94 



RECREATION. 



$1,500. The forward saloon of this boat 

 is 13 feet long, providing 4 extension 

 berths. On the starboard side aft of the 

 main saloon is a brass lined stove locker, 

 containing 2 stoves. Aft is an enclosed 

 toilet with folding nickeled lavatory, closet, 

 plate glass mirror, and mahogany brush, 

 comb and soap racks. On the bulkhead of 

 the lavatory enclosure, in the engine room, 

 is a table locker, containing 4 mahogany 

 folding tables nested into a small space. 

 On the starboard side aft is an extension 

 berth for the engineer. The sliding door 

 between the engine room and the saloon 

 has beveled plate glass windows, and on 

 both sides of the door in the bulkhead are 

 windows of French plate glass. The sa- 

 l.oon is laid with Wilton velvet carpet and 

 the engine floor is covered with linoleum. 

 Mahogany shelf racks extend the full 

 length of the saloon on both sides, and de- 

 tachable brass mesh mosquito screens are 

 on all the windows. 



When it comes to the selection of a sail- 

 ing cruiser much more care must be exer- 

 cised than in choosing a launch. It is nec- 

 essary above all things to avoid excessive 

 lightness Any yacht built below a scale 

 of weights and sizes which would make it 

 useful for cruising purposes is to be ta- 

 booed. Of course, every pound saved in 

 weight of hull means more ease in propul- 

 sion, and consequently more speed from 

 the same driving power. Speed is, how- 

 ever, optional, and to reach an extravagant 

 limit is merely a matter of expenditure. An 

 over canvassed boat may result in foam 

 halfway up to the mast and may furnish 

 exhilarating sport while it lasts ; but a boat 

 of that type does not guarantee the full 

 pleasures, comforts and economies of the 

 strongly built craft, even when the latter 

 is deadened by a cargo of cabin hamper. 

 The possibilities in choosing a sail-driven 

 cruiser are as many as the variety in 

 purses. Some may prefer the much over- 

 rated yawl-rigged boat, others the cabin 

 sloop, many the cabin catboat, and a few 

 the schooner. The latter is preferable for 

 all around work, but is more expensive to 

 buy, charter or maintain than the ones of 

 smaller spars. One advantage in securing 

 a <H1ine boat is that it is not always nec- 

 essary to buy; a time charter, including 

 all furnishings, being the usual condition 

 of a transfer. Launch owners, as a rule, 

 prefer to sell outright. 



Any yacht agent of pretension is able to 

 furnish a list of available cruising sail 

 boats, in season or out. It is not advisable 

 to charter when the price of a boat is mod- 

 erate. A fairly well built cabin catboat 

 with accommodations for 4 persons and 

 ample head room may be bought for $250 

 to $500. All depends on the finish, the 

 condition of the sails, spars and rigging 



and the reputation of the vessel for speed. 

 A small keel schooner, 31 feet on the water 

 line, is advertised for sale for $500. She 

 is built of oak frames and oak and pine 

 planking. She is galvanized iron fastened 

 and has 4 berths in the cabin. The head 

 room of the latter is 5 feet 4 inches. An- 

 other advertisement shows a keel sloop 25 

 feet over all, with nearly 10 feet beam and 

 a draught of only 4 feet. This one has 

 oak frames, cedar planking and spruce 

 spars. She has no staterooms, but there 

 are 4 berths in the cabin. Her owner says 

 that the transoms are wide, and that while 

 intended for 4 persons they have accom- 

 modated 6 with comfort. 



The cabin of this boat is large, and is 

 paneled in mahogany and birds' eye maple. 

 There are 2 large clothes lockers of hard- 

 .wood in the cabin. She has a large ice 

 box. The cockpit is finished in ash and 

 walnut, with a cherry rail. It is claimed 

 for her that she is no racer, but an able 

 boat and comfortable in any weather. She 

 has a water tank and pump, a refrigerator 

 on the starboard side of the companionway 

 and a dish locker on the port side. The 

 list may be carried on to an able cutter for 

 $700, a sharpie for $900, another for $400, 

 and scores of centerboard sloops for about 

 $350 each. If one wants to pay $1,000 for 

 a sloop he may get 2 staterooms, a fore- 

 castle, and berths for 5 guests. As for 

 open catboats, they are to be had for $100 

 each, and in some cases for the cost of the 

 mast and mainsail. Who could not afford 

 cheap yachting with prices like these? 



A man of family, or several friends, may 

 organize into a floating community, reduc- 

 ing the exnenses to a minimum and ob- 

 tain on their excursions in a cheap yacht 

 a grand combination of personalities- and 

 ideas. Expensive railroad and steamboat 

 fares are eliminated, journeys along the 

 broad waters of the ever changing and at- 

 tractive Sound may be made, or up the 

 picturesque and placid Hudson, or even 

 along, the mighty stretches of the New 

 England coast. A cruise of this kind will 

 be found more advantageous than camping 

 on shore because the floating home can be 

 so readily moved about. No country in 

 the world has such an elaborate system of 

 canals, incomparable lakes and numerous 

 navigable streams for cruising into the in- 

 terior as this of ours. 



The value of cheap yachting is that the 

 bases of supplies are always handy, and 

 one is not obliged to submit to the extor- 

 tions and inconveniences of the average 

 summer hotel. One may even take his ser- 

 vant along to work and enjoy the recrea- 

 tion. One need not have business con- 

 stantly shoved at him as on shore, and 

 with or without a skipper one's command 

 is supreme. In the morning one may swim 



