Install an autobailer?

D

Dan Lamprecht

New Member
From all I've read about autobailers, I'm wondering if they are really worth the price and trouble.

1. Mounting requires drilling a hole and introducing a possible leak in the hull.
2. Constant repairs of little plastic components and rubber o-rings.

Does the autobailer really improve the bailing of the cockpit? I have been sailing my Laser for one year without one. Seems like my biggest problem is that I keep kicking the rubber plug out of the drain hole with my feet.

If I do buy an autobailer, is the Brazilian autobailer an acceptable one, or should I insist on an English made one?
 
Hey Dan, I have had the old bail system and the new autobailer, and the suction is much better on the new system you can even drain your cockpit in light winds (a problem I had with the old system) which might be necessary if you take a roll tack too far. I also had a serious problem with knocking the rubber plug. This often caused serious problems while in the middle of a light wind race and I was stuck worrying about water rushing into your cockpit. As for the different systems I have no clue to which one is better, I own the English system and it works great (I have never seen the Brazilian set-up). I defiantly advise getting the autobailer if you are going to be doing any racing, just make sure you drill the hole in the correct spot or you will have to worry about the bailer lifting up so it isn’t level with the hull when you screw it in. There should be no problem with leakage either, simply go to your nearest boat shop and pick up a marine sealant to cover the drill hole (The bailer also comes with a rubber piece that you stick on the hole to prevent seepage). Hope this helps.
 
Hello Dan,
Here's my humble opinion on the "lousy" auto-bailer. A auto-bailer installed is better then none at all. The auto-bailer will work much better when it is installed. When you have it installed and your moving well in the boat it creates a vortex/siphon under the boat. The faster your moving the more water it will suck out of the boat. With out it installed I don't think you'll get that same vortex/siphon action. So it will take much longer to drain your boat.... Also when your in light air or just not moving that fast it might make the difference between draining your boat or worse letting it fill up more if you try to drain any water out of the cockpit.
FishingMickey
150068/150087
 
My old Laser - like most of those used in my club - has its autobailer disabled and the port covered over with either a plastic or metal plate. I don't know if it is class-legal and, frankly, I don't care. Our little club is pretty loose about those things and most of us are sailing some pretty antique equipment. I think the practice of disabling the autobailer came up because of maintenance issues and need. Here in Maine, the winters are awfully cold. Most of the boats are stored outside. I've been told that the small plastic parts in the autobailer can be easily damaged by freezing. And we are a lake-sailing club who seldom races in winds over 20 knots. So having some water sloshing around the cockpit is not as big a deal for us as it might be to the Great Lake sailors with their howling-gale races. I was tempted to revive the autobailer when I bought my boat, but other priorities (new rigging, sails, hiking pants) have pushed it to the bottom of my replacement list.
 
I've spent so much money replacing parts of the venturi, if you ask me i'd say that it's a really poor design. For it to stay intact for a whole season you'd almost need to employ somebody on the beach to bring your dolley to you, as in an onshore breeze you are forced to pull your boat onto the shore backwards in order to collect your dolley. And what is the result of this? Your venturi getting absolutely destroyed.
Some of the Laser sailors at my club have given up with the venturi, and discarded the whole concept, unscrewing it and throwing it away for good. At the moment mine is not in working order, and I don't know if i will bother replacing it. I've sailed a few races without it, and it doesn't seem to matter. In light winds the water only seems to rise up to water level, which is a mere 2 inches or so in the cockpit.
I'm starting to get really aggrevated with the so called "one design, cheap racing boat".
 
i sugest getting one then taking the rubber plug out that allows more water to drain out and saves you knocking it closed
 
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