Decrease volume or retrofit bailer ??

looking to either have ski drain quicker or take on less water initially.

Has anybody tried closed cell foam in the cockpit to decrease volume ? I don't see as it would have any effect on ski as it is so light. This would effectively decrease volume in ski hence ski takes on less water and therefore drains quicker, Correct?? Only issue I see is a potential problem with remount as the foam may get in the way. In my mind I envision a nice form fitting cockpit with just enough room for leg and torso movement. Am i nuts? Good idea??

Alternatively can an Anderson bailer be retrofit by a reputable craftsman? Any special questions to ask before handing over the ski? Does it matter the type of layup?

Just looking for a way to keep cockpit drier. Just picked up a gen 1 S18s on the cheap with single drain and it drains slooowly.

Maybe there is just too much water? The drain on most skis are the same, so why does the Stellar drain slower? It does not, there is just tons more water with there HUGE cockpit volume.
Both ideas will work. Not sure how the remount will be a problem, you would never do anything in front of the foot plate, behind yes.
Why the Anderson? Antiquated design for skis. You have others you can buy that are much safer, Epic and De Brugge that Nelo use, cheaper as well.

I have had a older S18s and now the current model with twin bailers. The answer to your question is do both. The new twin bailers work better but that's only part of the story. For some time stellar didn't install the venturi and bullet in the right location over the hole. The bullet should touch the hole and the venturi trailing edge should be right over the same edge as well. My old SR, SEL and S18s all had the hole way up inside the Venturi and they didn't bail very well at all. The bailer works much better if installed as mentioned above. In my new SEL, S18s and the new SR I demoed all have twin bailers and the venturies were correctly placed. With a 'well placed' single bailer and foam it will drain adequately.... Just.

You should also add foam taking up the unused space in to front of the foot board. It makes a big difference especially with one bailer. Even if you put in an Epic bailer (better and cheaper than an Anderson) you should still fill it with foam. I have a 30" inseam so there is a lot of room up there that needs to be filled. I will add pictures of my foam when my S18s comes back from being lent out. No need to glue anything in, mine is both a press fit and held in with a strap. Adding foam inside th cockpit can caus issues with hand grip during remounts unless you carve out a hand grip.

If you want to just go with fixing the single Venturi bailer, make sure you grind off the Venturi and bullet. They will not pop off without damaging the gelcoat at best, tearing the hull at worst. Don't ask how I know this.

It's a super ski and if you are doing any real downwinds do your self a real favor and get a real downwind rudder for it. Ether Stellar's 9" or something better like a DK rudder. It really improves the ski's diagonal surfing, any broaching issues and tames some of the 'liveliness' into directional stability. It also helps with feel and response time.

Bill

Here are the photos of the foam I put in the s18s (orange ski) and one of the foam I put in my old SR (gen 1). In both, the foam is in two parts. This allows you to take out the bottom piece and put in a water bag if you want and still fill the majority of the bow with foam. It makes a huge difference to bailing speed and to the performance of the ski when flooded. The benefits of displacing 6 gallons in the SR and 4 or so in the S18s is not to be underestimated. But filling the cockpit as well adds the issue of thick sides. You will need to put in handholds for remounting. IMHO if you fill the area forward of the foot board and make sure the bailer is located and working correctly, it should bail adequately. But if you can, definitely add the epic bailer AND fill the area forward with foam. That bailer is amazingly fast.

On a side note I'm thinking of making the S18s foam more like the SR's. ie: higher and arched....... Cuz.

Hmm.... Not sure why those showed up sideways.

Appreciate the pics. I was also thinking about some foam below my knees and possibly assuming it does not impede my paddling.