Re: P19 workmanship. :-( argh.

Gordon (hlg@pacbell.net)
Thu, 25 Mar 1999 13:33:59 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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On my first-generation P14, I no longer expect to find anything that is
symmetrical, even the bulkhead at the forward end of the CB trunk was
different from one side to the other. One of the old brochures stated that
the Potter never gets in irons because of "secrets of her design." Do you
suppose that the secret was asymmetry?

Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA
>Hello Eric -
>
>I think the asymetry in the door is intentional, not poor workmanshp. I can't
>remember why at the moment. Will be thunking on it.
>
>Greg Gaston
>WWP19 #808 Peppermint Patty
>Asheville NC
>
>Eric Johnson wrote:
>
>> Well, I took my expensive piece of marine-grade mahogany plywood and put it
>> up against my old companionway door, backside-to-backside to prevent
>> scratching, and using a router, cut the profile of the old delaminating wood
>> into the new mahogany.
>>
>> I went to test-fit the new piece on the boat. It didn't fit. not even close.
>> Took me a while to realize what happened - I basically made a mirror-image
>> of the original hatch.
>>
>> NOW, it is perfectly reasonable to assume the profile of the hatch door to
>> be symmetrical. It is not :( mine is every bit of a half-inch higher on one
>> side (where it meets the sliding top) than the other.
>>
>> Before you all yell "turn it over", i had already made the angled cuts where
>> the upper section meets the lower, so that isn't an option.
>>
>> As far as I can tell, at time of manufacture, someone must have just
>> eyeballed the curve on either the hatchboard or the sliding hatch, and
>> transferred this asymmetric curve to the other piece.
>>
>> I fear that now I've discovered this problem, even if i cut an identical
>> piece properly from a new piece of wood, I'll forever SEE the asymmetry that
>> I overlooked before. I'm thinking of just taking a piece of varnished solid
>> mahogany and screwing it across the back of the sliding hatch, to
>> essentially eliminate the arch in the back of the hatch, and cut the hatch
>> board straight across too.
>>
>> I sure hope IM is building boats better these days.
>>
>> Your thoughts?