I am familiar with both the concrete blocks and the white painted
centerboard. Oddly enough, the block on the port side of my boat was loose
and the one on the starboard side still adhered, just like yours. Now I use
them as wheel chocks for the trailer. On my boat, they were not exactly glued
in but had been set in polyester resin on top of some chopped-strand
fiberglass mat. The starboard side came out intact with a little
crowbar-persuasion. I like having them out since they blocked access to the
recess in front of the keel where water can accumulate. I think the purpose
of the blocks as ballast is obvious. The product literature from that era
specifies 100 lbs. of ballast - My centerboard weighed in in the low
seventies and those concrete blocks weigh 13 lbs. apiece, bringing the total
close to the advertised amount. The literature still says 100 lbs. but my
understanding is that there are no longer any concrete blocks used - does
anyone know the weight of the centerboard in a recent Potter? Is it thicker?
If I understand Potter history correctly, the very first Potters came from
the factory with galvanized centerboards as do the most recent ones. In
between, in what I like to refer to as the "minimalist" Joe Edwards Potter
days, they were painted (like most other boats - Catalina 22, Cal 20,
etc.....). I removed mine, stripped the paint, ground out the rust and had it
"hot dip" galvanized. I would recommend this to anyone who sails in salt
water, simply because it is next to impossible to effectively rinse off the
centerboard on a P-15 with the boat on the trailer. Once the board is
withdrawn into the centerboard trunk there is pretty much zero access to it.
Mine will lower only an inch or two before it hits the rear crossmember on
the trailer.
If you'd like details on removing the centerboard, email me privately, the
story has been told so many times on the list I'm sure most folks are sick of
it.
Dave Kautz
P-15 #1632 Tilly Lucy
Palo Alto, CA
In a message dated 11/17/99 8:33:28 PM Pacific Standard Time,
johnp@ztechnology.com writes:
> Hi Potters,
>
> I'm a newbie potter. Just picked up a P-15 #1206 a month ago that has
been
> neglected since about 1987. I've been following this email list and found
> it quite interesting. I've got a question for all the experts of potter
> lore out there.
>
> While cleaning off years of grime and sponging out 10+ gallons of was at
> one time water, I found inside two rectangular blocks of concrete, one on
> either side of the centerboard trunk. The one on the port side was loose
> so I took it out, the one on the starboard side appears to be glued, or
> fastened into place as it won't move. Are these things supposed to be
here
> I thought. I didn't get any paperwork about the boat to check. Maybe
some
> people familiar with the boat could fill me in on what these concrete
> blocks are supposed to do. Or if it is normal for them to be there.
>
> Secondly, I noticed the center board appears to have been painted white in
> the past. Now it's mostly coarse rusty surface. I read on a web site
> recently that someone had cleaned their 30 year old center board that was
> galvanized. My P-15 is an '82 , apparently a demo boat in '82 and '83 for
> a dealership that used to be here in the Portland Oregon area. Did they
> not galvanize the center board that year ? Is it possible to have it
> cleaned and galvanized now ? I'll probably just clean it and paint it
> again. Any recommendations? From sailing other boats I know that having
a
> super smooth centerboard can help the performance of the boat (not that a
> P-15 is a performance oriented boat.)
>
> Thanks for any response
>
>
> BTW my age is 4 twice, but not 8.
>
> John Purdy