Hi Dave,
The bailers on Cockle are pretty stiff, and the angle for your hand is less than ideal because of the relative locations of the bailer and the floorboard hole. However I wouldn’t say that they are anything more than a minor nuisance, and we use them pretty much every time we sail.
Having said that I had the opportunity to use some new bailers of a different type last week on a different boat and they were a revelation; smooth, positive and drawing lots of water at moderate boat speed, even upwind. (I’ll have to find out what sort they were).
It’s just such a hassle to contemplate changing them, but if mine were as bad as yours sound I would be seriously considering doing so.