- Extensive refurbishment despite high quality
- Sometimes the living room was full of pieces of wood
- Head of the teak flagpole covered with 24 carat gold leaf
- "Potvis" is sold despite unconditional love
- "Potvis" is also a total work of art below deck
- Technical data of the Island Plastics IP23 "Potvis"
Oh, how lovely." Peter Zimmermann is having dinner with his partner Andrea in a pizzeria in North Rhine-Westphalia in April 2021. Friends Susanne and Frank have just shown the couple an advert for a small classic yacht. Andrea is delighted and immediately sends the seller an email. Jürgen Krumme wants to sell his IP23 gaff cutter "Potvis" and calls Peter Zimmermann before he has ordered his dessert. "So we arranged to meet the next day and I travelled to Friesland 'just to have a look'," says the 60-year-old GP.
Krumme and Zimmermann like each other so much that they sit and chat together in the cosy lounge until midnight. "I was hooked as soon as I went below deck," recalls Zimmermann. "It was all so nice and small and, in my eyes, perfect for two people." It is precisely this suitability for togetherness that is at the top of many newcomers' wish lists when looking for their first boat. After all, his partner Andrea often misses out on this during regular charter trips with various friends. So the very next day, they think about "Potvis" again together and then call Jürgen Krumme: "OK, I'll buy your boat."
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The chemistry between buyer and seller is still great a good year after the handover of "Potvis". Krumme can continue to use his ex-yacht, and on a sunny day in May he meets Zimmermann to go sailing together on the Heeger Meer.
The atmosphere is exuberant, there is a lot of laughter and a lot of talking shop about the various special features of the gem designed by Krumme. The IP23 was originally designed by Brit Bill Waight, an assistant to the innovative design icon Uffa Fox, as a seaworthy fishing boat. Island Plastics (IP) built over 2,000 hulls of the two models IP23 and IP24 on the British Isle of Wight from the 1970s onwards. The GRP S-frame hulls with their distinctive raised bow went to various shipyards, where they were not only turned into fishing boats and trawlers with a wide variety of superstructures, but also into motor yachts, motor sailors and sailing yachts. The Lok shipyard in Zwartsluis in the Netherlands built "Potvis" as a gaff cutter in 1973. Jürgen Krumme bought "Potvis" (Dutch for sperm whale) in Arnhem in August 2015.
Extensive refurbishment despite high quality
The bathroom and heating salesman from Stadtlohn in western Münsterland learnt to sail on the travelling dinghy Polyvalk in the Frisian town of Heeg in 2005 and then gained further experience, for example on charter yachts in Croatia. At the beginning of 2015, the desire arose: "Now something of my own." The IP23 or IP24 quickly emerged as the boat of choice: sturdy, safe, afloat. When Krumme took a look at "Potvis" after six months of searching, he was immediately "shockingly in love". "The amount of wood, the charming 'plastic-free' interior of the boat and the many classic elements immediately appealed to me. As did the gaff rigging. The more lines, the more exciting it is. A real boat with charm and character." After the purchase, he sails his "Potvis" as often as possible near Arnhem until the end of the season and makes plans for the winter. The high quality of the construction and parts confirms to him that it was a good purchase.
Nevertheless, he is now embarking on an extensive refurbishment. "As much fun as I enjoy my job as a businessman. In the end, it's very often just bare figures. That's why I was really keen on a craft project." In autumn 2015, "Potvis" came to Zutphen in a hall at the De Marshaven yacht yard. "I immediately set to work, gripped by ambition, and soon realised that I had underestimated the amount of work involved."
The 53-year-old will invest around 1,500 hours of labour in his boat. For eight months, there is nothing else for him apart from his job than "Potvis". "I often worked on the boat until one or two o'clock in the morning and never looked left or right." The constant driving from Stadtlohn to the hall 50 kilometres away soon gets on his nerves. On the other hand, the shipyard in Zutphen on the IJssel always offers competent contacts. "As this was my first boat, most of the necessary work was completely new territory for me."
