Early Potter Structure

hlg@pacbell.net
Thu, 29 Jul 1999 01:51:47 -0700


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
J. Tauber wrote:

>Interesting in that your cabin wall already has plywood in it. Is that the
>stock version or did the original owner install it?

It's original, but is decrepit and I plan to replace it. I've already
replaced the external panels, but I need to replace the whole bulkhead,
which doesn't appear difficult. My first generation Potter has a lot of
wood in it. All the bulkheads are wood, and there are wooden doublers to
stiffen the fiberglass cabintop and cabin sole (the bottom of the hull).
The bunk deck is all wood and was rotted by rainwater. I had to rebuild it.
The transom is plywood encased in fiberglass. The lazarette is fiberglass
with wooden doublers. The cabin does not have an inner liner. The inside of
the hull, including the cabin, was painted a mottled gray, a kind of paint
that I seem to remember was called Zolatone. The interior is more tugboat
than yacht.

>The only wood besides
>the V-birth on my boat was the triangular pieces of plywood that are
>laminated with fiberglass facing outward on either side of the cockpit that
>seem to both stiffen the cabin wall as well as act as a splashguard for the
>cockpit. When I saw TJ's Mark I P14 I noticed that it was simplified (a nice
>word for made cheaper) by using 2 pieces of stainless tubing. It really took
>something away from the appearance.

On mine that splashguard/fairing is actually a continuation of the
fiberglass cabin side. On the next generation gunter rigs they made it a
separate piece as on yours (but I don't remember it being plywood; yours
may have been replaced). That was followed by the pieces of tubing on the
Mk I and nothing on the Mk II. I like the looks and feel of the fairing on
mine, and I haven't felt a need for the cockpit rails that are a popular
option on the later models. The only problem I had was when I would have
liked to have routed the genoa sheets through that area. The Mk I tubings
look like they might be useful as handholds

> I also had a poorly fitted plywood
>lazarette hatch, which I have replaced with a much better fitting piece of
>marine plywood with a perko latch. TJ's had the original fiberglass hatch,
>not much to look at, but far easier to maintain.

My lazarette hatch is fiberglass over plywood. It is substantially built
and looks nice but is poorly designed. It is warped and impossible to
seal. Any rain flows freely around it to fill up the lazarette. There is no
channel around the edge to keep water out. It has a hole for a latch but
has never had one. I secure it with a bungee. The lazarette is designed for
stowing a Seagull such as the Forty Plus that came with my Potter.

Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA