Re: P14 Heeling

Derek Jensen (djensen@teleport.com)
Fri, 21 Aug 1998 11:47:13 -0700


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I've done a little experimenting with maximum heel. My observations were as follows:

A friend and I were out sailing on the Columbia River in about 10-15 Knots of steady wind.
Having the wind STEADY is important for this experiment. With my friend on the helm and
me holding the mainsheet for instant tripping in order to right the boat, we hauled 'er over
to 35 degrees (inclonometer on the compass). At this point, a very disconcerting thing begins
to happen. 1) You get within about an inch of putting the lee rail in the water. 2) The hard
chine begins to act as your rudder while the rudder is so far out of the water that you can't
effectivly turn into the wind with it. I would not suggest getting that far over in any sort of
gusting conditions, though, as we were right on the edge. I popped the mainsheet and we
popped right up, though. In gusting conditions such as I saw on a 3 day trip up the Case Inlet
int the South Puget Sound, we held 'er between 10 and 20 degrees with a hair trigger on the main
sheet as well. It may help to know that I've replaced the mainsheet jam cleat with a Ronstan
block/cam-cleat combination that makes popping the mainsheet a speedy operation.

According to legend, Stanley Smith claimed that anything over 10 degrees begins to waste
the forward energy of the boat. Sailing the Potter with a max of 10 degrees heel is a very
comfortable and stable level of heel. I'm usually popping the sheet at about 20 degrees
to keep her level.

Derek Jensen
p15 #694 "El Nino"
Porland OR

RSKARAM@aol.com wrote:

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> West Wight Potter Website at URL
> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> In a message dated 8/21/98 4:11:00 AM, djones@turbotek.net writes:
>
> >When I sail my Potter close hauled, I always get scared at around 15 degrees
> >of heel and try to fall off. Am I being overly cautious? I have sailed
> >a number of rounded bottomed boats that never seem to go over (barring
> >a wave and a gust) but I'm not familiar with the more flat bottomed Potter.
> > I love to hear any "heeling" stories.
>
> Dear Doug:
> Being one of the guys who rather stupidly turned turtle in his P-15, I would
> suggest that the degree of heel is not as important as keeping your weight low
> in the boat. A very small amount of heel can be a big problem if you are
> standing up in the boat. Everyone in the Web gang seems to have an
> understanding of physics (I flunked the course back in 1954) but my seat of
> the pant sailing experience is that when sailing a 15 foot dinghy, you better
> not stand up in the boat. I suspect that my advice is worth 5 degrees of heel.
> Nonetheless, like you I get goosey at about 15 degrees.
> Richard S. Karam
> Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
> Former P-15 sailor w/ seller's remorse