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Singlehanding the Potter 19!
When we bought our Potter 19, Aldebaran, I pledged to my wife Kathy that she would
never have to lift a finger on the boat if only she would go sailing with me. We have a couple
of other sailboats that she will not go near (“what if it flips over?”), but she feels comfortable
in the P-19. We occasionally sail with friends, but generally it is just the two of us or me and
Sadie (our Lab/Golden mix). I end up sailing alone sometimes because I enjoy sailing in high
winds and rough water, and most of our friends are not sailors and do not have the same
appreciation for such things as I. You might say that even when there are others aboard, I am
actually singlehanding the boat, and that would be a pretty accurate assessment of the
situation.
The most important thing to have for singlehanding is a way to lock the tiller in place so
that you can do other things (like talk on the radio, clear a fouled line, or go to the mast to
reef). We use a modified Tiller Tamer that has a small length of bungee cord tied to each side
so that there is a certain amount of give to it (Andrew Evan’s great book on singlehanding
suggests surgical tubing). I have also used Jerry Barrilleaux’s “Cajun tiller tamer”, a length
of bungee cord tied to each stern cleat and with 3 or 4 wraps around the tiller. The idea here
is that the wraps are made in a straight line between the cleats and are somewhat loose so
that you can hand steer. Sliding the wraps along the tiller toward the bow tightens them and
holds the tiller more or less in place. This works pretty well, and I use this method on the
other boats, but Aldebaran’s tiller has an auto release clam cleat for her kickup rudder that is
in the way, so we use the Tiller Tamer.
It is important to realize that a Potter 19 (like most other boats her size and weight) will
change her course some as you move around the boat with the tiller locked. I try to stay on
centerline when moving as much as possible, but realize that as you move to the leeward side
she will tend to head up and as you move to the windward side she will tend to head down.
Aldebaran does not generally self-steer well in waves over a couple of feet or in higher
winds. This depends somewhat on point of sail, and how gusty/choppy it is. So, the next most
important thing to know when singlehanding her is how to heave to. In “The Annapolis Book
of Seamanship”, John Rousemaniere describes the process as putting the boat 40 to 60
degrees off the wind, backing the jib so that the clew is near the windward shrouds and
trimming the mainsail so that it is mostly full. When the helm is put to leeward, the boat will
make 1 or 2 knots in a series of gradual swoops. This description pretty well matches up to
what you can expect out of a P-19.
Here is how I do it. Typically, we are speeding along in 20 knots of wind with a reef in
and the jib partially furled and I decide that I need to go below and get something to eat. I
will head up onto a close reach and pull in the windward jib sheet until the jib is backed
(clew on the windward side of the mast). Depending on what point of sail you were initially
on, you may be able to leave the leeward jib sheet set. Do this if there is enough slack in it.
Then the main sheet gets let out so that the boom crosses the leeward coaming at about the
center of the cockpit. Push the tiller to about 30 degrees or so to leeward and lock it down.
You will generally have to make some minor adjustments to the tiller to balance things just
right, but with practice you can do this whole procedure in 30 seconds or so. You want the
mainsail to just barely stall as the jib starts to push the bow back down. If it is flogging after
the tiller is adjusted, pull the sheet in a bit. Make sure that you have enough room to drift
without getting yourself into trouble as she slowly makes headway/leeway. At this point, you
can do anything that you need to do and the boat will take care of herself. It is amazing how
calm it seems when you are hove-to as compared to pounding through the chop in higher
winds.
To get underway again, unlock and straighten the tiller, let the windward jib sheet go
(and haul in the leeward jib sheet if you had to uncleat it to back the jib), haul in the main
sheet, and you are right back where you started.
Aldebaran has most of her lines led back to the cockpit. This is quite handy if you are
sailing by yourself, and although I know folks who don’t think it necessary (and who seem to
do just fine without), I like being able to douse the Ljungstrom or the mainsail on any point of
sail without leaving the cockpit. From port to starboard we have: topping lift, Ljungstrom
halyard, Ljungstrom downhaul, mainsail downhaul, and mainsail halyard. Combined with the
roller reefing for the jib, I can control any of the sails from my seat, only leaving the cockpit if
it is necessary to reef the mainsail. There is a great short article at Judy Blumhorst’s Potter 19
website on setting up a system like this. If you are interested in rigging your P-19 this way I
recommend that you check it out at http://www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/linesrunaft.
html.
