by Phill » Sun May 10, 2009 12:06 pm
I have not done it, but have seen many who have.
Some of the newer builders, Mcglaughlin, SLI and Cape Cod, also put them in.
Mcglaughlin has a foam core hull and put the bailers in either side of the boat, right against keelsen just forward of the CB trunk, if my memory is working today. They left a small area, maybe 1/2" larger than the bailer, uncored to behave as a small well to help the water collect. On the bottom it fits flush when closed.
Remember that the area can get a lot of slippery/clumsy foot traffic and the mechanism can damage bare feet or be damaged. There is a model of bailer out there that is said to work better that does not use the wedge shape drain, rather it lowers the front and back of a box like drain with flappers to prevent too much back wash if your speed is to low for the bailer to suck. No first hand experience, just remembered research and comments from other sailers. It seems the ones who regularly sail bigger waters, Santa Cruz, Chesapeak.... are more likly to want them.
About $.02 worth