Bailer install

P

pez

Member
So I purchased a bailer... I will have it next week or so... any advice on how to install it?
 
It's really easy - follow the instructions that come with it and use plenty of sealer or caulk on the screw.

Search here on autobailer and you'll find a lot of discussion about it as well
 
it's easy.

Pull out the old bung, flip the boat over.

Unscrew the screw. Pull off, cut out any old sealent around there.


Squeeze in some silicon sealent on screw.

Pop in new bailer (feed bronze colored piece through bailer hole, you will install the black cockpit bung afterwords).

Screw in with screw, not TOO tight, very snug, but don't use a power drill or anything.

Flip boat over, install black bung.

you are good to go :)
 
The auto bailer and the brass drain fitting are sold separately. You'll need 2 different sized drill bits, a drill and a tube of silicone. I used 3M 4200 Marine sealant instead of silicone... It's good stuff!

The instructions are pretty straight forward. Don't forget to use the sealant when installing the drain fitting.
 
I reccomend turning your boat upside down and holding the bailor in place, drill through the screw hole in the bailor. This would be done with the small drill bit Senna27 is talking about.

Once that hole is drilled it can be drilled out so the plastic anchor slides in snug with silicon of your choice.

Dab silicon in the center of the hole and along the edge of the inside of the bailor. Then hold the bailor exactly where you want it until it drys... (just kidding) My reccomendation is to screw it in once the silicon is dry, this way it will be sealed perfectly. Otherwise you may screw it in and the hole might be off causing the bailor to have a gap between it and the boat. I am about to rework mine and will throw some pictures of it out there.

Good luck, it is important to have a bailor that works properly to reduce weight in the cockpit.
 
you'll also need a little brass fitting, as others have mentioned.

Drop us an e-mail at the shop and I can get all those goodies to you. :)
 
I removed my bailer after it became distorted and not flush with the hull anymore. I am having a hard time justifying the cost of another one since I never used it for most of the time I've had the boat.
Do they really make that much of a difference?
 
Try sailing without it and you will see the value. My experience has been that the cockpit fills with water. Not to the top or anything but there always seems to be quite a bit in there.
 
Hello Shawn,
There's been a few threads on the auto-bailer. I not going to attemp to hunt for them. One of the things I've found to be very helpful in installing a bailer is to remove it, replace all of the parts you need to ("O" rings of course and maybe the pivoting door if it is bunged up) then see how well the bailer fits into the recessed area. If it is bent, you might try re-bending it straight with your hands or try using a hair dryer/heat gun to heat it and then bend it back straight. If you can fit it in well with it flush along all the edges then your ready for the next step.
Put a small bead of silicone completely around the edges of the bailer and a generous daub over the screw hole inside. Gently fit it into place, so it is sitting flush. Wipe off the excess silicone and let it cure over night. Next day install the screw until you get it snug, not tight just gently snug. Remove the screw and coat the threads with a coat of silicone and then maybe squeeze a daub into the hole and re-insert the screw. Tighten it until gently snug again. Hopefully you will find there is no distortion and your bailer fits perfectly flush with the hull and it's completely sealed around it's circumference.
I believe that with a complete seal around the edges of the bailer help's the bailer create a better vortex (sucking action) when water is rushing past it. So with your improved bailer sucking action (vortex) your cockpit will drain faster then all the other sailors around you, you'll be lighter and achieve much greater speeds then your opponents.
In my humble opinion the "auto" bailer is one of the most needed areas of design improvement that our "builder supplied only" Laser builders make. I wont rant on how bad it sucks or how many times in the past three years I've popped the door off of it's pivots or had the "O" rings break (of course when either removing the covers or sliding it off of my trailer just before a regatta). But regardless it is all the same for all of us so it meets the golden rule.
Best regards,
Fishingmickey (the much practiced bailer repair man)
150087/181157
 
Thanks for the reply. I haven't really sailed against other Lasers in years, and just recently pulled my Laser out of the woods. The biggest issue I have been having on Thursday nights is that when the water (3-4" [7-10 cm ;)] maybe??) gets into my cockpit, it melts all the ice in my li'l cooler and my beer gets warm...I'll spend ANY amount of time to avoid that if it makes that much of a difference...I'll do some searching of those other posts. I even have a repair kit (never used) and a nice cheap source for the o-rings.

While we are on the subject of the bailer, I've noticed a 'clarification' in the proposed rules (which I just recently cast my vote) - and perhaps I should have asked this prior to voting - what is the point of taping the bailer to the floor? Does that effectively lock it closed? How do you use it then...re-tape to a wet floor after draining??? I don't seem to remember my little trap door sealing well enough that I could count on not needing the bung-plug?
 
sastanley said:
---snip---
While we are on the subject of the bailer, I've noticed a 'clarification' in the proposed rules (which I just recently cast my vote) - and perhaps I should have asked this prior to voting - what is the point of taping the bailer to the floor? Does that effectively lock it closed? How do you use it then...re-tape to a wet floor after draining??? I don't seem to remember my little trap door sealing well enough that I could count on not needing the bung-plug?
Click to expand...

That is dealing with heavy air sailing - A lot of people will pull open the bailer and remove the bung. The idea being that the bung is prone to being kicked by your feet, closing or at least semi-closing the bailer. Taping the bronze rod to the cockpit sole after removing the bung is just some additional insurance that your feet won't accidently kick the bailer shut.
 
So that would be assuming more water is coming in the boat (splashing, etc..) and you just leave the bailer 'open' the whole day and never sitting still enough that water would come back in the cockpit thru the bailer?
 
In between races water will come in, but it's easy enough to get rid of it all before the next start...
 
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