Hi Tom,
Here's my $0.02.
I own a 1985 P-19 and sail on San Francisco Bay. Out here, the P-19 is a
well respected trailer-sailor, regarded as a "chunky, tough boat", quite
capable of handling San Francisco Bay's legendary 25-45 mph summer winds and
legendary chop. They're manufactured in southern California, so we have quite
a few of them out here. At the marina that I used to dry-store the boat in,
there were about half dozen of them, with an equal number of the smaller
version, the P-15. In our club, the Potter's Yachter's, we have one or two
brand new boats a month joining up and new-used boats joining all the time. I
think there are about 100 local members in our Northern California Club, the
Potter's Yachters, but I'm not really sure; I could be overstating it.
One of the interesting things about the P-19 is its growing popularity. A
used P-19 will sell for more than a Santana 22 in comparable condition around
here. In fact, it will go for more than any other trailer-sailor in its size
range except a Flicka. That may be just due to supply and demand (there are
more Santana 22's around than P-19s), but that may not be the whole story.
I'd like to think it's because people prefer the ease of
trailering/launching/rigging/storage AND the safety of the P-19 for Bay and
lake sailing.
Like any boat, the P-19 is a compromise between features. It is a very
successful compromise, if it fits your intended use.
You can't beat it for ease of rigging, launching, retreival and towing. It
will get you home safely in a big blow (45 mph), but it will pound a little (a
lot?) on square chop due to its hard chines and flat panels. It's a very
stable boat and doesn't heel very much when properly trimmed, even in 40 mph
wind if you reef to the second reef. It's high freeboard will keep you dry,
but cost you a little leeway in a big blow. The shallow draft and kick up
rudder are great for gunkholing and beaching. Like any boat, good sails make
a huge difference for performance (pointing, heeling, etc) in a big wind. If
you buy an older Potter with old sails and you plan to sail a lot in heavy
wind conditions, that could be an additional expense you may want to budget
for.
In a moderate wind (that's 20-35 here on SF Bay in the summer), the P-19 is a
blast to sail. If you trim her sails right and set her on her lines at 10-15
degrees of heel, she'll do 6.5 knots in 25 knots of wind -- and you won't
scare the land lubbers out of their wits. You can drink wine in a glass
without spilling it all over yourself, which in my mind, is a major virtue on
a boat <grin> The P-19 is a not a pure displacement hull so she'll climb up
over her bow wave in a good wind. P-19's have a reputation for being slow,
but I think that's because a lot of beginners buy Potters for their reputation
as forgiving boats. Potters aren't slow, but Potters sailed by beginners are.
I don't consider it a blue water boat, although you can do blue water cruising
with it. The Potter I own was sailed single handed by her previous owner up
and down the West Coas from Washington State to Mexico. I wouldn't want to
do that, the cabin isn't really comfortable enough for extended cruising and
there are other boats that would be better choices for that. However, for
weekend cruises or a week on an inland lake, my husband and I can do quite
well. I personally wouldn't want to spend a week with four people on the
boat, but I know of some families that have done so.
If you get a new P-19, there are a few options that I consider a necessity for
ocean sailing. The optional backstay is one of them (the factory doesn't
include one in their base model) Two reefing points in the mainsail are
another. Maybe a roller reefer for the headsail (although some people prefer
a jib-strike downhaul for performance reasons). I would also consider
skipping the factory standard sails and get them made by a good sail loft.
They cost only a little more at a good loft around SF Bay, and they're better
quality cloth. I'd also get the so-called "Baja" trailor option for a few
hundred bucks more than the standard trailer; the boat sits lower on this
style trailer for better trailering stability, easier launching and retreival,
and it fits through a standard garage door if you want to store it in your
garage. (Caulkins also makes a very nice trailer that does the same thing.
My husband, the landlubber, hated the original trailer for retrieval because
it just wan't set up right. We could have retro-upgraded it, but it was more
cost-effective to just buy a new one from the local Caulkins dealer)
The Potter 19 has been manufactured by three different builders. There were 1
or 2 or 3 "bad" years when the previous builder (now defunct) cut a few too
many corners. The owners of those boats had to do a little remedial work if
they wanted to sail them in big water and water. There are some better
informed folks on this list who can probably tell you more than I can about
that. The current builder, International Marine, builds a very nice boat for
the money. The design of the cabin on the new P-19's by IM is nicer than on
my older one.
For more info on the P-19 go to the "Potter's Yachters" website. That;s the
northern California Potter club. Or the "East Coast Potter's Association."
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/index.htm
http://songbird.com/potter_yachter/
If you have anymore questions, please email me.
Judith Blumhorst, DC
HMS18/P19 Sail Captain, Potter's Yachters
WWP-19 #266 "Red Wing"
SF Bay, CA