DaySailer.org Forum

New to sailing - put boat in water first time and found mid-hull drain mechanism leaking. Cans someone adivse me on how to minimize this leakage. The mechanism opens like a scoop facing aft and pulls back up with a locking handle. It all looks in tact from the bottom and from inside, but it evidently doesn't fully seal whenc latched up?



Also, I need help understanding the swing keel. It seems to drop on it's own and the lever only serves to lock in down and keep it from swinging up. Is this proper? That the swing keel is free to float down (or up) anytime the lever is up?



Thanks for any help.

The lever arm should friction fit and not move up and down on its own. The lever is clamped in place by a triangular plate and presses the lever against a large neoprene washer. If you search at DR Marine, you can see pics of the parts

Having owned a few Spindrift Daysailers , over time those bailers leak. I've replaced the rubber gasket, but that was only a short term solution. I've replace the bailer with a new one, but that was expensive. Recently, on a boat I was repairing, I removed the bailer and glassed over the hole.
As mentioned above, the centerboard movement is controlled by friction. If you tighten the three screws holding the triangular plate, the board will stay in any position you set it at. Of course, if you over tighten, you cannot move the board at all.

Thanks for the help all. I"ll try some petroleum jelly on the bailer and get in the water at least once before it hardens (in the UP of MI).