Re: What's the story on new Potters?
John Butts (Overhill71@email.msn.com)
Tue, 9 Mar 1999 21:41:31 -0500
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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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I bought a WWP15 this past summer under their "summer special" with the
popular option package. The delivery was delayed due to an accident to the
boat on the way across the country which IM vowed to fully correct. Upon
taking delivery I noted that the bow pulpit was crooked. I assumed initially
that it was a sloppy repair of the travel damage. IM said that they would
reimburse my cost in re-embedding it - they wanted me to be satisfied. On
closer inspection I realized that it was the bow pulpit itself that was
crooked - the legs on the port are 1 1/2" further apart than starboard. This
led to a survey with a level and a tape measure. I can report that there are
practically no paired items on the boat that are symmetrically placed and
those items that are single are not centered. The air vent on the foredeck
is 3/4" off, even the mast base is visibly off-center. The brackets for the
rudder are not level. I sent IM a note of protest and some months later
have yet to have the courtesy of a reply.
Oh I forgot to mention that they didn't include the boom first time round,
and that after
its receipt I discovered when attempting to rig it the first time that they
had neglected to include the connectors for both the side and forestays.
Fortunately this revelation occurred in my driveway and not out at the lake.
They were at first quite skeptical when I asked for these items but did send
them immediately once I convinced them that I knew what I was talking about.
The boat itself looks great and we anxiously await some good weather to get
it in the water. IM was great to deal with in ordering the boat but the
quality of some of the workmanship causes me to wonder whether they might
not have a substance abuse problem in their assembly line - or perhaps
that's just the sign of a one at a time assembled boat.
We haven't named the boat yet but are leaning towards " Slytly Askew"
JD Butts
WWP15 #2349
Durham, NC
-----Original Message-----
From: Wolfgang Bechstein <wolfie@alles.or.jp>
To: West Wight Web <wwpotter@tscnet.com>
Date: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 11:42 AM
Subject: What's the story on new Potters?
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> West Wight Potter Website at URL
> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>Since there seems to be a rush of some sort, this is also a
>first-time message. I lurked on this list for a couple of months last
>year and recently rejoined. As of yet, I am still Potter-less, but
>there may well be a P15 in my future. However, I live in Japan, which
>makes acquiring one of these darlings a bit more difficult than for
>most of you. I may be wrong, but I get the impression that most
>people posting on this list own older Potters that they purchased
>used, probably from someone within a day's driving distance. Many of
>these boats seem to be in very good condition, and I envy the lucky
>owners (especially the lateen rigged few). But what about new Potters
>offered by "International" Marine? (I e-mailed the company some
>months ago asking about the possibility of shipping a boat to Japan
>and the costs involved, but never got a reply.) Are the new Potters
>still as good as the old ones? Or has a "dumbing-down" process taken
>place, such as unfortunately found in many areas of modern consumer
>society, whereby new products are often likely to offer less value
>(as opposed to gimmicks) and last for a shorter time than their
>ancestors? What have been the experiences of those who purchased
>Potters hot off the molds from the factory?
>
>Any hints, success stories or otherwise, appreciated.
>
>Wolfgang Bechstein
>wolfie@alles.or.jp
>(Currently owning an even smaller vessel than most on this list,
>namely a 10-foot inflatable with a sort of jury-rig sail. Available
>for inspection at http://www.escape.com/~yesss/ for those interested.)
>