Re: Questions re P15

DAVID_KAUTZ@HP-Sunnyvale-om5.om.hp.com
Mon, 1 Mar 1999 11:08:05 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Ed,

I'm inspired to reply to your message because your situation is so close to
mine. I, too, has given up sailing for about 20 years after having a 14 ft.
dinghy (a Sesame) that I enjoyed. As my kids got older and more independant
(read less demanding of my free time) the desire to do some sailing
returned. My wife, a non-sailor, was willing to try and learn (still
trying) and we started looking for a boat together. I was thinking along
the lines where I had left off, a 14 ft dinghy, but hoping for something
drier and simpler than my previous boat. We discovered Potters at the Sail
Expo out here and really liked the potential of the little boat. I did some
research on the web, found the same resources that I believe you have, and
subsequently started looking for a used Potter 15.

This was not as easy as I would have thought. At the time, there were no
boats for sale locally and the ones within a day's drive were being sold
before I could get to them. I finally placed a "Boat Wanted" ad on the
Potter Yachter web page and was approached by a doctor who lived about 40
minutes away whose back problems had confined his Potter to the garage.
Shortly, I became the owner of P-15 #1632, built by HMS Marine in approx
1987.

This is a MkII Potter, so it looks just like the new ones, but there are
some differences which make the new ones more desireable. The new ones have
a recess in the liner for a Porta-Potti. the earlier boat really doesn't
have a good place for one. We have an $15 inflate-a-potty which is usable,
but typically we use a small 5 qt. pail lined with a garbage bag. The
garbage bag being knotted and left in the pail after use. This sounds kind
of gross, but actually the disposal of the bags in more pleasant than
dumping a porta-potti, and I have terrible thoughts of what the cabin would
be like after a "porta-potti capsize".

To answer some of your specific questions:

Towing: Should be effortless with a Ford Ranger. We tow with a 1985 VW
camper and a 1984 VW Rabbit GTI.(just like the brochure....)

Construction: I wouldn't describe the deck as "flex-free" but it doesn't
feel flimsy either, I weigh almost 200 lbs. and I walk on it without worry.
Typically you are walking near the edge wher it is joined to the hull and
I've experienced no flex there at all. A stiffer deck would have been
obtained if the it was cored with wood the way the P19 is but that can have
it's own share of problems too, what with rot, delamination and making it
difficult to add hardware to the cored area. Overall construction quality
is robust but not fastidiously neat. There is unfinished plywood backing
the motor mount on mine and some partially finished plywood reinforcment
underneath the liner. Someday, I'll climb in there with some paint or
epoxy... I'm told that the new boats are better finished.

Cockpit: The cockpit is fine for two people, with three adults it begins to
feel crowded, though We've had some great sails with three. Some folks get
the cockpit rails and then put foam over them to have more to lean back
against.On lazy sails, my wife will stretch out lengthwise on the leeward
side with a book, leaning against the cabin.

Performance: Not bad actually. Remember, it is basically a dinghy and it
has that dinghy "feel". You notice every puff and shifty lake winds can
keep you busy. We've never capsized or even taken water into the cockpit,
but you sail a lot with the mainsheet uncleated. Getting the boat to plane
is not experienced often, I sailed with a coworker once and with both of us
sitting on the gunwale in a good breeze we had it planing for 15 or 20
seconds. It definitely doesn't climb up and run like my old boat, but now I
don't have to hike out either. I think it's a GREAT compromise between fun
and comfort.

Outboard: 2 hp is plenty. We've used the outboard to go out on days with no
wind and have explored some of the local sloughs which would have been
tough to maneuver in under sail alone. I like the versatility. It was also
a great comfort when bucking the current in the pouring rain in the North
SF Bay recently.

In summary, My wife and I love the versatility of the boat, we enjoy the
camaraderie of the other local Potterers and have not a single regret.

Hope this helps,

Dave Kautz
P-15 #1632 Tilly Lucy
Palo Alto, CA

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Questions re P15
Author: Non-HP-EdR2 (EdR2@aol.com) at hp-boise,mimegw7
Date: 2/28/99 5:33 PM

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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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I have been "spying" on your group for several months and have found you to be
a wealth of info, not only re Potters but sailing in general. I am retiring in
a few years and want to get a small sailboat now to start once again enjoying
sailing. It has been 25 years since I last sailed, and I have owned seven
sailboats from an 8' pram to a 20' Balboa, and raced in Thistles. My favorite
was a 14' Javelin. I learned that a small boat tends to be more fun and is
used more often.

My list of requirements is for a boat and trailer weighting less than 1200lbs
(I just bought a Ford Ranger for this purpose), very easy to tow, launch and
retrieve, set up and take down and having room for a porta pottie (I have
diabetes and think I will feel better with a head on board--silly I guess). I
will hopefully introduce my wife to sailing and she will enjoy it. Otherwise,
I will be sailing single-handed. In addition I want to have a small OB. I will
be daysailing, although an overnighter once in a while might be fun. Now for
my questions, all the result of things I have read here and in several books.

The P15 stirs my heart, but how comfortable is the cockpit? Is it so slow as
to be a joke don't want to race, but don't want to sit in one place all the
time either)? Can it point well? What is the quality of the new ones (is it
solid or does the hull flex when sailed)? Does the deck flex or is it solid?
Am I going to have to replace all the hardware with better quality to enjoy
it? How practical is the head to use? Is it really 15' or is it 14' plus the
OB bracket? What is the overall quality of the boat? Does anyone have a P15 in
GA near Lakes Allatoona or Lanier (or anywhere else in GA) that I could see
and maybe sail? I will also be sailing out of St. Augustine, FL, so any there?

Sorry to take up so much space, but I am really wanting to get on the water. I
discounted the P15 after reading some of the comments, but keep coming back to
it. I know you will be honest (it appears you are painfully honest sometimes)
so I value any responses I get. Thanks in advance.

Ed "Boatless"