deBrito Bailer Unhinged

It is certainly an option for more simplicity and safety. Functionwise the deBrito can operate as the McKenzie venturi if you leave it in half open position, but with the option for fully closed for stops or fully open in emergencies, which is nice to have in my opinion. The operation is quite a nightmare indeed with too little tactile feedback for heel operation. It is a hit and miss when you try to set it into middle position under stress and hurry.

The deBrito bailer has been redesigned.  The front pivot looks stronger, the screws are bigger, and there are now two little levers to make it easier to set it up for the half open position.  I removed the levers in the pictures below, but you can see them in the following video:    (see comments section about retrofitting the new design into an older boat)  I found one place that sells the new ones: paddle-lab.com/surfski-bailer.html

Nice to see that there are improvements. I am wondering how difficult it is to replace the bailer. The glued-in plastic part must be cut out, the surface need to be cleaned and the new one need to be glued in. How is it actually done, and what glue should be used?

It took me several hours to remove the part that's glued into the boat.  I'm assuming it was either Sikaflex or 3M 5200. None of the solvents I had including acetone worked on the flexible compound. I had to soften the plastic with a heat gun, cut it into small pieces with an Xacto knife, & pull the pieces out, being careful to not damage the boat. This is what it looked like after I got it out of the boat    

Since then I've found links to some products that claim to work on Polyurethane/Polysulfide compounds, but I haven't tried any of them.
store.marinebeam.com/un-hesive-3m-5200-s...nd-adhesive-remover/
nationalsupplydirect.com/debond-marine-formula-12oz.html
www.westmarine.com/buy/anti-bond--anti-bond-2015--P001174804

 

Wow, it looks like a hell of a job :I
I think I will stick with the old bailer as long as it works. Would be nice to hear some feedback about the new design though. 

Hi there,

Here you have a direct link:
doc-10-2g-apps-viewer.googleusercontent....ucm5ju6s48mpr7rfg3la

And also I attach the file in case the link change at some point.

I hope this will help!

Wow!

You have way more patience than I have. I'm sure I would have screwed it up somehow. I hope installing the new bailer was easier than removing the old one.

This worries me, because I have the older DeBrito bailer in my 520 S. However, it hasn’t leaked to any noticeable degree.

I store the ski with the bailer open and usually keep it open while paddling. Although I can open or close it with a foot, I prefer to open or close it with my hand because, well, because I can feel it better with bare hand than bootied foot. There was also that time when I thought I had kicked it shut but it was only halfway shut, discovered after sitting still for a few moments with water coming in.