Unique Plug for Epic V10L Bailer

As much as I enjoy my V10L, I really miss having either a closable bailer (such as on the V12) or a pluggable bailer (such as with Think surf skis). I've tried some rubber and cork plugs, but they usually leak some and can be challenging to pull out when needed (unless they have a cord, but then they tend to get caught on my feet and pull out at unwanted times). I've also used the tape approach, but that only works once. Here in the Midwestern USA, there aren't too many times the river waves are big enough to really need a bailer, but when the water and air turn cold the ability to plug a bailer is worth a lot!

At any rate, while looking for some cord or cable to hook up the Van Dusen rudder I just installed, I think I had a moment of divine inspiration. Looking around my shotshell reloading press, I noticed that the 12 gauge shotshell wads looked about the diameter of the V10L bailer hole. Sure enough, when I checked the wads (Winchester AA12 equivalents) fit perfectly, and the hollow base seemed to give a good seal (who knew Epic made 12 gauge bailer holes?!?). A trial paddle on the pond out back proved they work fantastically! And they're relatively easy to remove and replace. See attached photo.

Another photo of the plug.

That’s GOLD! I laughed out loud when I read your story. Only in the USA could a shotgun solve the problem of a leaking boat……

Great now I just gotta find myself a gun shop

Been trying cut down corks, of various shapes and sizes but they dry out and split.

Open to any other suggestions out there?

Maybe we should convince Epic to bring out a boat with a gun rack behind the seat. Should create more politeness in those heated moments going around the cans...

I kind of thought that if you bored out the bailer to take the full 12 gauge shell and added a firing mechanism to fire the cartridge into the water, you could use the recoil to gain an extra edge in those tight sprints to the finish (the equivalent of an automotive nitrous injection system). Or use the blast to break surface tension to really get on plane while riding some really good surf…