Sailing the "New" Potter

We towed our Potter over 2,000 miles to Virginia, and the most significant occurrences along the way were the number of people who commented about our "cute" boat.  The Potter is a perky, jaunty little craft, even perched on its trailer.  The sheer and the tidy little cabin make it look like something out of a kid's storybook.  In any case, the boat did attract attention at rest stops and hotels along the way.  As for towing, the boat and trailer were exceptionally well-behaved, and we managed to maintain fuel economy of better than 20 miles per gallon overall.  With the van fully loaded for long-distance travel, but without a trailer, we would experience something like 23 - 24 mpg.  So towing is not a prohibitively expensive prospect.  The Toyota Sienna handled the load without seeming to notice.

Once in Virginia, we launched the boat for the first time at Mattox Creek, a broad creek flowing into the Potomac River near Colonial Beach.

Mattox Creek, with the Potomac River to the east

The only problem we experienced was that the launching ramp is very gently sloped, and the water at the launching ramp is pretty shallow, so in order to float the boat off the trailer, we would have had to back too far into the water.  So I just shoved it off the trailer and tied it to the small dock.  Once aboard, my wife and I settled into the cockpit, gave a couple of strokes with a collapsible paddle, and were in water deep enough to drop the centerboard and the rudder.  The wind was light, about 5 knots or so, and the water in the creek was smooth.  The boat just hoisted its skirts and moved out smoothly in the light air, and behaved as I had expected.  Almost no heel, in the light winds, but the boat was generally responsive and stable.  After an hour or so, with the sun low on the horizon, we sailed back in and retrieved the boat onto the trailer, which was a bit of an effort, given the shallow water and the gentle slope of the ramp.  I backed the trailer as far down as I thought wise, then just hauled the boat out with the winch.  That this is even possible is a testament to the light displacement, but I don't recommend that technique in general, since the winch strap is 10 years old and could have parted in an exciting manner.  Fortunately, not that time.  The boat did land on the trailer off center, but a couple of local gentlemen helped me center it properly.

The next day my daughter and I took the boat about 40 miles down the Northern Neck of Virginia to Port Kinsale, where we had kept our Hunter, and where she and her family keep their power cruiser.  There, the launching ramp was much better arranged and the boat went into the water and back out again without a problem.  The sailing was again pretty tame, with winds only slightly stronger than the first day.  Our daughter is eager to learn to sail, so I had her handle the tiller for the most part during our afternoon sail.  Again, the boat was well-behaved, stable, and helped build her confidence as we sailed most of the length of the Yeocomico River from Port Kinsale towards the Potomac River.

Port Kinsale Marina on the Yeocomico River (image copyright 2007)

Our last sail was a week later, when I went out with our son-in-law and one grandson, then took our daughter and the other grandson out.  The winds were forecast to be a bit stronger, perhaps 10 - 15 knots, so I put in a reef  before we set out.  Once out in the river, however, we found only light winds of perhaps 3 - 7 knots, so I shook out the reef.  There were a few gusts of perhaps 10 - 12 knots, but mostly the winds were light enough to make for easy sailing.  In the few gusts, the Potter stayed on her feet and was stable and predictable.  Other sailors, in much larger boats, reported that the winds and waves in the Potomac were much more challenging than we found in the sheltered waters of the Yeocomico.

Yeocomico River with the Potomac to the east

The Motor

As mentioned above, Poco Caliente came equipped with a 3.5 HP Nissan outboard which, while looking a bit the worse for wear, started after three pulls and ran smoothly (as smoothly as a small 2-cycle will run).  On our first outing, I tried a couple of times to start the motor, but didn't give it much effort, as the water was quite shallow near the landing, the launching area was clear of other boats, and the paddle sufficed.  On the Monday, with my daughter, I found that I had created a problem, by clamping the motor on the mounting bracket before towing it the 40 miles.  While on the mount, I tilted the motor up and kept it in place with a pin intended for that purpose.  Needless to say, the bouncing of the motor while the boat was being towed managed to bend the pin in such a manner that I could not get it to withdraw and let the lower unit and the prop into the water.  This was not a problem for sailing, since I have never needed a motor for such a small boat before, but I could have used it to simplify maneuvering out of the marina, and had the wind died entirely, it would have been a long paddle back in.  I managed a temporary fix before our last sail, and was able to use the motor to leave the ramp area and maneuver out of the marina.  The motor performed well, and does make such maneuvering much less stressful than it might be in tight quarters with stronger winds.