Sometimes the living room was full of pieces of wood
So every planned construction site is inspected and discussed with a recognised specialist. And there are quite a few. A master painter explains that the hull can no longer be properly polished. So it is sanded down and a completely new paint job is carried out. At the end, you can see yourself reflected in the noble black of the hull. The old teak rods, all fittings and the rubbing strake are removed, the deck is sanded down and the countless screw holes are sealed with polyester.
This is followed by eight coats of paint, each with intermediate sanding. Finally, a new anti-slip coating is applied. All wooden parts are professionally refurbished and painted all over with high-quality 2-component lacquer in a high gloss finish. "First, a dark stain was always applied so that all the wooden parts had the same colour. This was followed by ten to 15 coats of lacquer with intermediate sanding and all the nips and tucks."
On some days, the living room at home was full of wooden parts. Once they have been refitted, they are triple-sealed with Sikaflex. This also applies to the railing supports. In Heeg harbour, Peter Zimmermann removes the canvas covers from the outer wooden parts. Krumme made these specially to protect the paintwork from the sun. Most of them are embroidered or printed with the "Potvis" logo, which the previous owner also designed himself.
Head of the teak flagpole covered with 24 carat gold leaf
Krumme and Zimmermann haul in the classic mooring lines and leave the harbour. The brown gaff main is quickly set, then the jib and foresail are furled. All halyards and sheets can be operated from the cockpit. The reliable directional stability of the long keeler also contributes to "Potvis'" single-handed suitability.
With the jib held back, it turns slowly but well through the tack. "Potvis" is certainly not a fast sailor at the helm, but sails well on room sheet courses compared to many more modern yachts of the same size. The cockpit with its high cockpit provides a great deal of security. Krumme has made himself comfortable on one of the folding seats that can be placed on the cockpit coaming. Zimmermann stands at the traditional teak steering wheel with the boat's name and year of construction engraved on the wheel hub.
The brass housing of the classic steering compass shines in the sun on the steering column. In general, "Potvis" provides a good overview of the brass and bronze range from the outfitter Toplicht: Deck fittings, winches, windows, position lights ... Jürgen Krumme refurbished some of the existing parts during the refurbishment and purchased many more new ones. The cast iron and steel parts on the rig were sandblasted, primed and powder-coated.
Krumme covered the head of the teak flagpole and the nameboards with the ship's name in 24-carat gold leaf. "If I'm going to start a refurbishment, then it has to be really good," says Krumme, looking back. "That's why I didn't set myself a budget in the first place." Almost every detail was right when "Potvis" returned to the water in Friesland in May 2016.
"Since I did my sailing licence here in Heeg, I already had a connection to the area. The Heeg Sea also offers great conditions. As it is quite long and there is usually a westerly wind, you can sail really well here." From then on, Krumme sailed on the Frisian Lakes almost every weekend during the season. "I'd travelled a lot beforehand and then realised that it's so beautiful here that I didn't need to go any further away. Instead, I really enjoyed sitting on board with friends in the evening and drinking a glass of wine."
"Potvis" is sold despite unconditional love
Thanks to a summer tarpaulin over the cockpit, it doesn't get clammy here even late in the evening, and there's no need to wipe dew off the cockpit benches for breakfast in the morning. Longer trips took her to the IJsselmeer, and in the summer she went on 14-day trips to the Waddenzee and the West Frisian Islands. However, the idea of giving himself a trip to the Isle of Wight in the UK, where "Potvis" was created, as a 50th birthday present was not realised. "I would have had to add a radio and plotter to the deliberately simple equipment on board. I also didn't feel experienced enough for a trip through the English Channel."
In addition to the extensive sailing, "Potvis" is of course continuously being perfected. For example, the 7.50 metre long mast, which was rebuilt from two glued halves in 2012, was given a fresh coat of paint in the paint shop in 2017. "'You're crazy,' I was told when we put up the mast. It looks like a glass rod." The boom scissors are also painted and all stainless steel fittings are renewed. The gaff will be remodelled in 2018 and will also be fitted with stainless steel fittings and new leather on the gaff claw.