Reefing while underway is an important thing to practice. Aldebaran has a 4 oz main that
came with the boat and a 5 oz main that we got from Point Sails a couple of years ago. Both
sails have 2 sets of reef points, although we mostly sail with the 5 oz given the weather down
here. The boom has blocks and cleats on it for jiffy reefing, and I usually rig both jiffy reefing
lines. Reefing is accomplished by heaving to, then letting off the main halyard to its reefing
mark (marked in sharpie at the correct spot), using the downhaul if necessary to pull the sail
down, then standing on the cooler/step in the companionway and hooking the tack of the sail
to the reefing hook on the gooseneck. While I am there, I can pull in and cleat the jiffy reefing
lines and then tie in the nettles, working my way back and ending up in the cockpit. Again, if
you don’t have your boat set up for this, check out Judy B’s excellent Potter 19 site - http:
//www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/potter_19_jiffy_reefing.htm .
Another handy thing to have is a cockpit organizer. I made ours out of half of a Husky
brand Bucket Jockey from Home Depot. One side of this thing has a bunch of pouches that are
just the right size for stuff like a handheld VHF, wind meter, GPS, signal horn, etc. Just cut it
apart where the two sides are sewn together and put a couple of grommets in. Ours hangs
from a couple of suction cup hooks that we got at the dollar store. It is great for keeping stuff
handy, but up off the seats. Pretty much everything that fits into the organizer has a lanyard
on it that is attached to the cockpit rail.
I’d have to say that I consider a motor in good working order to be an important safety
feature on any boat that is too large to row or paddle. Our Nissan 5 hp outboard came with
the boat, and is rarely used. It gets maybe a gallon of gas run through it in a year’s time. This
lack of use can lead to issues if proactive maintenance is not done. A while back, Sadie and I
headed to Sabine Lake for a weekend on the water. After rigging the boat and putting her in
the water I cranked the outboard to make sure that it would start, and for the first time ever, it
did not. This did not stop us from heading out as we usually leave the dock under sail
anyway. We had a great time sailing and the defunct motor did not cause any problems at all
until we sailed back in and turned into the channel leading to the dock. The wind had shifted
some and was blowing at 14 or 15 knots straight down the 40 foot wide channel. The tide was
out, too, leaving only about 3 feet of water under the hull.
This left me with only two options. First I tried to tack up the narrow channel with the
daggerboard cranked halfway up. The P-19 takes a moment to get her speed up after a tack,
and with the daggerboard partially raised she doesn’t like going to windward. This
combined with her hefty windage meant that after 3 tacks we really were making no
progress, so at that point I went with option number two and jumped overboard and hand-
towed her the 100 yards to the dock, keeping a close eye on the pair of juvenile alligators
who live in the channel. A helpful spectator took the bowline and held it while I climbed back
into the boat and then up on the dock. I got to thinking what it would have been like to make
my way through a crowded anchorage or marina in similar conditions, and when I got back
home that day I immediately went online and ordered the service manual for the outboard.
After a day of disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling, the motor started on the 3rd
pull and ran better than it ever has (at least since we have owned it). I cleaned the carburetor
and fuel tank filter, and even put a new spark plug in after re-gapping it to the specs called
for in the service manual. A properly maintained motor can be handy in a variety of ways.
What if you are out in the middle of nowhere and have a rudder failure, or your mainsail rips
top to bottom, or God forbid the rig comes down? With a working motor, you have options
that you don't have otherwise, singlehanding or not.
Finally, a secondary anchor that is kept for ease of use in the cockpit is an important piece
of equipment anytime you are sailing, but especially if you are singlehanding. I keep ours in
a small plastic crate at the aft end of the cockpit so that I don't have to worry about tripping
over it. It is a cheap Danforth type to supplement the 8 pound Danforth that lives up on the
bow. The rode is run outside the shrouds to the anchor roller on the bow, then inside the
shrouds back to the cockpit, where I can adjust the rode's length and cleat it to one of the
stern cleats after deployment without ever having to leave the cockpit. I do have to go
forward to retrieve it, but that is generally under conditions that are more relaxed than those
that would call for an emergency anchor deployment.
Larger boats than the P-19 have been singlehanded on longer trips than most of us will
ever take, but the key to singlehanding ANY boat is to put some thought into how to set her up
for it, then practice with crew onboard until you are comfortable taking her out by yourself.
Good singlehanding skills mean that you can take folks sailing who have never been and not
have to rely on them as crew. You can introduce your spouse who is not a sailor to the joys of
sailing, or take friends or the dog, and feel confident enough in your abilities that they feel
comfortable, too. That is a recipe for it being a fun and memorable experience for everyone
involved.
