DePersia Bailer Removal

[Flieger]

Hi all,
I bought an old Sunfish fixer upper and am trying to remove the old De Persia bailer. The nut is missing, but try as I might, I'm unable to remove the bailer. Any tips what to do here?

 

[Wavedancer]

Others will chime in, but in the meantime you can search this Forum (the search button is in the upper right corner) for prior responses to this issue.

 

[mixmkr]

If you're not salvaging the bailer, get a pipe wrench on the bottom side and twist it out.....or more violently, smack it out with a hammer. The nut is really much of what holds it in.

 

[Flieger]

If you're not salvaging the bailer, get a pipe wrench on the bottom side and twist it out.....or more violently, smack it out with a hammer. The nut is really much of what holds it in.

Thanks! With a bit of leverage and some wiggling it came off, not damaging the fiberglass.

 

[signal charlie]

Smack it if you want, and damage the cockpit/hull seam. Ask me how I know. Other option is to put a large screwdriver in the exhaust port and twist it off.

 

[mixmkr]

Ok....how do you know? :-D

 

[Flieger]

Smack it if you want, and damage the cockpit/hull seam. Ask me how I know. Other option is to put a large screwdriver in the exhaust port and twist it off.

LOL. I did smack it, albeit very lightly. The WD40 soaking and the screwdriver in the exhaust port will be my recommended method.

 

[mixmkr]

If you're trying to save the bailer, realize the screwdriver may bust the vents, if it is a stubborn one. That's why I suggested a pipe wrench...so you can "scar" it up.

 

[signal charlie]

I have no plans to ever save a metal DePersia....I bashed one out of a 1971 boat and the smacking split the seam. We took it out for Sea Trials and it did fine, no leaks, but then the buyers hauled it to Alabama on a trailer. They called a few days later and told me the boat leaked, I was confused, it leaked a lot, took 4 people to carry it up the beach! So I went and picked it up and found that the plastic bailer had vibrated loose, which allowed water to get into the hull through the seam. Now I check that seam on all the boats we restore, found it was leaking on one of our boats.

 

[Flieger]

So when installing my new, plastic bailer, do I need to put some 4200 around it?

 

[mixmkr]

I'm not that fond of the bailer myself, but odd some people will pay $50 or more for just the cap. I think there's the group that likes to keep their older Sunfish as "original" as possible. Personally, I don't use the cap on mine and use a freeze drain plug I can quickly shove in there when needed and it actually drains better than either bailer, plastic or the old dinosaur.
Vibrate loose on a trailer ride??
Yes I would personally use sealant and not rely on a gasket. Not sure that is class legal however.

 

[signal charlie]

No I would not use sealant.

 

[mixmkr]

In your video, your repair seems like it would work, but I'd be afraid that the "other side" of the bailer hole might start leaking, if a trailer ride broke the seam (or some hull banging!! ;-0 ) Would it not be best to just enlarge the hole, glass it up completely and then re-drill the proper sized hole for the bailer? Then you're drilling thru solid glass and not "two layers of glass joined together". Plus you've now effectively glassed the two layers together in a joint. I'd be afraid of just injecting epoxy into a possibly wet and unsanded area and expected to have maximum hold. You're wanting a mechanical "grip" in this repair and clean prepared surfaces would seem to be required.
Or....I guess you could enlarge the hole and smear some thickened epoxy around the rim and then sand/file as needed...as a quickie fix. The first method seems preferred however.
Checking back, I think using sealant is NOT class legal. Since the plastic bailers don't fit perfectly to the curved bottom, some racers wanted to fill and fair the gap left from the sloppy fit. However, that was deemed not allowable. If you don't want it to leak, seams busting apart or not and you could care less about being class legal, sealant is the way to go. I've never installed a thru hull in a boat NOT using sealant (maybe a rubber gasket under the topside nut to help compensate for varying hull thickness) and over the 100's I've installed, they never leak. That said, "LifeCaulk" has about a 15 year lifespan under water, so I've switched to 5200 when using bronze fittings. Plastic fittings I avoid below the waterline...but we're talking about boats left in the water now too. For the plastic Sunfish bailer, 4200, a polyurethane adhesive/sealant, is fine below the waterline and probably preferred. Most silicones, not so.

 

[Flieger]

With this old boat I don't plan on racing, so I'll probably do the sealant.

 

[Wavedancer]

As Signal Charlie already stated, there's no need for a sealant. The plastic bailer has an O-ring on the hull side. See the video posted by him earlier in this thread.

 

[mixmkr]

As Signal Charlie already stated, there's no need for a sealant. The plastic bailer has an O-ring on the hull side. See the video posted by him earlier in this thread.

And in that video, it rattled loose and leaked. Ditch the O ring and properly sealed with 4200, you could probably unscrew the nut and it still wouldnt leak. Sealent on the threads would also protect leaking thru a broken seam and a minimal amount under the nut would keep it from unscrewing. That said, maintained and checked using the O ring is OK in most cases and an even easier install...and class legal.