While we had hoped to get in more sailing during our visit in Virginia, the weather and other factors conspired to limit our time on the water.  But the sailing we were able to do did confirm the fine qualities of the Potter, at least in light air, and I did build up a bit of experience in rigging the boat.  I managed to make most of the dumb mistakes early on, so next time things should go a bit more smoothly.

The West Wight Potter 15 is a great boat for learning to sail, and a nice little day-sailor with a small crew.  The small cockpit and the cabin  limit the number of folks who will fit in the boat for day-sailing, but with her initial stability and reasonably small sail plan, she is a great introduction to sailing for newbies.

A New (to me) Sailboat

After a couple of years trying, we finally managed to find a trailerable sailboat that meets our needs and our budget, and within a reasonable travel distance.  She's a 2000 model 15-foot West Wight Potter, hardly sailed at all, but kept in the first owner's small front yard in Albuquerque for 10 years.  So she was dusty and a bit sunburned about the rub rail, but overall in excellent condition and available at a fair price.  Now named Poco Caliente ("Slightly Warm," for her hull color, her residence in New Mexico, and the new owner's craving for chile peppers) , she's reigning over our own front drive while we ready her for her first sail under her new, and only, name.

The Potter is a compact mini-cruiser, if you wish to use her so, but in our case, she's just a comfortable, cozy, stable, easy-to-handle day-sailer, perfect for teaching grandkids to sail on the fairly open waters of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.  And, with her small cabin, she offers a bit of shade and privacy for potty breaks and even naps.  

I have tried several times previously to buy a Potter.  One of my favorite web sites is called SailingTexas.com, where sailboats from all over are listed for sale, at no charge to the seller or buyer.  There have been a few Potters listed in the last few years, but there always seemed to be some issue or other.  One seller wanted to know just why I thought the Potter was ideal for my purposes, and was extremely suspicious of my intentions when I mentioned that I would arrange to pay for the boat in any manner he requested.  Clearly a suspicious offer.  Other Potters were just too far away, or too expensive.  So, a nice Potter, on offer in Albuquerque, was hard to resist.  And I'm happy I didn't.

Other Boats

We sold our 27-foot Hunter about three years ago, with the intention of replacing it with a day-sailer on a trailer -- thus eliminating the long-distance worries of having a substantial boat in a marina two thousand miles away.  While the Hunter was a really nice boat, given her age of over 20 years, and we did some major maintenance and upgrades (all new through-hull fittings and hoses, bonding the electrical system, new water pump, new bilge pump, new running rigging, etc) there was always that nagging worry that Jolie Blond might just sink at the dock or fall off her hardstands, if I were not there to keep an eye on her.  The marina where we kept Jolie Blond was very reliable and well-equipped, but eventually chased off many of their customers when new owners took control.  So, with our boat on the hard for a year or more, I just cleaned her up and sold her.

1981 Hunter 27 "Jolie Blond"

After selling the Hunter, I decided to build a boat for use on a lake where one of our sons-in-law has a summer home.  This was a 12-foot Mini-Cup, with plans provided free by Stevenson Projects .  She's essentially a Sunfish or Sailfish type with a tiny cockpit, suitable for legs and feet only.   She's pretty simple, built of 1/4" plywood for the most part, and it seemed to be a project that should take a month or so of part-time effort.  In fact, I found a website provided by another builder, who, apparently with little woodworking experience or tools, took about a year to build his.  At a cost to him of about $1200.  I thought I should be able to beat his time, since I'm retired and have a shop full of tools.  Two months, at most.  Sixteen months later, This Side Up went into the water in Virginia.  An at a cost of about $1500.  But she's a blast to sail, and goes like a rocket with two people on board in 8 knots of breeze.

