05.28.04 - Did I mention that the boat was flooded? I experienced bailing-out the boat today.

At just under 5000 feet in elevation, Payson gets two or three snowstorms every winter, plus the month of July faithfully brings the annual "monsoon" rains. Those factors combined with a leaky hatch resulted in about 50 gallons of water accumulating in the well of the boat which runs the length of the cabin. In the photo to the left, it appears as the black, brackish-looking liquid just beneath the tiller.

The next two images show the well after being bailed-out. The well is Reinell's little "secret" that allows a 6' crew to stand upright below deck on a 22 foot sloop. I've been told that it's also the reason the Reinell doesn't hold a point as well as other boats (that and the shoal keel), but as is the case with most things in life, this may just be another one of those trade-offs. I guess we'll have to wait a while to find out if standing upright in the galley is that important.

The second of the photos is a close-up of the forward section of the well. There I found a small hole drilled into the space between the inner liner and the outer hull. I noticed that water continued to run slowly out of the hole into the well for about an hour after I stopped bailing. I'll have to check on this again later.