I think the east coast potters are pretty active already... so you might not
want to reinvent the wheel.
> 1) Retrofitting: Can some of you share your experiences of
> installing radios (marine and stereos), stereo speakers and any
> attachable after market add-ons. How have you successfully
> installed these? Screws? Bolts? Super adhesives? Velcro? Bubble-gum?
I use a disturbing amount of velcro for portable items :) If you use bolts,
etc, be sure to use stainless. Bed and seal every piece of hardware that
might get wet. If you must drill through the cored sections (cabintop and
deck) drill oversize, fill hole with epoxy putty, THEN drill the right size
hole through the epoxy plug, to keep water from saturating the core. I
would do this even to factory-installed fittings. Unless IM builds 'em
tougher than HMS did (and I think they probably do) consider retrofitting
backing plates in high stress areas, like under cleats. If they are still
riveting padeyes to the boom for the mainsheet, replace those with bolts and
nuts.
> 2) How have you wired some of these components? When is it
> necessary to add a 2nd battery or modify the stock electrical
> configuration to adequately accommodate these changes?
Shouldn't be a problem if you've got a reasonable sized battery now and a
means of charging it, but it also depends on how long you'll go between
charges, how long your trips will be, etc. Be sure to fuse everything
though, and use marine-grade wire. It is tinned for its entire length.
Regular stranded copper doesn't last long in a marine environment.
> 3) Where (in a WWP 19 for me) are the recommended locations to
> install these add-ons and where SHOULDN’T we, other than the
> obvious of not drilling into and through the hull. Where may
> we safely and securely drill and bolt components?
Even the hull isn't so bad if you do it right. Just use common sense and
think things through. For instance, my boat has holes in the transom where a
previous owner mounted the depth sounder transducer... then realized the
rudder would hit it...
check out the book "This Old Boat" by Don Casey. Or better yet, buy it. He
explains in real simple terms how to do just about everything you'd want to
do the the boat, and this is written so much better than other boat
maintenance books I have read that I highly recommend it.
> 4) Have any of you installed a mainsail traveler to the transom
> or elsewhere?
Transom is impractical because the tiller goes over the entire transom, so
there's really no place to put it but the cabintop. Even with a riser, it
would be a real pain to attach and remove the rudder/tiller assembly. You
should be able to get any sail shape you need from a combination of
mainsheet, outhaul, and vang tension, though a traveller would make tweaking
it a lot easier.
> 5) There are no winches on the WWP’s (can you tell that I just
> picked up my boat on Sunday and haven’t gotten it into the water
> yet). Are the kleets more than sufficient and are the sail
> sheets (lines) so easy to manage that this is a laughable thought?
I've got genoa winches but I use them more to hold lit cigars and as points
for tying mooring lines in unprotected waters than for winching. I might
even remove them altogether. Even with the big genoa I can generally get
enough pull with my arms alone. The only time I can imagine >needing< them
is if I was carrying a lot of rail meat in big wind and wanted to fly more
sail than I ought to. In any event, don't rush out and buy any until you've
sailed her a bit to see if you need it for the conditions you sail in.
There's lots of things I'd buy before winches.
> 6) The trailer: The former owner of my boat and trailer had the
> trailer tires inflated with 32 psi, the standard setting for
> automobile tires. The trailer tires side-walls list 90 max psi.
> Can any of you suggest the ideal "psi" for both safety and performance?
Depends on the tire size and load rating. My tires max out at 35psi, but i
suspect your tires are MUCH smaller if they can go that high. The max load
rating is generally at max pressure, so if you're using 1/3 the max
pressure, figure you should safely only load to 1/3 the max weight rating. I
suspect you should run them higher than you are.
> 7) What is the maximum weight capacity of a WWP 19, this is one
> statistic I haven’t run across.
With its high freeboard, its really probably much more than you'd ever be
able to put in it and sail comfortably. If you're smuggling gold, that might
be a different deal altogether :) The P19, however, like most sailboats,
sails best under a light load, especially in light airs.
>On the same topic, what have you
> readers been finding as a comfortable maximum crew count? Are 2
> adult males and 2 adult females all of average size and weight a crowd?
Not at all, for daysailing. My wife and I often bring another couple with
us. Any more than that would be a crowd for anything other than a quick
sail, IMHO, but other members of the list bring their kids, etc, and have
come up with clever ways to keep everyone comfortable, even with a heavy
crew load. I find best practical speed in light air is attained with only
two people aboard. Even better is one, but another set of hands is, well,
handy. In heavy air, tossing the big guys on the rail in order to
counterbalance a lot of sail is fun and can make for a wild ride.
> 8) Many of us have the tendency or desire to prevent problems
> with our possessions by using our ingenuity, but, this can
> sometimes be short sighted. I have the thought of greasing the
> trailer extender to keep it from corroding and to make it slide
> in/out more easily? Is this a reasonable idea or is there some
> hidden danger in doing this. Is common axle grease ok or should
> some marine compound be used that will withstand salt water, i.e.
> probably the bearing grease? Is coating the trailers
> leaf-springs with axle grease a good idea to help keep them from
> corroding?
I don't have an extender, so I cant speak specifically to that, but I can't
see that that would create any problems as long as you used a
water-resistance grease. Spraying off the trailer with freshwater after
having it in saltwater is important, of course. And if you don' have bearing
buddies on your trailer, definitely get them (if you've got grease fittings
on your hubs, then you have buddies or equivalent).
> 9) Hull Painting: Suggestions? Ideas? Recommendations? Best
> anti-fouling paint. Is it reasonable for me to attempt painting
> my WWP 19’s hull bottom over the winter while it sits on the
> trailer and in my garage? How much paint does it take to
> adequately cover a WWP 19 hull?
Wait a season before painting. I painted mine, and I really wish I hadn't
bothered. If you plan on trailering all the time, don't even bother thinking
about it at all. If you plan on keeping her in the water, consider just
pulling her out every 6 weeks and scrubbing down and waxing the hull. But I
live in Seattle, which is a low-fouling area because of our coldwater
currents.
With that said, I used an epoxy-based paint (in retrospect, I should have
used a copolymer ablative) and only 1/2 gallon for two coats. For a good
laugh call around boatyards and see what they would charge to do it for you.
I think my lowest estimate was $500.
> 10) Mast Raising on a WWP 19. I have been reading some recent
> posting in regards to speeding up this process. Is it TO
> difficult to raise the mast while the boat is in the water?
> There are some convenient boat launches and marina’s up-river in
> my area, but you must travel under some low bridges from some of
> them to reach Boston Harbor. If anchored is not stable enough is
> temporarily docked enough?
Thats how I do it almost exclusively now. If I've got a halfway decent dock
(especially a slip) in calm waters, I find it much easier to do in the
water. I wouldn't try it if the boat was rocking a lot though, nor would I
try it in the open water.
> WWP 19, MicroShip, Hull# 870
Tell us more about your boat. What is your sail inventory?