SF
In a message dated 98-08-23 22:21:26 EDT, you write:
<< Subj: P19 Prob/Questions
Date: 98-08-23 22:21:26 EDT
From: TTango59@aol.com
To: wwpotter@tscnet.com
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Greetings All,
Recently acquired P19 #812 ('95)... in the process of doing the "new owner
clean up & make it like we like it" drill, & have encountered a couple of
problems I'm hoping some out there have encountered and/or can provide some
helpful advice on! Here goes..:
1. Decided to pull the fabric covers off the cabin cushions to clean..
discovered that almost all of the zippers seem to have distengrated! The
zipper teeth (plastic or nylon of some type) seem fine, but it appears the
zippers (the sliding part - apparently metal of some type) have
rusted/corroded/disintegrated to the point they won't work... has anyone
else
experienced this?? ... any ideas for fixing, other than cutting off the
existing zippers & replacing??
The plastic zipper pulls always break from rubbing against the teeth. If the
teeth are fine you may be able to put a new zipper pull on them. Done this on
zippered jackets and seat cushions....
2. Discovered a 6-7" crack in the inner hull, immediately in front of the
wooden mast step support, running from the front of the base of the wood post
to the bulkhead at the edge of the V-berth.... inner hull seems to be very
flimsy/unsupported in that area... & getting a bit of water through the
crack... used a sponge, got about 1/2 pint into the bucket.. & can still
see
water beneath the inner hull in that area, between the inner & outer
hulls....
(boat is currently on trailer)
Questions:
a.) Does the P19 have a full inner hull - outer hull arrangement?... are
there "bulkheads" etc between the inner & outer hulls that impede or trap
water in different places??
I pulled the lower hull drain plug after the last sail, trailered the
boat
home (~300 miles), up & down hills etc, with the plug out, & expected that
any
water trapped between inner & outer hulls would've made it out the drain hole
in transit.. but this is obviously not the case!... any ideas/comments?
.................................
IMHO:
Yes water may collect under the side rear bunks due to foam flotation acting
as a bulkhead...
The outer hull in this area uses pretty heavy biaxial cloth and unless the
boat ran aground a lot against rocks there should be no cracks in the outer
hull.
There should be a small hole in floor by bunk bulkhead - fronting the wood
mast support - to allow water to pass through to the lower hull and out of the
inner hull liner. There should also be a second hole on the inner liner in
back under the cockpit. If these are plugged or stoppered by junk (pieces of
foam, paper, rubber bands, screws, etc.. etc...) water will not flow to back
and drain plug hole. Removing plug is not enough, the tail of boat must be
much lower than bow for water to exit. In all the pics I've seen the Potter
holds its tail up on the trailer... Again, debris may plug drain plug hole
keeping water in boat.
b.) Anyone else seen this crack scenario? Comment on
severity/significance?
Any suggestions on best way to repair etc?!
..........................
IMHO:
There are cracks on the inner liner floor from poor bonding of gelcoat to
underlying fiberglass. Some people call it bubbling... My NEW Potter has about
3 cracks the manufacturer fixed before shipping and 2 that developed after I
stepped in it. (Without mentioning the mold defect print through) Sailboat
production is not as advanced as motorboat production (by a million years).
Sailboats use less fiberglass and less material, over all, to make them
lighter. Motorboats have to survive a lot of high speed abuse, are built by
larger, higher volume, more profitable companies with REAL quality control and
a lot of competition... QC is mostly absent in almost all sailboat
production. If there is any, the dude is fast asleep all the time... You will
find this glass problem in all production and specialty sailboats but rarely
on powerboats...
If you make it a habit to look under/inside "pretty new boats" by sticking
your head in hatches and access ports, under bunks and in out of the way
hidden places you will see all kinda poor and light glassing. I am speaking
of all sailboat mfgs. Not singling any out. - I've heard and seen same
problems in new Ericson, Catalina, McGregor, Beneteau, etc. -- I owned a 71'
Col 22 that cracked every time you walked on deck or cabin top, but in 10
years never lost a piece of gelcoat or developed cracks in glass. I think
Columbia from '68 thru '72 had the best QC in the biz. But then, they went
belly up... Too much qc?
The water you find in the cabin could be from rain or from slop leaking
through the top of the daggerboard well. It could also be coming from the vent
in the bow. International Marine has a daggerboard well rubber seal that is
very effective in keeping the water out. Even when the keel just lies on top
of the well. They are also very helpfull and willing to help - They seem to
care after the fact - something you won't find in other sailboat mfgs...
If the crack bothers you, grind out about 1/16" (less than 1/8"!) of
fiberglass/gelcoat from area, sand the area of the floor surrounding it and
re-fiberglass a-new all the way to the front and side with several layers of
woven roving and 3M epoxy resin covering the piece of glass that holds the
mast support . Sand down the area, then thin out some white gelcoat and spray
it over the fix.
Stop looking at it after you fix it.
Best
Solar Fry
P19 #1028, "Elusive"
..............................................
Many tnx for any & all ideas/suggestions/info, & happy Pottering to all!
Ted W.
Clifton, VA
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