Chuck Pierce
chuckpierce@sbcglobal.net
When we bought our Potter 19, Aldebaran, I pledged to my wife Kathy that she would
never have to lift a finger on the boat if only she would go sailing with me. We have a couple
of other sailboats that she will not go near (“what if it flips over?”), but she feels comfortable
in the P-19. We occasionally sail with friends, but generally it is just the two of us or me and
Sadie (our Lab/Golden mix). I end up sailing alone sometimes because I enjoy sailing in high
winds and rough water, and most of our friends are not sailors and do not have the same
appreciation for such things as I. You might say that even when there are others aboard, I am
actually singlehanding the boat, and that would be a pretty accurate assessment of the
situation.
The most important thing to have for singlehanding is a way to lock the tiller in place so
that you can do other things (like talk on the radio, clear a fouled line, or go to the mast to
reef). We use a modified Tiller Tamer that has a small length of bungee cord tied to each side
so that there is a certain amount of give to it (Andrew Evan’s great book on singlehanding
suggests surgical tubing). I have also used Jerry Barrilleaux’s “Cajun tiller tamer”, a length
of bungee cord tied to each stern cleat and with 3 or 4 wraps around the tiller. The idea here
is that the wraps are made in a straight line between the cleats and are somewhat loose so
that you can hand steer. Sliding the wraps along the tiller toward the bow tightens them and
holds the tiller more or less in place. This works pretty well, and I use this method on the
other boats, but Aldebaran’s tiller has an auto release clam cleat for her kickup rudder that is
in the way, so we use the Tiller Tamer.
It is important to realize that a Potter 19 (like most other boats her size and weight) will
change her course some as you move around the boat with the tiller locked. I try to stay on
centerline when moving as much as possible, but realize that as you move to the leeward side
she will tend to head up and as you move to the windward side she will tend to head down.
Aldebaran does not generally self-steer well in waves over a couple of feet or in higher
winds. This depends somewhat on point of sail, and how gusty/choppy it is. So, the next most
important thing to know when singlehanding her is how to heave to. In “The Annapolis Book
of Seamanship”, John Rousemaniere describes the process as putting the boat 40 to 60
degrees off the wind, backing the jib so that the clew is near the windward shrouds and
trimming the mainsail so that it is mostly full. When the helm is put to leeward, the boat will
make 1 or 2 knots in a series of gradual swoops. This description pretty well matches up to
what you can expect out of a P-19.
Here is how I do it. Typically, we are speeding along in 20 knots of wind with a reef in
and the jib partially furled and I decide that I need to go below and get something to eat. I
will head up onto a close reach and pull in the windward jib sheet until the jib is backed
(clew on the windward side of the mast). Depending on what point of sail you were initially
on, you may be able to leave the leeward jib sheet set. Do this if there is enough slack in it.
Then the main sheet gets let out so that the boom crosses the leeward coaming at about the
center of the cockpit. Push the tiller to about 30 degrees or so to leeward and lock it down.
You will generally have to make some minor adjustments to the tiller to balance things just
right, but with practice you can do this whole procedure in 30 seconds or so. You want the
mainsail to just barely stall as the jib starts to push the bow back down. If it is flogging after
the tiller is adjusted, pull the sheet in a bit. Make sure that you have enough room to drift
without getting yourself into trouble as she slowly makes headway/leeway. At this point, you
can do anything that you need to do and the boat will take care of herself. It is amazing how
calm it seems when you are hove-to as compared to pounding through the chop in higher
winds.
To get underway again, unlock and straighten the tiller, let the windward jib sheet go
(and haul in the leeward jib sheet if you had to uncleat it to back the jib), haul in the main
sheet, and you are right back where you started.
Aldebaran has most of her lines led back to the cockpit. This is quite handy if you are
sailing by yourself, and although I know folks who don’t think it necessary (and who seem to
do just fine without), I like being able to douse the Ljungstrom or the mainsail on any point of
sail without leaving the cockpit. From port to starboard we have: topping lift, Ljungstrom
halyard, Ljungstrom downhaul, mainsail downhaul, and mainsail halyard. Combined with the
roller reefing for the jib, I can control any of the sails from my seat, only leaving the cockpit if
it is necessary to reef the mainsail. There is a great short article at Judy Blumhorst’s Potter 19
website on setting up a system like this. If you are interested in rigging your P-19 this way I
recommend that you check it out at http://www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/linesrunaft.
html.
