Fittings for His Yacht. 
His ambition was at last gratified. He owned 
a yacht. It had been his longing for many 
years, and as often as he stepped on the deck 
of some friend’s yacht he had vowed that some 
day he would own one himself, and the oppor¬ 
tunity had come at last. He could wear the 
crossed anchors on his yachting cap and be 
addressed as captain, and the two stripes and 
trefoil on his coat sleeves would indicate his 
rank in his club and he would be accorded 
proper respect in other clubs. True, it was 
only a small yacht, a sloop; but nevertheless 
he owned it. This fact was properly recorded 
in the Yacht Register, and he ranked equally 
with such men as C. Oliver Iselin, J. Rogers 
Maxwell, W. Butler Duncan, Jr., G. M. Pyn- 
chon, Robert W. Emmons 2d, and others who 
have owned and sailed famous vessels. 
The register recorded that his yacht was 
named New Moon. It gave the rig, dimensions 
and other details of the yacht, its owner’s name 
and list of his clubs. It also told who had de¬ 
signed and built the yacht and the date of the 
building. It is said that the New Moon was 
a keel sloop, 26 feet over all, 18 feet 3 inches 
on the waterline, 6 feet 6 inches beam and 4 
feet 10 inches draft. This read very attractively 
to the owner, and he was so proud of the record 
that he paid $6 for the Register, so that he 
might show it to his friends and be able to study 
the names of those who were in his company 
in the book. 
Now, a yacht only 18 feet long on the water- 
line does not have an abundance of room on 
board. This particular yacht had been built 
for racing, and so had been made rather small. 
Still, the New Moon had a cabin. The rules 
under which she was constructed required this, 
and the cabin was 6 feet 6 inches long, 3 feet 8 
inches from floor to roof, and it had two tran¬ 
soms 20 inches wide. Between these two tran¬ 
soms the space was 18 inches wide and the 
total area of the floor was 9 square feet. By 
doubling up one might get into this cabin, and 
then, if not too tall, could sit on the transom. 
Even when sitting on this transom one’s head 
was very close to the deck beams and a little 
forgetfulness might cause some soreness. 
The owner was very proud of his yacht, and 
during the winter he frequently visited the yard 
where it was laid up and dreamed of the many 
happy times he was to have in the season and 
the possibility of winning some hard fought 
races. He planned to have the yacht thoroughly 
overhauled and painted white. 
Now, if one really wishes to feel that he is 
of some importance in this world, he should 
own a yacht. Never mind its size, so long as 
it is a yacht and is properly registered. Par¬ 
ticularly this season of the year, when yachts¬ 
men are looking forward to the approaching 
season, the owner will find that he has risen 
appreciably in the estimation of others. This 
will be shown by the size of his mail, and he 
will find that many others are taking an interest 
in him and in his yacht, and that they are very 
solicitious about his comfort and about the 
fitting on his yacht. 
One morning in his mail this yachtsman found 
a letter addressed to him personally. It was 
from the builder of a marine gasolene motor. 
The letter was not one of those turned out in 
large numbers with the name inserted after¬ 
ward, but was neatly written on regulation 
letter paper and asked if the owner had ever 
considered the advantages of making his yacht 
an auxiliary? Then it lauded the particular 
motor and explained how easily it could be in¬ 
stalled, and what little space it would occupy. 
It could be put under the cockpit floor and 
handled by the helmsman. The writer then 
asked to be allowed to furnish an estimate of 
equipping the New Moon with such a motor. 
All this sounded very nice, but the owner had 
been brought up in the old school. He had 
graduated as a sailor and did not want to use 
a motor boat, and while appreciating that the 
auxiliary had advantages he decided to keep the 
New Moon a sailing craft, and so wrote, thank¬ 
ing the motor man for his suggestion, but de¬ 
clined for the present to make any changes in 
his yacht. 
It was not very long after this that he re¬ 
ceived another letter. This time it was written 
on handsomely embossed stationery. Again it 
was personal and was from the manager of a 
firm that makes player pianos. This letter said 
that Commodore Arthur Curtiss James, Com¬ 
modore George J. Gould, Commodore J. Pier- 
pont Morgan, Colonel Oliver H. Payne, W. K. 
Vanderbilt and Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry 
had placed this particular piano on their palatial 
yachts. These pianos had given great satis¬ 
faction, as testimonials from the owners of the 
yachts would show. The letter also called at¬ 
tention to the fact that King Edward, the Czar 
of Russia, the German Emperor and other 
monarchs were particularly pleased with these 
player pianos, which did so much to make life 
a pleasure on board a yacht. The writer said 
that under separate cover he had sent one of 
their handsomely illustrated catalogues, and that 
he had also taken the liberty of sending a rep¬ 
resentative to.call on the yachtsman with a view 
to having a piano of the player kind installed 
on the New Moon. 
