: Allow me to chime in with my two cents worth: I've raced many, many high
: performance sailing dinghies, and most of them had cockpit drains. They
: work very well, assuming you are moving along at at least the pace you
: should be achieving in a racing kayak. The faster you go, the faster they
: drain. And, assuming you're going fast enough, they'll suck down any
: quantity of water - in due time.
: Most dinghies don't ship an entire boatload of water on board, though, and
: the ones that might often have cut out flaps in the transom to drain large
: amounts of water. In a Laser - or a Force Five - (both of which have mere
: footwells) if you aren't going fast enough for the bailers to work, one
: just frantically "kicks" the water out of the cockpit.
: Regardless, with a standard sized kayak cockpit full of water, you aren't
: going to be paddling fast enough for a drain to work! I daresay they would
: drain off the occasional wave that makes it's way inboard, though.

: If you want to bail a well sloshed cockpit - and still keep on racing - I
: heartily suggest a battery powered pump. They are pretty small, cost about
: $40, run on 3 "D" cell batteries, and are fully submersible.
: Just flick it on and get back to racing (or, more likely, trying to stay
: upright!).

: Dave
I second Dave's post and add as they get older they leak a bit, we always had to bail abit if had a few frosties before hosting out.
Don