Calling all creative bailing scoop designs! Looking for the best container to make one out of and how. durability and efficiency are 2 top considerations of course. The winning design will receive a . . . well, probably not much if you want me to be honest. thanks.
there is no more effective
system than a scared sailor with a five gal bucket; seriously thats it
ONly bailer I’ve ever owned
milk jug with almost all of the bottom surface cut off and a touch of two sides, on the corner near the candle.
Only used that in a canoe, I pump out, and “T” out, and bow lift out the kayak.
We like bleach bottles or laundry
detergent jugs. They’re stiffer than milk jugs. Also, cylinders seem to fit the hull shape better than square milk jugs. We tie a sponge to the bailer with a short piece of cord so that everything is handy. Actually, I have mine attached with a biner which makes it even more handy.
And I attach my bailer…
…to my sponge, and both to a thwart, using a two-sided velcro thingy.
I don’t use a bailer in my canoe…
Combined with a sponge, I use either my old bilge pump from the kayak days or a water cannon to suck the water out. The advantage of the water cannon is that it does double duty in the summer. 
Windshield Washer Fluid…
comes in heavy duty gallon bottles…as others have said, cut out the bottom and shape at will… clip a sponge close by… If you just rolled up in an OC-1… splash a bunch out with your paddle first :)…it saves a lot of time
no sponge either
just the kayak pump.
Not fussy about the last 1/2 inch of water.
hey Kim—
We’re not that picky either, but the sponge is handy for wiping mud so that it doesn’t get all over everything. Nice to wipe down boats before loading, also.
Mine looks like…
…a bilge pump and a sponge. There’s no room in my boats to use a bailer.
Yep…mud and sand in the hair…
That’s the main reason I keep a sponge in a boat. I thought I had wiped it all out from the Sabine River trip this past weekend, but when I turned the boat over and lifted it over my head…all the dry sand (and there was a lot of it) in the bow of the boat sifted down all over my head and face, shoulders and back of neck. I felt like one of the Three Stooges. Thank goodness there was a state park a short distance down the road where we could stop and shower and change clothes before the 4+ hour drive home.
multipurpose design
Cutting the bottom out of a sturdy jug does seem to make the best bailer. Another possibility, however, is to cut much of the top off of a jug but leave the handle. I use a gallon milk jug. It can be handy at times to have a water container that can be set down with water in it for things like scooping up river water to rinse off boats or gear. With the flat bottom intact it can also serve as a canoe port-a-potty as well as a bailer. Admittedly the trips where a bailer is needed are not generally the same trips where a port-a-potty is needed, but I’m in the habit of taking my multi-purpose milk jug as part of my standard paddling gear.
How we do it…
Here’s a photo of how we cut our bailers:
http://www.pbase.com/image/29702770.jpg
We also attach a buckle so we can snap/unsnap when needed. That way it isn’t sliding under foot:
http://www.pbase.com/image/29702772.jpg
Hey I like that! It’s YELLOW!