West Wight Potter Owners Home Port _______________________________________________________________________________________________ |
| Modifications Hatching an Idea by John Turpin |
For some reason, West Wight Potters are continually modified. I’m not really sure why, given that it’s
such a proven, well thought-out design. But, Potter owners seem to always be found changing things on
their boats. Bill Nolen’s “Potter Owners Home Port” website (http://wwpotterowners.com/) is full of
articles of owners’ creative ways to modify and improve their boats.
One boat part that is commonly modified is the companionway hatch door. Browsing forums and
websites reveals some pretty imaginative modifications to boats’ hatch doors. Even the factory began
turning these doors into cockpit tables to extend their use. When my boys were small, we kept our P-19
“Beowulf” in a slip at our local lake. I remember an afternoon when we zoomed to the lake after school to
do our homework and get in a sail. We flopped open the hatch door, converted it into a table, knocked
out some homework and then sailed until suppertime. Hatches that serve multiple purposes can be
handy.
When I purchased my P-15, Tetra, its eleven-year-old companionway hatch was in need of some TLC.
Actually, all of the exposed wood needed refinishing or replacing. I decided to just replace all of the
original wood pieces.
Tetra's original woodwork in need of help
While I really hadn’t yet envisioned the “hatch system” that I’d ultimately build, I did decide to follow
the replacement route. My first step was to order lumber. I couldn’t find any suitable teak (read: I was
too cheap to pay for suitable teak), so I looked around at other options. I decided to go with an African
wood called Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum). Sapele looks kind of like mahogany and has a
pretty grain. Using my existing pieces as a template, I created new hand and hatch rails.
Sapele in the workshop
Sapele on the workshop
About this time, I began to consider alternatives to the factory companionway hatch design. That hatch
design was functionally efficient, but it always seemed to be in my way when removed. And, I was also
trying to find ways to increase ventilation in the cabin. Lastly, I really needed some cockpit storage and
the companionway area offered some good possibilities. So, this is what I came up with.
Instead of a single, folding hatch door, I decided to go with a series of removable hatch boards. Why
hatch boards instead of the single, large companionway door provided by the factory? Well, personal
preference I guess. Washboards are easy to stow and are adaptable (as shown below). And, I’ve turned
them into emergency paddles; but that’s another story.
So, I planed down some Sapele and shaped it into four boards. This original set looked great, but
warped dramatically the first time it rained. I guess African trees don’t know what to do in the rain. So, I
scrapped that set and tried again. This time. I used epoxy-coated plywood for the washboards and then
added a Sapele trim board onto the front of each. This created strong, stiff, yet attractive boards.
Multiple coats of epoxy on the bare wood, paint on the plywood and varnish on the trim wood resulted in
nice looking boards that behaved nicely in moisture.
Spar varnish goes on the boards' faces
What was that about a hatch “system”? I wanted my washboards to serve more purposes than to just
close up the cabin. So, I made a set of boards that I could mix and match, depending on the need at
hand. My goal was to expand the hatches’ use to (1) increase ventilation and (2) provide cockpit
storage. I think that my hatch system achieved both goals extremely well. The photo below shows some
of the set that I created. I dedicated an out-of-the-way spot in the cabin where these smallish boards
could live when not in place.
The boards began to multiply
Ventilation
The big screened boards at the back of the photo above were designed for cabin ventilation. One
“double-sized” board was built to slide vertically into the companionway and the other was designed to
fill in the horizontal spot created when the sliding hatch was open. The screen was just nylon screen
material from the local lumberyard. I was convinced that I’d accidentally punch the screen out during
normal use, but for some reason I never did. (Unusual for me.) For the vertical screen board, I ran some
shock cord across the back that enabled me to attach a fan. When in use, I’d plug my fan into my
jumpstart battery, draw fresh air into the cabin through the vertical screened hatch and ventilate the air
out the top screened board. It worked remarkably well and never let a mosquito pass. (See ventilation
configuration photo down below.)
Cockpit Storage
Like most small boat cruising sailors, I sail with a lot of “stuff” in the cockpit. And, like most production
sailboats, the Potter’s cockpit doesn’t give you many places to stash it. The most useful board that I
created was the washboard with the built-in tray. On the port side, I customized a spot to hold my JetBoil
cooking system. I referred to this cubbyhole as my galley and it worked great. I cooked many a meal in
that tiny compartment. Next to the galley was a larger tray that held drinks, handheld VHF, sun block,
charts, binoculars, etc..
I turned another washboard into my navigation center. I mounted my fishfinder/depth sounder to the
center of this board and ran some small-diameter shock cord across horizontally. I could slip a folded
chart on one side of the depth sounder and slip my handheld GPS on the other side. All of my primary
navigation tools were then positioned right before my eyes. This was my usual cruising configuration
and it proved to be both efficient and adaptable to changing needs.
The photographs below demonstrate some of the configurations possible with my hatch system. So, if
you ever need to replace your companionway hatch, give this modification some thought. You might like
it as much as I did.
My security configuration. These solid boards were built to be strong and waterproof.
This configuration provided maximum ventilation and enabled cool, breezy, bug-free sleep.
Here's my cruising configuration. All my devices are neatly stowed within quick reach; not rattling around
my feet.
With several special-purpose boards, you can mix and match them for changing needs.
John Turpin
John lives in Edmond, OK. Having recently lost his sailboat, Tetra, in a remote place off the Texas coast,
he is now building a wooden camp cruiser. For more information on John’s extensive restoration of Tetra
and the adventures they shared, visit his website at www.svbluepeter.com.
