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West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
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As I carry a big battery, generator, etc. heavy gear in Little Dipper
for overnight trips, I am concerned with the possibility of her
sinking if holed, capsized, or broached, and with a way to get water
out of the cabin, should I be knocked down when the hatch is open,
etc. A sealable (gasketed) main hatch cockpit door would allow the
cabin to be pumped out from the top of the roof, albeit slowly, even
if the water level were up to the windows. You would have to caulk up
the centerboard trunk to keep water from flowing in there, but this is
possible with rags, etc. But if the hatch and CB trunk cannot be
sealed, you will require a tow to the shore.
In addition to modifying the hatch, I am also toying with the idea of
using something like the auto-inflating mechanism of a life jacket
mounted on the inside of the cabin roof. I have not heard of anything
like this being on the market, but I'd buy one or two in a flash. To
me, they would be as essential as a ballistic parachute on a hang
glider. One major downside: If it deployed when you were in the
cabin, you might have to cut your way out. I _always_ carry a knife,
but some don't.
I note that at least one very checked-out sailor attempted to get IM
to install a small gasketed bail-out hatch in the aft floor of the
cockpit of the p15 he bought -- to no avail. Based on his advice, and
Jim's dire analysis of the consequences of flooding, I am installing a
bail-out port in the center of the cockpit floor adjacent to the
scupper. BoatUS sells one with a transparent screw-in cover -- ideal
for a quick check for water in the bilge.
Note that with this installed (and opened after a flooding), you can
s-l-o-w-l-y winch the potter up onto a trailer, allowing the water
level time to drop between cranks. It will flow out of the cabin
bilge into the cockpit, and from there out of the scupper. The last
bit of water (below scupper level) may then be pumped out with your
$20 2-lb manual plastic bilge pump.
-- Robert Skinner, Rockville, MD '87 Potter 15 HMS #1618 "Little Dipper"Jim Nolan wrote: > ... If you attempt to pull it up on the trailer > full of water you will strip the gears of the winch. If you pull it up on > the trailer full of water via a 4wd truck you will collapse the cross > members of the trailer. It is very difficult to get the water out from under > the cockpit with a bucket...
> >From: "Bill and Linda Farris" <eaglesv@mwt.net> > >... The Potter 15 is advertised as unsinkable and is shown afloat with > >holes drilled through the hull. Why then is there so much discussion about > >adding additional flotation to them in the form of foam, inner tubes and > >air bags. Why is the additional floatation needed? There must be > >something I am missing here.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Jan 31 2000 - 03:27:09 PST