Auxillary Bailers

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The cockpit drains (bailers) seemed a bit undersized for the task and would occaissionaly become clogged with dirt. I wanted to increase the cockpit bailing capacity, and noticed on later model Catalina 22's that the cockpit bailers were through the transom rather than at the front of the cockpit (the cockpit floor was sloped towards the stern in these models).

This gave me the idea that I could increase the overflow capacity by installing a set of bailers through the transom. This would not drain all of the water, as the cockpit floor slopes forward on the 1982 model, but it would help out in overflow conditions. I think this particularly comes in handy when the boat is stored over the winter, as the cockpit can easily become filled with rain water, if the main bailers become clogged.

I used some 1 1/2" (inside diameter) PVC pipe couplers that I got from the local home supply store. The outside diameter of the couplers was 2". So, I got a 2" hole cutting drill as well.

I wanted to locate the bailers at the lower right and left corners of the cockpit, at the transom. The old saying of "measure twice, cut once" applies here in a big way (measure 3 times). Measuring where to drill the holes so that they would just clip the cockpit floor was a critical part of the job. Once the holes were drilled I fitted and shaped the PVC couplers to the contour of the cockpit wall, and the epoxied them in place. The process & results are pictured below.

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