Bailers
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Bailers
Bailers are an essential piece of equipment on board the Trifoiler. The basic scoop is a must. A dedicated made scoop from your local marine hardware store is the second accessory to buy after a PFD, or you can cut the bottom off a recycled juice bottle. Also a sponge is great for the last 2 oz and sifting out sand that gets tracked in from climbing in after launching.
A prototype drain.
A brass tube flared on the top edge supports itself from falling through, while glue seals around the fiberglass hole. A wood anchor holds the tether to the rubber cork to prevent loosing when it gets knocked out by a wave slapping on the bottom of the hull, or assist finding it when foiling around.
The First Self Bailer Prototype
I used a couple of PVC fittings and glued a ping pong ball inside the air gap between a vacuum cleaner attachment. You can see part of the ball inside here.
The picture below shows the bottom of the hull. The grey part is the vacuum cleaner attachment, slightly modified. The offset levels of the leading and trailing edges create a suction due to the trailing edge located above the level of the leading edge, with sufficient water flowing past the opening, the pressure differential allows water to fall out of the bilge. You can hear it when the water is completely drained out of the bilge. Within the boundaries of the grey, you can see some bondo patch work from a previous system that did work so well. It had a very low aspect ratio of length to wide. The limit production units made after this design worked great!
The Factory Bailer
(Part #53010100) was made available as a retrofit, but is no longer available. It was custom suited for maximum performance and ease of use.
Included were:
- Housing with rubber plug and lanyard.
- Golf practice ball
- Cutting template (A scan of this would be nice.Jonathan 13:25, 9 August 2009 (UTC))
- Snorkle-passage for water drainage.
- Instructional video for installation
This video is available as a streaming and downloable flash video:
See OEM TriFoiler Bailer Installation Video
Andersen "Super Mini" bailer
This is the first choice to consider if installing a self bailer system. This is an example as installed in #23. The photo illustrates the bailer pushed as far back toward the rear seat platform as possible in order to maximize drainage. This is not recommended, as the seat molding is thicker and much harder than the epoxy/glass-foam sandwich that comprises the rest of the hull bottom, making the results slightly uneven and the installation more difficult. A better result will be obtained with less effort if the bailer is mounted about an inch (1") forward of the location shown, clear of the seat molding (if your boat has such a molding). The hole can be cut with a razor utility knife/box-cutter (see the Hobie Bailer installation video (above) to see this way of cutting through the inner and outter hulls) Note that the perimeter of the cutout requires reinforcement with epoxy after an appropriate amount of foam has been removed. This will supply the necessary strength around the hole as well as allowing the mounting screws to be countersunk. It is also suggested that a marine sealer designed for through hull-fittings to make the installation truely waterproof when closed. Jonathan 13:45, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
There are several models to choose from. http://www.google.com/products?q=super+mini+bailer&hl=en&scoring=p
Be aware the the Super-Mini Bailer only draws water when the boat is moving through the water at a good pace and some water will come in through this bailer's one way flap at low speeds. The Super Mini Bailer also protrudes below the hull, when open, so be sure it is closed when sliding the boat off of the trailer.
