A Cult Boat Classic, the West Wight Potter Can Be Trailered Behind a Compact Car and Won't Break the Bank

In his book "First You Have to Row a Little Boat – Reflections on Life & Living," Richard Bode writes, "Everything significant is small and slow." This philosophy may be contrary to some sailors' beliefs, but for more than four decades the West Wight Potter has been successfully marketed to sailors who aren't concerned about size and speed. In fact, owners of these mini-cruisers take such pride in their crafts that they call themselves "Potter Yachters."

The first West Wight Potter 14 was designed and built in 1960 by Stanley Smith of the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom for a planned transatlantic crossing. Smith and his brother had previously made a crossing in a larger vessel and Stanley intended his design for a personal, single-handed attempt. As the story goes, the upcoming sea trial created such demand for Smith's new design that he gave up on his transatlantic plans and became a boat builder, eventually producing more than 150 copies of his little yacht. Smith did eventually sail one of his designs from the Isle of Wight to Sweden but he never did make his planned Atlantic crossing.

Smith's West Wight Potters were built of plywood and, in 1966, Herb Stewart of Inglewood, Calif., bought one, used it to make molds for a fiberglass model, and began HMS Marine, Inc., to build and market the West Wight Potter in the United States.

In 1976, HMS Marine, Inc. became International Marine and the company changed the Potter's molds in 2003. The revamp added more fiberglass to the layup schedule and improved the rudder, sails and rigging. The newer boats also come standard with a backstay and boom vang to improve performance, according to Ryan Forrest, International Marine's new owner.

Before International Marine overhauled the West Wight Potter, more than 4,000 were built, including the longer West Wight Potter 19, introduced in 1971. Although the older, used boats often are snatched up quickly, evaluating this popular little boat is a worthy task.

The original West Wight Potters were 14 feet in length overall, had a beam of 5 feet, 3 inches, and weighed 540 pounds without crew or gear. By 1980 the hull had been slightly modified and the West Wight Potter 14 became the West Wight Potter 15 with a length overall of 15 feet, a beam of 5 feet, 6 inches and published weight of 475 pounds There is a retractable keel made of steel and weight specifications vary between 100 and 165 pounds Draft is consistently listed as 7 inches with the keel up and 3 inches with it down.

The years brought several modifications to the deck and cabin configuration but these were subtle, the most noticeable a change in the height of the cockpit combing in the early 1970s.

The cockpit of the West Wight Potter is more than five feet long and it may be possible, as the manufacturer claims, to cram four people in the space but it's not very practical to expect to sail the boat with a crew of four. She accommodates two adults comfortably and perhaps a child in a pinch. The cabin top extends nearly to the hull sides so access forward of the cockpit is over the cabin. Typically there are no lifelines for safety but most models do have handrails on the cabin top.

As you would expect, the cabin accommodations are minimal. The Potter has no galley but has two 6-foot, 6-inch berths that can sleep two adults in reasonable comfort. At the aft end of the cabin, the height is less than four feet with sitting headroom over the bunks. There is space to add a port-a-potty but certainly no privacy for its use. The berths have reasonable storage space under.

Many Potter Yachters have made the most of the accommodations by adding canvas tents over the cockpit for extended cruising. In addition to Smith's Isle of Wight-to-Sweden trip, other notable passages by Potter Yachters include a single-handed crossing from California to Hawaii and a navigation of the complete length of the Mississippi River.

Auxiliary power is not a standard feature, though a transom-mounted outboard motor bracket is available and most Potters are powered by 2 to 4 HP outboards Engines this size do not have alternators for charging a battery and if you plan to do any nighttime boating, you'll need navigation lights, a small 12-volt battery and a small solar panel charger to keep the battery up. Larger outboard motors are impractical and add too much weight.

The sail plan of the original Potter 14 was a Gunter-style, however by 1975, it had been modified to a Bermuda rig. The total sail area of both these plans was 72 square feet. By 1980, the mainsail roach had been increased, a full-length top batten added to the mainsail and the jib size increased slightly for a new sail area of 87 square feet. The sail area-displacement ratios of the two models are 17.4 or 22.9 respectively. These numbers would suggest moderate to exhilarating performance if this were a normal cruising boat, but in a boat this size, the weight of crew and gear can nearly double the weight of the boat, so the numbers don't accurately reflect performance.

Adding 400 pounds for a normal compliment of crew and gear reduces the sail area-displacement ratios to 12 and 15.2 respectively and more accurately reflects performance. As the numbers suggest better performance can be expected with the larger sail plan, particularly in light air. When conditions are right, the West Wight Potter will sail along quite comfortably at 4.5 to 5 knots and it is hard to find a dryer ride on any boat in this size.

International Marine continues to produce both the West Wight Potter 15 and 19, offering a range of packages and trailer options. Even new ones won't break the bank.

The West Wight Potter can be trailered behind even a small compact car, launched and rigged in a 30 minutes; it can sail or motor into the most beautiful and remote gunk holes the Chesapeake Bay has to offer, it can sleep two adults in reasonable comfort and it's affordable.

Jack Hornor, NA is the principal surveyor and senior designer for the Annapolis-based Marine Survey & Design Co. Hornor writes for BoatU.S. Magazine and other marine publications.

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