RE: QUAILTY OF HMS POTTER 19

Eric Johnson (ej@tx3.com)
Wed, 4 Nov 1998 09:53:29 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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> I ignored this thread when it started since I consider myself
> inexperienced and
> not very knowledgeable about sailboats. However, after reading all of the
> comments so far I feel compelled to comment. I followed my
> practice of sleeping
> on what I want to say to give myself time to mellow out. <g>
>
> I didn't know I bought an "inferior" HMS sailboat! <BG> Still
> don't! My point
> is that IMHO "everything is relative" and since I couldn't afford
> a new IMS
> WWP19 even at the admitedly low price, I still feel the HMS WWP19 was an
> excellent choice.

It was. I'm very critical of my boat, but let me make it clear: I LOVE my
boat. Its like a child to me. I just expect it to do its best, so I'm strict
with what I expect of it ;) I've also probably got more guts than brains. I
sail in the rain. 'Small Craft Advisory' to me means 'decent wind!'. 'Gale
Warning' means "great wind!" :) (Actually, I won't knowingly go out into a
gale.. but SCA is usually great sailing.)

> I appreciate ALL of the criticisms and opinions I read, there is
> a wealth of
> knowledge on this net. But I DON'T WANT A PROSPECTIVE POTTERER
> to avoid the HMS
> Potter because they get the wrong impression.

Agreed. One thing prospective potterers should keep in mind is that even the
boats from the more questionable years likely have been upgraded by thier
obsessive owners, and as such may very well be better than a new boat or
other used boats of more desirable years.

> Before buying my 1990 WWP19 #626 I looked at a number of other
> trailer sailors.
> To my inexperienced eye I liked the layout of the Potter 19
> better than any of
> the others. I have no experience with other Potters, but with a
> few exceptions
> I have no complaints. After 3 years I'm happy. Certainly would
> buy another
> HMS Potter today.

Agreed. I get less and less upset with the shortcomings as my own boat
maintenance skills get better.

Remembering that I love my boat, I'm going to enumerate my pet peeves of my
1988 HMS boat:
1: Deck fitting leaks, especially where hardware goes through cored sections
of the deck or cabintop
2: Inside of transom has no laminate, just peeling paint on plywood.
3: blocks for keel lift aren't wire blocks. (I've since corrected)
4: rusty keel. Mine is non-galvanized
5: no check valve/scupper in cockpit drain - allows following seas to flood
cockpit. I've since corrected.
6: Leaky centerboard trunk in heavy seas. I've corrected this with $2 in
foam tape. I can't believe this fix works as well as it does.
7: Masthead steaming light mislabelled as "Anchor light".
8: WAY too much unfinished softwood in chain locker, storage compartments,
and storage area covers. I've painted the storage compartment covers, but
the other sections still soak up water pretty badly.
9: Way too many rivets used everywhere. I've replaced all the rivets used in
high-load situations with more robust fasteners. I'm very lucky nobody was
hurt when my mainsheet gave way in a gale. I think even the deck/hull joint
is riveted.

Note that all these are >construction< issues, not design issues. And all
(except for maybe #2 and #4 are fairly easily fixed by the boat owners.