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.