bail me out

[dragonfly]

Good morning all. A quick question; what are thoughts and gerneral ideas on self bailers? I have a very knowedgable friend of mine that says " self bailers are a quick and easy install and may save you if your runnin w/ a leaky bottom." Yet another not so well informed friend says " don't put another hole in the bottom of your boat, there's enough there as it is." I've completed a slew of upgrades on the Dragonfly this winter and I'm wondering if this should be another. As always I trust the judgement and experience of the group here, so....bail me out.

[57 chris]

Hi Peter,
You will get feedback from many on both sides of the fence on this subject. In theory the self bailer is an ingenious idea and works very well. On the other side of the coin there have been more than a couple of instances where something went wrong and the bailer created a reverse siphon and sunk the boats.
I guess if you don't leave the boat unattended in the water it's OK. I have two 18' Sea Skiffs, 1 has the bailer and the other does not. I have no intention of installing one in the boat that doesn't have one.
I'll be watching feedback from other members to see what the consensus is.

Craig

[David M]

If you want to use the automatic bailer, drill a very small hole in the top of the loop. This will prevent it from working as a syphon, but will still allow it to function as a bailer.

[Wood Commander]

I'm a cruiser guy, but I've heard of a few antique runabouts being sunk by the self bailers. I think it is mainly more of a danger when launching off of a trailer at a boat ramp.
I think that back in the 1920-40's it was much more normal to have launched the boats on the level from their lifting rings from boat houses, marinas and yachts.

Nowadays it is much more common to back the trailered boat down a launch ramp and into the water. Sometimes this might put the stern of the boat pretty low into the water, long enough to start the reverse siphon before the boat floats up. That's where many of the storys I have heard come from, the owner walking back to the ramp dock after parking the tow rig to find the boat under water. Or maybe shortly after taking off from the ramp area.
The aforementioned anti- siphon hole should help that, but I would imagine you would get a small, probably insignificant, spray from that hole when running the boat and making the siphon work as it's supposed to do.

[57 chris]

Actually, once underway there would be no spray from the weep hole due to the fact that by design it works on a siphon (vacuum)action. The whole issue with the siphon bailer is when the boat is at rest. The trouble with these bailers occurs when the boat is backed into the water at a launch ramp "AND" and there's always an "and". IF the little vent hole gets clogged with whatever. If the vent hole gets plugged then and only then can the reverse siphon action start. So, if you are conscientious about keeping that hole clean, the chances of the reverse siphon action starting aren't very good.

Craig