?
I'm pretty sure a plastic bailing jug will suffice. It has so far.
Click to expand...
Shouldn't make much difference. I hardly ever use mine, don't even think about it except on the rare occasion I get slightly swamped by a wave or scoop up more water than usual righting the boat on a choppy day. Never thought of removing mine since I use to race and it's required equipment in that case. Mainly I bail with a large sponge.
 
I just reconditioned two bailers with new rubber seals. One got a new nut, and the other new drain plug. I agree the bailers are a PITA in general.

A scoop and a sponge--as others have said is a good option in any case. Every boat should have both.

You can always just leave the plug in all the time.

As for me, I have reconditioned two bailers, a third is entirely new. I have one more to pull apart and plenty of balls and seals, so I'm good to go--hopefully. I'll be able to judge how well these things work now that they conform to the design. I've never felt they worked all that well, but mine were filled with foam for some reason--I think the original owners had trouble getting the balls to seal.

The replacement parts are not too expensive. I've swapped out of few of the smaller parts and it was a fairly easy job. I use a large spring clamp to unscrew the top. It works rather well. I plan to keep one handy in my tool box for on the spot repairs.
 
Maybe I have just been lucky, but my bailers have been very kind to me. I know a lot of people keep theirs plugged continuously and then use a sponge to dry out their cockpit. I have always used the opposite strategy and have never closed my bailer. The floating ball seems to seal the hole quite well and allows no water to enter the cockpit. When moving the ball drops down and drains any water in the boat but does not allow water to flow the other way. I seem to never have more than about a cup of water in my cockpit, while others complain of bailer problems. Why have I had so much sucess?
 
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