This letter caused some wonderment. At first 
he was in doubt if the New Moon he had seen 
was really the yacht he owned. He could not 
imagine that the piano and engine builders 
would take so much trouble about an 18-foot 
sloop. Then having satisfied himself that there 
was no mistake about the yacht, he wondered 
if it were possible to have a player piano on 
board and by no stretch of imagination could 
he figure that a piano could be got into his 
small cabin, and even if it were placed there, it 
was doubtful if the yacht would still float. 
The agent called and the yachtsman listened 
to all he told him about the piano and how 
delightful it would be to be able to entertain 
friends on the yacht with all the operas, classical 
music or even ragtime if their tastes ran that 
way. The agent was a most plausible talker, 
and when the yachtsman told him that he was 
really fond of music, and that there was really 
only one thing that deterred him from having 
a piano on the New Moon, this agent at once 
imagined that it was a matter of payment and 
replied, “You know you can really make your 
own terms. You can pay a certain amount 
down and the balance as it suits you.” 
“No,” said the yachtsmen deliberately, “it is 
not a matter of money. I have wondered if it 
would not be easier to put the New Moon in 
one of your pianos than to put the piano in 
the New Moon.” 
Another letter was from a firm that makes 
a specialty of china and glassware for yachts. 
This, again addressed personally, said, “Re¬ 
cently we sent you a booklet, ‘An Open Secret,’ 
describing our special facilities for equipping 
yachts with china, glass and silver table services. 
We wish again to direct your attention to the 
fact that our broad experience in this particular 
class of work is at your disposal. We believe 
that we are in a better position than any other 
house in America to meet your requirements.” 
The letter then told of table service which 
bore monograms, crests, signals or colors, and 
asked that the firm be allowed to execute a 
sample piece without any cost or obligation to 
the yachtsman and submit it, feeling sure that 
the prices quoted would compel his interest. 
Now, this was something like. To have his 
own china and glass decorated with his flag 
and the flag of his club and the name New 
Moon on each piece, he realized would be quite 
up to date. Then he again realized the size o£ 
the yacht. He had no galley and no china 
closet and there was no room where one might 
be placed, so he reluctantly gave up the idea. 
A stockless anchor was the next thing offered, 
and the fine holding qualities of this anchor 
were described. It was explained, too, how 
easily this anchor was handled and stowed away. 
Later the yachtsman realized that a 12-pound! 
anchor attached to a thin rope was all he re¬ 
quired on the New Moon, and that a stock¬ 
less anchor on the yacht’s bow would put her 
down to the danger point. 
Everyone knows how objectionable oil lamps 
are on a yacht. They have to be cleaned and' 
tended carefully or they will smoke, and unless- 
this work is done systematically, the lamps are 
never ready when wanted. There must always- 
be a riding light when at anchor and side lights 
when under way. A suggestion was made to 
the yachtsman that an acetylene plant should 
be installed on the yacht. It told how the tank 
could be placed in he bow or under the cabin 
floor and the lights would make the yacht as 
brilliant as day. It was shown that cooking 
could be done with this gas, and pictures of the 
fixtures and stoves were submitted. 
Another firm sent elaborate pictures of a 
vessel that had its lobbies, passageways, stair¬ 
ways, pilot house and smoking room floored 
with its rubber tiling and asked to be allowed 
to make estimates on the New Moon. Its ad¬ 
vantages, so the letter said, were many. “Its. 
non-slippery features alone would recommend 1 
its use on boats, and the straining of the deck 
or vibration will not cause it to break or bulge,”' 
the letter said. 
Following this came a letter from a manu¬ 
facturer of an electric searchlight operated by 
a storage battery. “Imagine standing at the 
wheel of your boat,” said the letter, “holding 
it with your right hand and having in your left 
a searchlight which you can point in any di¬ 
rection. If your ear tells you that things are 
not going right at the motor you can, without 
losing control of the boat, flood the engine with 
light. If you want to signal to the shore or 
to another .boat, take this lamp and use it with 
the regulation code wigwag sjgnals.” 
Another firm wanted to submit bids for in¬ 
terior fittings. It told of the handsome wood 
paneling that could be used and submitted a 
catalogue. Still another wished to equip the 
yacht with handsome hangings and upholster- 
ings, and another wanted to furnish table and 
bed linen, all of which would bear the flag of 
the owner or his monogram. 
Then came letters from spar makers, riggers, 
sail makers, paint and varnish men. Others 
wanted to supply the yacht with liquid refresh¬ 
ments the owner would need for himself and 
for the entertainment of his friends. 
Now, the New Moon sails in a class which, 
according to the rules, must be handled alto¬ 
gether by amateurs, no professionals being 
allowed. One of the last letters received began 
by saying, “In the matter of uniforms for crew 
of your yacht, if you have not been satisfied 
in the past, we would be glad to furnish esti¬ 
mates, etc.” 
The yachtsman of late has done a lot of think¬ 
ing and has come to the conclusion that Amer¬ 
ican business men are hustlers, but they waste 
lots of energv because they da not study things 
quite enough. They would save money for 
themselves and time for yacht owners if they 
would look a little further in tlie egister and 
find out if the owner has a yacht sufficiently 
large to use the things they are trying to sell.. 