12' Mini-Cup "This Side Up"

Our only other sailboat was a 14-foot Flying Junior, a racing class boat popular in the Mid-West.   The boat was fully equipped for racing, with hiking straps, tiller extensions, and other class-accepted accouterments.  We didn't race her, just day-sailed on lakes around Omaha, NE, and on the Gulf coast.  She was fun, fast, and easy to sail, and the builders were exceptionally customer-oriented, replacing our cast aluminum goose-neck within a couple of days after I managed to break it through sheer stupidity.

Additions and Upgrades

While I love sailing and boats in general, I really love working on boats just about as much.  Our old Hunter, 20-plus years old, provided plenty of scope for boat-work, and the Potter is almost as much fun.  Many Potter owners have modified their boats, sometimes to the extreme of a complete change of sail plan, so I have followed a well-worn path in working on Poco Caliente. 

The first challenge I had to deal with was the companionway hatch cover.  Since the boat was 10 year old, and had been kept outside all that time, even though under a cover, the hatch was warped and the teak plywood was weathered badly.  It was salvageable, however, so I sanded it down to good wood and applied braces made from mahogany.  Then several coats of spar varnish, and the application of a carved logo, and the hatch cover was ready for business. 

Since we plan a long cross-country trip with Poco, I thought a motor mount on the trailer would be a good idea, and to that end have built one of sturdy plywood, oak, and fiberglass.  The 3.5 horsepower Nissan motor weighs only 29 pounds, but, like all outboards, tends to be greasy and sooty and not really welcome in the well-kept cabin or mini-van interior.  My solution is mounted on the vertical beam of the boat trailer, just below the winch.  The motor clamps to a fore-and-aft mounted slab of fiberglassed plywood, and the lower unit is supported by an oak bracket.  

The Potter apparently came with no dedicated support for the mast during travel.  While there is a pulpit  at the bow, and the butt of the mast can be tied to it, I thought better support would be in order, and support for the boom along the mast line would be even better.  The boom fits into the cabin, but just barely, and the aluminum tends to mark up the white vinyl of the cabin cushions.  So, a bow support the for mast and boom, mounted on the pulpit, would provide the forward support.  To support the middle of the mast and the aft end of the boom, I devised a simple gadget to hold the spars above the cabin top.  The supports are built of ash and maple, with PVC providing the vertical support for the mid-point support.  This latter is padded with rubber, and held down to the cabin top with tie-downs to the shroud padeyes. 

The tricky part of designing the forward support is getting the angles right, since the two "vertical" bars of the pulpit are not vertical at all, but slope forward and outward.  This just took rough measurements with a protractor and trial and error.    Once the angles were roughly correct, then the issue became that of sawing out the openings to hold the mast and boom.  This was a tough prospect as well, but I finally resorted to a coping saw to make the rough cuts, and a Dremel tool with a coarse grinding bit to finish the openings.  The openings for the mast and boom are padded with 1/8" rubber (plumbing supplies at the hardware store) glued down with Shoe-Goo (TM).  The wood is finished with 3 coats of spar varnish.  I'll use Velcro straps to hold the mast and boom down to their supports for travel.

