West Wight Potter 15
The West Wight Potter 15 is a 15 feet pocket cruiser sailboat designed by Stanley T. Smith of West Wight Plycraft. Over 2,600 currently sail today.
| Development | |
|---|---|
| Designer | Stanley T. Smith |
| Role | pocket cruiser |
| Boat | |
| Draft | 7 inches (180 mm) (keel up) 3 feet (0.91 m) (keel down) |
| Hull | |
| Type | monohull |
| Hull weight | 475 pounds (215 kg) (including keel) |
| LOA | 15 feet (4.6 m) |
| Beam | 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) |
| Hull appendages | |
| Keel/board type | Fully Retracting Galvanized Swing Keel |
| Rig | |
| Rig type | sloop |
| Mast length | 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m) (above deck) |
| Sails | |
| Mainsail area | 72 sq.ft |
| Jib/genoa area | 68 sq.ft |
| Upwind sail area | 98 sq.ft |
| Total sail area | 170 sq.ft |
Stanley T. Smith made a few notable voyages that he later wrote about. "Smiths at Sea", describes the 1949 voyage of Stanley and his brother Colin across the Atlantic Ocean in the boat Nova Espero which they built in Canada. Another voyage on Nova Espero, completed by Stanley and his friend Charles Violet, is recounted in the book, "The Wind Calls the Tune".
Perhaps Stanley's most famous voyage is described in the short story, "October Potter". This story describes the October–November 1965 voyage that Stanley made to deliver a Potter by sea from the Isle of Wight to Kloster Fjord, Sweden. Stanley almost died on the way and was washed ashore in Denmark.
Records
The West Wight Potter 15 set many notable records including sailing single-handed from Seattle to Ketchikan, from Mexico to Hawaii across the Pacific, and from England to Sweden across the North Sea.
Rig
The West Wight Potter 15 is a single-masted sloop. Auxiliary propulsion can be provided with an outboard motor or even a trolling motor.