Reefing while underway is an important thing to practice. Aldebaran has a 4 oz main that
came with the boat and a 5 oz main that we got from Point Sails a couple of years ago. Both
sails have 2 sets of reef points, although we mostly sail with the 5 oz given the weather down
here. The boom has blocks and cleats on it for jiffy reefing, and I usually rig both jiffy reefing
lines. Reefing is accomplished by heaving to, then letting off the main halyard to its reefing
mark (marked in sharpie at the correct spot), using the downhaul if necessary to pull the sail
down, then standing on the cooler/step in the companionway and hooking the tack of the sail
to the reefing hook on the gooseneck. While I am there, I can pull in and cleat the jiffy reefing
lines and then tie in the nettles, working my way back and ending up in the cockpit. Again, if
you don’t have your boat set up for this, check out Judy B’s excellent Potter 19 site - http:
//www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/potter_19_jiffy_reefing.htm .
Another handy thing to have is a cockpit organizer. I made ours out of half of a Husky
brand Bucket Jockey from Home Depot. One side of this thing has a bunch of pouches that are
just the right size for stuff like a handheld VHF, wind meter, GPS, signal horn, etc. Just cut it
apart where the two sides are sewn together and put a couple of grommets in. Ours hangs
from a couple of suction cup hooks that we got at the dollar store. It is great for keeping stuff
handy, but up off the seats. Pretty much everything that fits into the organizer has a lanyard
on it that is attached to the cockpit rail.
I’d have to say that I consider a motor in good working order to be an important safety
feature on any boat that is too large to row or paddle. Our Nissan 5 hp outboard came with
the boat, and is rarely used. It gets maybe a gallon of gas run through it in a year’s time. This
lack of use can lead to issues if proactive maintenance is not done. A while back, Sadie and I
headed to Sabine Lake for a weekend on the water. After rigging the boat and putting her in
the water I cranked the outboard to make sure that it would start, and for the first time ever, it
did not. This did not stop us from heading out as we usually leave the dock under sail
anyway. We had a great time sailing and the defunct motor did not cause any problems at all
until we sailed back in and turned into the channel leading to the dock. The wind had shifted
some and was blowing at 14 or 15 knots straight down the 40 foot wide channel. The tide was
out, too, leaving only about 3 feet of water under the hull.
This left me with only two options. First I tried to tack up the narrow channel with the
daggerboard cranked halfway up. The P-19 takes a moment to get her speed up after a tack,
and with the daggerboard partially raised she doesn’t like going to windward. This
combined with her hefty windage meant that after 3 tacks we really were making no
progress, so at that point I went with option number two and jumped overboard and hand-
towed her the 100 yards to the dock, keeping a close eye on the pair of juvenile alligators
who live in the channel. A helpful spectator took the bowline and held it while I climbed back
into the boat and then up on the dock. I got to thinking what it would have been like to make
my way through a crowded anchorage or marina in similar conditions, and when I got back
home that day I immediately went online and ordered the service manual for the outboard.
After a day of disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling, the motor started on the 3rd
pull and ran better than it ever has (at least since we have owned it). I cleaned the carburetor
and fuel tank filter, and even put a new spark plug in after re-gapping it to the specs called
for in the service manual. A properly maintained motor can be handy in a variety of ways.
What if you are out in the middle of nowhere and have a rudder failure, or your mainsail rips
top to bottom, or God forbid the rig comes down? With a working motor, you have options
that you don't have otherwise, singlehanding or not.
Finally, a secondary anchor that is kept for ease of use in the cockpit is an important piece
of equipment anytime you are sailing, but especially if you are singlehanding. I keep ours in
a small plastic crate at the aft end of the cockpit so that I don't have to worry about tripping
over it. It is a cheap Danforth type to supplement the 8 pound Danforth that lives up on the
bow. The rode is run outside the shrouds to the anchor roller on the bow, then inside the
shrouds back to the cockpit, where I can adjust the rode's length and cleat it to one of the
stern cleats after deployment without ever having to leave the cockpit. I do have to go
forward to retrieve it, but that is generally under conditions that are more relaxed than those
that would call for an emergency anchor deployment.
Larger boats than the P-19 have been singlehanded on longer trips than most of us will
ever take, but the key to singlehanding ANY boat is to put some thought into how to set her up
for it, then practice with crew onboard until you are comfortable taking her out by yourself.
Good singlehanding skills mean that you can take folks sailing who have never been and not
have to rely on them as crew. You can introduce your spouse who is not a sailor to the joys of
sailing, or take friends or the dog, and feel confident enough in your abilities that they feel
comfortable, too. That is a recipe for it being a fun and memorable experience for everyone
involved.
Chuck Pierce
chuckpierce@sbcglobal.net