Jib halyard running to cockpit

I want to be prepared for sailing Poco single-handedly this fall.  In a small sailboat, it is difficult to leave the tiller for more than a few seconds, even with a tiller-tamer, so I thought it wise to make all the controls available within reach from the cockpit.  For the most part, this entailed leading the (new) main and jib halyards to the cockpit.  I purchased deck blocks, cheek blocks, and camcleats from Duckworks Boat Builder's Supply (www.duckworksbbs.com) in Texas (outstanding service and excellent prices for small boat builder's supplies and hardware).  These required drilling holes in my boat, always a scary experience, and mounting the hardware to lead the halyards down to the aft bulkhead of the cabin, clear of the companionway and still allowing crew to rest against the bulkhead in the cockpit.    While the hardware I used is pretty light-weight, I do not anticipate sailing in heavy weather, and the fittings are mounted with proper backing plates through the cabin roof and bulkhead.    While I was at it, I mounted a couple of horn cleats on either side of the companionway to hold the halyards under sail.

Storage on a boat this size is always an issue.  While we have no plans to sleep aboard Poco Caliente, except in some sort of minor emergency, There is always a certain amount of gear to be dealt with. Probably more so in my case, since I tend to be a belt-and-suspenders type where boats are concerned.  In addition to the anchor and rode, gas tank for the outboard, fenders, lines for docking, the Federally mandated beer cooler, tools, life jackets, paddle, porta-potty, and other essentials, I tend to want to take binoculars, a GPS, a portable VHF radio, a hand-held compass, a cell phone, and spare socks.  So I felt a need to provide a storage space for these last items.  I constructed a binocular box of 1/2" oak, and a set of fabric pockets to hold the other items (not the socks).  These I mounted to the inside of the cabin rear bulkhead with heavy duty Velcro, so they can be removed for replacement or when in the way.    The other stuff, the fenders and such, will just have to live in a plastic storage box, in a canvas hold-all, or loose in the cabin.  

I do intend to construct some sort of mounting system for the anchor (when I buy an anchor).  Probably attached to the aft end of one of the cockpit rails, since I do not relish going forward to deal with an anchor in anything beyond a dead calm, when sailing alone.  This does add complexity to another problem with Potters, that of too much weight in the cockpit, and not enough forward, to keep the boat sailing on its designed lines, especially with the motor hanging off the transom.  I may just try some weights in the anchor compartment at the bow, to try to hold the bow down a bit.

A couple of other minor mods include a travel cover for the motor, to keep sand and grit from blowing against it while under tow, a bracket for a spare tire, and security for the whole rig while parked overnight in hotel parking lots.  The motor cover is sewn from a half-yard or so of heavy marine upholstery fabric.  The measurements were pretty rough, but it seems to fit OK.  The spare tire bracket was cobbled together from left-over plywood and epoxy, with bolts and lug nuts from a local hardware store.  I have made up cables from wire rope to help with security, but the real issues - tow-away theft and security of the motor - I dealt with using a coupler locking device from Reese, and a heavy duty bike security lock along with another couple of locks and chains.  (I am pretty paranoid about this stuff.)

Future Stuff

There are a couple of modifications I'd like to try in the future.  For one thing, to add storage space, installing deck plates in the cockpit seats is a fairly common modification, and one which would add a lot of utility.  End of boom sheeting, replacing the standard mid-boom sheeting for the main is another common mod.  I do intend to install a jib downhaul, led aft to the cockpit, to help me get a jib under control in a sudden blow.  I installed on on the Hunter, and found it quite useful a couple of times.  Finally, for sailing in mid-summer New Mexico, a bimini of some sort is just about mandatory.  Even on the East coast a bimini is comfortable.  We had one on our Hunter, and it was rigged early every season and used constantly.

I'm excited about this new boat, and look forward to sailing her for years to come.  And I hope to instill some of my own excitement in my grandkids, some of whom are already experienced power boaters (stink potters!) and canoeists courtesy of their dad, an obsessive fisherman.  There is certainly a degree of confidence and relaxation in having a boat I can move around on its trailer without a car, if necessary, as opposed to a boat that needs a Travel-lift to park for the winter and several thousand dollars per year just to keep in or near the water.  Sure, we don't anticipate cruising to the Bahamas on our Potter, but how many people, with boats three- or four-times the length of ours actually do?