West Wight Potter Owners Home Port _______________________________________________________________________________________________ |
| Modifications Potter 19 Sink Removal By Charles Champagne |
OK folks, I’ve had my Potter 19 since 2004, and in addition to daysailing, I do two to three overnight
trips a year. Each year at the start of the season I put about 5 gallons of water into the bladder, and at the
end of the season I empty about 4 ¾ gallons. Total usage 1 quart! For the overnighters I have learned to
freeze quart containers of water for ice and as it melts use that for my water needs. So, here sits the sink
and all the space it takes up.
All of the space under the sink is mostly used by the piping, bladder and 2 ½ gallon waste water
container. And, if the sinks not there then there’s no use for the other stuff.
Guess what, it’s time to go. To me it makes more sense to extend the quarterberth and create more
accessible storage.
I out my trusty $400 Fein cutting tool (of course now you can buy a look alike for $50) and started cutting.
When making cutout lines the first thing you notice there’s no such thing as level, there are no right
angles and no two measurements will be the same the best thing you can hope for is straight.
A laser line helped extend the line of the quarter berth along the bottom.
When cutting I used a dust mask and shop vacuum to control the fiberglass dust.
Note how the paint was delaminated where the water bladder was located, also rather than deal with the
water inlet & waste thru-hulls I ended up capping them.
Wiring for the stereo speakers had enough slack so I was able to move them out of the way when cutting.
Now it’s time to trim the hull liner as close to flush as possible, scrape and sand off the paint on the hull so
I can epoxy 6 support blocks for the new berth. I also squared off the opening.
Only a little more sanding to go.
Fiberglass strips and epoxy are used to fasten the first two blocks to the hull.
Here the last four are installed; unfortunately you can only see two of them. Each block was cut at a
slightly different angle based on the shape of the hull where they were to be placed.
One coat of paint has been laid down. After speaking with some “experts” about what kind of paint to
use on fiberglass (other than marine) I ended up using Rustolium.
To cover the cutout hull liner I found a 4x8 sheet of vinyl at the local big box store. The back side of the
sheet worked out fine. To install it I made a template out of cardboard, and then cut it to fit. At the top of
the hull liner there’s a wood strip that can be floated off. I then slipped the sheet behind it and
refastened the wood strip. The wood frame for the berth in addition to the cap on the thru-hull holds the
bottom of the sheet against the hull.
Rear of the berth frame.
Lightly sanded and cut to length pine furring strips will make up the support for the berth.
Two coats of paint finish up the extended berth/storage area.
O what the heck, paint as far as I can reach.
Strapping has been added (red trim is the theme on my P-15 Hafvila).
The first and last furring strips fit over 3/8” pegs. It keeps them in place and allows easy removal for
access.
Another strip has been added to support and keep a removable hatch in place.
The hatch is made up of two pieces of masonite a piece of the vinyl covering all glued together, cut to
size, wood trim strips added and painted. It will lift right off as required. I also attached spring clips
(you can see them in the previous photo) to help keep the hatch in place. Notice there is a slight lean to
the hatch. That’s to provide a comfortable backrest when sitting.
I took the forward cushion, cut off the piece of foam that made up the seat, folded under the fabric and
put it in place. I plan to cut off the fabric and with its foam counterpart make up an additional cushion.
The cushion under the cockpit was slid forward to meet its mate. One of my storage problems is where to
place the long poles we have on our Potters (boat hook, whisker pole, gin pole and mast crutch).
I had a 4” piece of thin wall PVC laying around, cut it to length, picked up a couple of pipe hangers,
hung them from the bolt and nuts that support the cockpit rail and now pole storage problem is solved.
By sliding the rear cushion forward I had to install a brace to keep it from sliding back.
The most important part of the sink was the cup holders. I used them all the time to hold car/boat keys,
cell phone, sunglasses and any other thing I wanted out of my pockets. I decided to relocate them to the
starboard side. Two three inch holes made with a dremel tool did the trick.
I would like to thank Tom Luque owner of P19 JoJoma. He gave me the idea of this modification when I
saw some of his mods on; http://www.koffeephoto.com/album/TYcQkjISWtx6qJxYI-Jdp1vF/
If you have any questions send me an email, chccjc@optonline.net
Charlie Champagne
WWP 19 Hafvila
Boonton, NJ
