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West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
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Many of you who have already seen the pictures, know that I finally got to sail
my boat, "Deep Blue" this weekend. Thanks to those who sent their "congrats"
and kind words. Since you have seen the pictures, I thought I would add some
script to go with my new boat experience (not that it's all over, but certainly
the moment I've been waiting for has arrived ;-) ).
I had no idea that it would take me the HOURS it did (and that's with help) to
rig the boat for the first time. Why? Partly because I had never rigged a
boat before; partly because I had never rigged a Potter before; and partly
because "Deep Blue" had never been rigged before. Keep in mind, we also spent
some time implementing some "customizations" early-on. You know, those time
savings suggestions, "If you add a snap-shackle here, instead of tying that
off, future riggings will go faster." To which my response was, "OK, let's go
to the Chandlery!" So, we spent quite a bit of time doing things that we did
HAVE to do, but felt confident it would help shorten the time it takes for
future riggings. I also thoroughly enjoyed my time with fellow Potterers as we
worked on my boat!
I had some "product" surprises too. There were things that just weren't quite
what I expected in the boat. All of them little things, none of them (even put
together) lesson my impression of the fine sailing vessel "Deep Blue." I like
what Dr. Judy said to me about this, "It's not like buying a car. There will
be many things you will change/modify about your boat, that you wouldn't do to
a new car [implying that you would have factory options on a new car, but your
boat will have many after-factory options]." The reason I like this statement
is it helps me manage my expectations (a lesson I learned along time ago: My
expectations of today are my potentional resentments of tomorrow). During our
conversation, Judy mentioned that even $30,000 or $130,000 vessels will have
their "flaws" upon delivery, but overall the Potter's of today come from IM in
pretty darn good shape (as has been discussed, this was not always the case).
I agree with her, having "bought new" before (a house and several cars) I have
found my flaws in "Deep Blue" to be minor.
Now to the sail,... What a rush! I think when Judy snapped that picture of me
at the helm, she had to ask me to tone down my smile, because she didn't have a
wide-angle lense with her! ;-) "Deep Blue" performed better than I had
imagined. She was wonderfully responsive. I have sailed a Capri 22, a
Catalina 25, and a Hunter 23 before getting the Potter. I did get to sail a
Potter once before making a purchase decision, but there was very little wind
(or was that "no wind"?) so it was really not a good sail to judge
handling/performance by. The other boats I sailed were all good boats, and fun
to sail in their own way, but they didn't seem as responsive as "Deep Blue."
The biggest difference/habit I had to break was on my tacks. Every other time
I had tacked (or jybed for that matter) the helm really had to go hard over to
get the boat turned. Dr. Judy quickly corrected me that what I was doing was
"applying some brake" by pushing the tiller that far over! A few tacks
practicing the difference and I liked the results: 1) Faster through the tack,
2) A far more natural motion, 3) Feeling of more "overall responsiveness" from
the boat. The heel? Ya, she heeled! As we neared the end of the Estuary and
approached the Bay, the wind really picked up to about 20 knots (with some good
gusts on top of that). We were single reefed with the lapper completely
unfurlled. I think at times we had a 30 degree heel. "Deep Blue" always felt
comfortable though, as she heeled and spilled the wind she didn't need and shot
forward!
After I got "Deep Blue" back up on the trailer and before I put her up, I
stopped to rinse off the saltwater. As I did so, I thought about my first sail
and was glad-- the weather had been surprisingly nice. It also threatened just
enough to keep the power boat traffic low for my first sail on the Estuary. I
was sad that it discouraged some of our fellow Potter Yachters from coming out
and joining in our fun!! Hopefully, the weather will begin to stabilize and
I'll get to see you in March?
Chris Beatty
P19, #1176, Deep Blue
Alameda, CA
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