Re: Unidentified subject! - flotation

From: Dave & Francesca Kautz (dfkautz@pacbell.net)
Date: Thu Jan 27 2000 - 19:15:29 PST


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        West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
                dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
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Maybe this would be a good time to put in a plug for my favorite P-15
safety device - the masthead float.

While we do carry a bilge pump and a bailing bucket in case of disaster,
I'd like to suggest that with a P-15 an ounce (half a cubic foot,
actually) of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I've adapted the masthead float used on the smaller Hobie Cats to fit
the top of the P-15 mast. The 32 lbs. of flotation and 16 ft. of lever
arm combine to provide over 500 ft-lbs. of righting moment when the
float hits the water. The idea here being that if the boat doesn't turn
turtle, it won't fill with water.

If folks are curious as to what it looks like there are several photos
in the Small Cruiser Challenge article on the Potter Yachter web site
<www.potter-yachters.org> where the float is visible. As to performance
loss due to the additional drag, let me just say that the Tilly Lucy was
the second P-15 to cross the finish line (after Todd Barrilleaux) at the
Challenge.

If anyone would like more details, feel free to contact me.

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

Robert Skinner wrote:
>
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> West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
> dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
> List hosted by www.tscnet.com
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Jim -
> You make a strong case for a bilge plug. Combined with bladders or
> other flotation low in the cabin (which is/are absent from Little
> Dipper at this time), and more than the usual flotation aft (which
> Holland Webb did install), it sounds very workable -- specially as
> opposed to the fire drill that I envisioned.
>
> One item to be resolved: A lot of flotation low in the cabin would
> seem to make it more difficult to right a capsized and flooded P15.
> How much flotation would be too much?
>



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