Copyright John Turpin
such a proven, well thought-out design. But, Potter owners seem to always be found changing things on
their boats. Bill Nolen’s “Potter Owners Home Port” website (http://wwpotterowners.com/) is full of
articles of owners’ creative ways to modify and improve their boats.
One boat part that is commonly modified is the companionway hatch door. Browsing forums and
websites reveals some pretty imaginative modifications to boats’ hatch doors. Even the factory began
turning these doors into cockpit tables to extend their use. When my boys were small, we kept our P-19
“Beowulf” in a slip at our local lake. I remember an afternoon when we zoomed to the lake after school to
do our homework and get in a sail. We flopped open the hatch door, converted it into a table, knocked
out some homework and then sailed until suppertime. Hatches that serve multiple purposes can be
handy.
When I purchased my P-15, Tetra, its eleven-year-old companionway hatch was in need of some TLC.
Actually, all of the exposed wood needed refinishing or replacing. I decided to just replace all of the
original wood pieces.
Tetra's original woodwork in need of help
While I really hadn’t yet envisioned the “hatch system” that I’d ultimately build, I did decide to follow
the replacement route. My first step was to order lumber. I couldn’t find any suitable teak (read: I was
too cheap to pay for suitable teak), so I looked around at other options. I decided to go with an African
wood called Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum). Sapele looks kind of like mahogany and has a
pretty grain. Using my existing pieces as a template, I created new hand and hatch rails.
Sapele in the workshop
Sapele on the workshop
About this time, I began to consider alternatives to the factory companionway hatch design. That hatch
design was functionally efficient, but it always seemed to be in my way when removed. And, I was also
trying to find ways to increase ventilation in the cabin. Lastly, I really needed some cockpit storage and
the companionway area offered some good possibilities. So, this is what I came up with.
Instead of a single, folding hatch door, I decided to go with a series of removable hatch boards. Why
hatch boards instead of the single, large companionway door provided by the factory? Well, personal
preference I guess. Washboards are easy to stow and are adaptable (as shown below). And, I’ve turned
them into emergency paddles; but that’s another story.
So, I planed down some Sapele and shaped it into four boards. This original set looked great, but
warped dramatically the first time it rained. I guess African trees don’t know what to do in the rain. So, I
scrapped that set and tried again. This time. I used epoxy-coated plywood for the washboards and then
added a Sapele trim board onto the front of each. This created strong, stiff, yet attractive boards.
Multiple coats of epoxy on the bare wood, paint on the plywood and varnish on the trim wood resulted in
nice looking boards that behaved nicely in moisture.
Spar varnish goes on the boards' faces
What was that about a hatch “system”? I wanted my washboards to serve more purposes than to just
close up the cabin. So, I made a set of boards that I could mix and match, depending on the need at
hand. My goal was to expand the hatches’ use to (1) increase ventilation and (2) provide cockpit
storage. I think that my hatch system achieved both goals extremely well. The photo below shows some
of the set that I created. I dedicated an out-of-the-way spot in the cabin where these smallish boards
could live when not in place.
The boards began to multiply
Ventilation
The big screened boards at the back of the photo above were designed for cabin ventilation. One
“double-sized” board was built to slide vertically into the companionway and the other was designed to
fill in the horizontal spot created when the sliding hatch was open. The screen was just nylon screen
material from the local lumberyard. I was convinced that I’d accidentally punch the screen out during
normal use, but for some reason I never did. (Unusual for me.) For the vertical screen board, I ran some
shock cord across the back that enabled me to attach a fan. When in use, I’d plug my fan into my
jumpstart battery, draw fresh air into the cabin through the vertical screened hatch and ventilate the air
out the top screened board. It worked remarkably well and never let a mosquito pass. (See ventilation
configuration photo down below.)
Cockpit Storage
Like most small boat cruising sailors, I sail with a lot of “stuff” in the cockpit. And, like most production
sailboats, the Potter’s cockpit doesn’t give you many places to stash it. The most useful board that I
created was the washboard with the built-in tray. On the port side, I customized a spot to hold my JetBoil
cooking system. I referred to this cubbyhole as my galley and it worked great. I cooked many a meal in
that tiny compartment. Next to the galley was a larger tray that held drinks, handheld VHF, sun block,
charts, binoculars, etc..
I turned another washboard into my navigation center. I mounted my fishfinder/depth sounder to the
center of this board and ran some small-diameter shock cord across horizontally. I could slip a folded
chart on one side of the depth sounder and slip my handheld GPS on the other side. All of my primary
navigation tools were then positioned right before my eyes. This was my usual cruising configuration
and it proved to be both efficient and adaptable to changing needs.
The photographs below demonstrate some of the configurations possible with my hatch system. So, if
you ever need to replace your companionway hatch, give this modification some thought. You might like
it as much as I did.
My security configuration. These solid boards were built to be strong and waterproof.
This configuration provided maximum ventilation and enabled cool, breezy, bug-free sleep.
Here's my cruising configuration. All my devices are neatly stowed within quick reach; not rattling around
my feet.
With several special-purpose boards, you can mix and match them for changing needs.
John Turpin
John lives in Edmond, OK. Having recently lost his sailboat, Tetra, in a remote place off the Texas coast,
he is now building a wooden camp cruiser. For more information on John’s extensive restoration of Tetra
and the adventures they shared, visit his website at www.svbluepeter.com.
Copyright John Turpin