The stainless steel mast coker is powder-coated black. The bell and art foundry Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock in Gescher, Westphalia, casts a sperm whale emblem out of bronze, which is placed on the main boom cam fitting. Krumme made the template with the "Potvis" lettering from wax himself beforehand. The owner posts photos of this further eye-catcher on Facebook under "S/Y Potvis" as well as short videos of his cruises. As Jürgen Krumme says, his ownership sounds like unconditional love. Why did he sell "Potvis" anyway? "After six years, I was burdened by the standards I had set myself. Before docking in another harbour, I always cleaned the brass parts so that my boat made a good impression."
He also enjoyed the refurbishment of his gaff cutter so much that he is keen to embark on a new project. A year after selling it, he has not yet looked for a new yacht. Instead, he continues to use his ex-boat without the sometimes burdensome responsibility for the piece of jewellery. "Now I sometimes get a photo sent to me by Jürgen of the boat," reveals the new owner. "It's got the brass cleaning kit on it to show me where it needs polishing." Peter Zimmermann has taken on a difficult legacy with the purchase of "Potvis". Keeping the gaff cutter in this exceptional state of maintenance alongside his many other hobbies is a challenge.
"Potvis" is also a total work of art below deck
The family doctor with his own practice in Sonsbeck on the Lower Rhine, who first sailed with his father in Greece in 1990, is well aware of this. He has been travelling on an average of five charter trips a year for years. He usually skippers flat-bottomed boats over long weekends, as well as keel yachts on week-long trips in Croatia.
It's time to take a look below deck - after all, the cosiness there was the decisive factor in Zimmermann buying "Potvis". The interior, with a headroom of 1.80 metres, is all wood. Krumme laid a new teak floor in the saloon and the toilet room, which was given a high-gloss finish, as were the wooden bulkheads and cupboards and the steps on the companionway.
There are dog bunks on both sides, but they can only be accessed with a bit of contortion. Zimmermann therefore uses them exclusively as storage space. The galley is fitted lengthways on the port side, with a two-burner gas hob, coffee machine and sink.
In front of this is the toilet room, which is already equipped for the increasingly strict regulations in the Netherlands thanks to the Porta Potti toilet. The V-shaped double berth in the foredeck is sufficiently spacious. In the saloon, the dinette can be converted into another double berth.
The upholstery was covered with new fabric in a warm red colour as part of the refurbishment. The lounge ceiling is a particular eye-catcher. A nine millimetre thick, seawater-resistant Armaflex insulation prevents condensation from forming here. The wood panelling above was painted in twelve coats of high-gloss white. The mouldings were fastened with a narrow joint using brass screws, the slots of which naturally all point in one direction.
"Of course, they were all screwed in with a new screwdriver so that the slots were only minimally damaged." Needless to say, Jürgen Krumme also replaced most of the electrics and added a shore connection including a high-quality battery charger and a 230-volt power supply with two sockets. All water and gas pipes were renewed and the old water bag was replaced with an insulated plastic water tank.
The 80 litres of fresh water are supplied to the Hans Grohe mixer tap by an electric pump. The electric interior lighting (LED as well as the navigation and deck lighting) can be stylishly complemented by two classic brass oil lamps. Potvis" can be described as a total work of art. But one that is also actively sailed.
The sails are hoisted for today and the boat is moored for dinner in Heeg directly in front of the restaurant "d'Ald Wal". Appreciative comments about the 23-foot gaff cutter "Potvis" are not long in coming - as is the case everywhere. "Oh, how beautiful!" is a reserved comment.
Technical data of the Island Plastics IP23 "Potvis"
- Design engineer: Bill Waight/England
- Building yard hull: Island Plastics/England
- Expansion: Lok/Holland
- Year of construction: 1973
- Torso length: 7,10 m
- Total length: 7,60 m
- Width: 3,00 m
- Depth: 1,10 m
- Displacement: 3,0 t
- Sail area on the wind: 34.0 square metres
- Machine (brine): 17 PS
- Another model: IP24
The article first appeared in YACHT issue 15/2022 and has been revised for this online version.
