Dan,

Nothing silly about a bailer plug. Use one of the commercial plugs. Of course Drill fill drill. But do not rely on the retaining feature - I always drill a small hole in the thumb handle of the plug and attach a 2mm line tied to the boat. On my snipe sailboats I tie to the gugeon on the transom. That way your plug never 'goes missing'. Also a good idea to have an extra plug in your tool box or tied below a thwart, or somewhere.  No plug, no fun in the water!!! Also you need to remember (write it down) what brand you buy - there are five different black plastic drain plugs on the market that all look the same and have different threads! The quarter turn baynet plugs (white or black) are also good, but need to be replaced after a couple of decades.

Joel

   Having just had the cover torn and blown off in the last storm, I had a Boat half full of rain water. I was able to siphon the water out in reasonable time but did think about a drain plug. Where were you thinking of putting one?  Barry

I would look at useing a self bailer neat the center board trunk. Then you only need to sail the water out. If your boat is not in the water just open the bailer.   

Most drain plugs I have seen are mounted on the transom but the rear compartment may prevent that.

   Dan,

A self bailer is also a good idea. one thought is to keep it away from the CB. If the bailer is open during a capsize, it has sharp corners and can cause a nasty cut. Most high schools and colleges will not equip thier boats with self bailers for this reason (and they cost $$ and can be damaged sliding boats off docks), but mostly because they can damage they can cause on a sailor sliding down the bottom side of the boat during a capsize. In the snipes I race, if we capsize with the bailer open, we will hit it closed with a open palm(from the bottom).

The most important placement decision should be out of a foots way in the cockpit. In that way, under a thwart is a good idea.

Joel

   CLC's demo Dory has a 1/4 turn bayonet plug in black plastic just forward of the third seat. They also do a nifty thing of stuffing the hole with minicell foam under the plug.

I just use a bleach bottle with the bottom cut off. Had way too much experience with the plugs gone missing in white water boats to want one in my dory.

I have a Anderson/Elvsrom mini bailer installed in my Wayland Marine Merry Shell - it works well in removing water while rowing.  I have purchased a Holt Allen A4555 for my NE Dory, but I have not installed it yet - it appears to be more robust than my mini.

   Agree that Elvstrom type bailers can be hard on the feet but the ones I had in my Bucanner 18's annoyed me for another reason....sand...makes a good seal shut difficult....has anyone else had that issue?