The West Wight Potter 15 has been used by SWS members for quite a while. Members John Zohlen and Jerry Culick had a pair years ago (Little Boy Blue and Blue Dot). I don’t know what happened to Little Boy Blue, but Don Barker picked up Blue Dot from Jerry. Bill Zeitler also had one named Just Wight that he put in some 1,000 sailing miles with but I can’t find a picture.
Don has been posting here about his Potter, including an informative post concerning his electric outboard motor. It was thanks to Don’s posts that I began looking for a Potter 15 for myself. The small cabin was not a deal breaker for me since my wife and I regularly camp in a CLC Teardrop Camper. All the boats I found were sold by the time I called. Finally, Don was able to refer me to one in Lewes, Delaware.
It needed some work but nothing major. I put on new wheels and tires and brought it to the Holiday Hill Marina on the Rhode River while fixing it up. I foolishly did what you’re never supposed to do and set a deadline for myself – the Solomons Small Craft Gathering at the end of April.
My plan was to buff it starting with 3M Super Duty cutting compound in lieu of wet sanding and then to do a normal buff job. So I ordered all the stuff to set up a mobile boat detailing outfit. While that was in transit, I replaced the rusted trailer winch with a brand new one, bought several hundred feet of rope for dock lines and replacing the running rigging and removed the decals and trim tape (leaving the model ID and logo decals). And I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.
The hull turned a deep hunter green. The cabin insides went from grey with black spots to white and lost the mildew smell. I almost won the race with the deadline. I missed the SWS Spring Cruise portion of the Small Craft Gathering but I got to the Solomons launch ramp on the first day of the Festival.
The Shakedown Cruise
Finally, late in the afternoon I was able to launch. Since the wind was gusty and this was the first time that the boat was in the water for many years, I decided to forgo sailing. There were just too many unknowns. For starters, I didn’t even know for a fact that the boat was watertight. That was one of the things to find out with the shakedown cruise. I’d also been unable to completely inspect the centerboard and its attachments. For all I knew, it was going to drop off as soon as I lowered it. There was also the question of the repair that the previous owner had made to the starboard mainstay attachment. It felt solid, but looked dodgy. And even though I’d been reading all about the docile handling characteristics of the West Wight Potter 15, a first test in 25-kt gusts seemed like pushing things. So I just motored out into the Patuxent River, trying out my electric outboard for the first time.
Everything worked – no leaks, nothing fell off and I was able to navigate out and back. At full throttle, the motor pushed the boat at 2.4 MPH against wind and tide and 3.7 MPH with the wind at its back. The cockpit was comfortable and the motion felt reasonable, even broadside on to the wind and waves. Afterwards I joined the gang camped at the museum for some evening socializing before heading home. Next year, I’ll be ready.
