Sold my vintage 1971 Potter to a gentleman from Connecticut who will be
joining this list shortly. Moving to a Precision 18, but plan on staying
with this list. It has been invaluable with advice in the past.
With the Potter, I got used to a lot of attention from just about anyone.
People at launch ramps, other boaters, even customs agents. It was
definitely an attention getting conversation piece, that "cute" little
boat. It is fitting that the delivery of the Potter involved one last
episode of a stranger expressing appreciation for the boat.
The delivery from Rochester NY to Hartford CT involved a trip of close to
400 miles. I went this last weekend after paying close attention to weather
reports. A winter storm would have made the trip impractical and dangerous,
towing with a little Honda. Although the general weather forecast was
decent (10 degrees!), there is always the chance of "lake effect" snow and
squalls up here by Lake Ontario and the Adirondack Mountains. After
cruising along at a good clip on the NY State Thruway I encountered such a
squall near Syracuse. Visibility was down to 4 car lengths, speed was 5pmh
and we had a parade of slow cars with flashers on sniffing around for the
highway.
At the first Thruway stop I took the opportunity to get off and planned on
canceling the trip. But I asked a gas station attendant and he indicated
that it was indeed a squall and had just started 35 minutes ago or so. So I
figured I could wait it out. While talking with the gas guy an elderly
woman approached us in some degree of distress. She had just gotten on the
highway and thought this is what she could expect for her entire trip. She
was from the New York City area and was not comfortable driving in such
conditions. By this time I could see that the weather was lifting and I was
game again. I introduced myself and explained that I had a cell phone,
blankets, a shovel and other emergency supplies and she was welcome to
follow me if she wished. She was very excited about this and asked what
color my car was. Well, by this time the car was road spray gray so I told
her I was towing a red boat. She asked about the car again and I replied
that I was the only fool towing a boat in this weather, so she should not
have trouble finding or following me.
Follow me she did. We started out at a cautious 20 mph and moved back up to
highway speeds as the weather permitted. For the most part the worst was
over but she stuck with me for the next three hours. When I exited next she
followed and thanked me over and over "I don't know what I would have done
without that little red boat. Just following that boat made me feel so much
better."
Gonna miss that lit'l red boat...
John Haley
Systems Manager
Administration and Finance
SUNY Geneseo
haley@sgenaa.cc.geneseo.edu
716.245.5548