June ii, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
943 
Fitting Out. 
After long waiting and planning the time has 
come when yachtsmen can enjoy 'life out of 
doors. The sun has steadily grown higher in 
the heavens until its rays have warmed the earth. 
Under its pleasing influence the trees have put 
on their dainty spring garb. The waters in river 
and sea, too, seem to have become imbued with 
the spirit of spring, and the waves crested with 
foam dance merrily in the sunlight. The dank¬ 
ness of winter has gone. 
For many weeks the several yards where the 
yachts are stored during the dreary days have 
grown more gloomy. The graceful vessels shorn 
of their finery have had to weather the winter 
storms. Their masts have blackened under the 
weather’s influence until they seem like the 
charred limbs of trees swept by a forest fire. 
Their hulls usually so white have become un¬ 
sightly. The white jtaint has cracked, chipped 
and discolored. The bright wood work that in 
summer glistens in the sun has grown dinghy 
VARNISHING THE SPARS. 
and dull and the canvas covers are grimed with 
dirt. The boats look like so many chrysalises 
as they stand on the shores hauled out of the 
reach of the water and propped up by shores 
and blocks to keep them from toppling over, but 
as soon as the bright warm days come, they shed 
their ugly coverings and are arrayed in the dainty 
garb of summer. This transformation means 
lots of hard work, but it is healthy work. It 
enables the yachtsman to shake off the laziness 
of winter.. He breathes fresh air and he grows 
enthusiastic with every effort he puts forth to 
improve his yacht. 
Half the fun of owning a yacht is fitting out. 
There are many owners of yachts who cannot 
afford to hire a crew to put their boats in shape, 
and who would not if they could. They prefer 
to take the covers off in the spring, scrape the 
old paint off,, repair any damaged parts of the 
hull or the interior, overhaul the rigging and 
sails and. then paint and rig the yacht, and so 
get her in shape for sailing or motoring, and 
these men do by their enthusiasm much for the 
sport. 
These are the happy days for those yachtsmen 
who work at them own boats, and understand¬ 
ing this it is easily realized how disappointing 
the weather has been this spring when almost 
every available day has been cold and wet. Just 
now every yacht basin and small yacht club 
along the coast from far down East to the 
Florida Keys is the scene of work and fun, and 
those amateurs who are looking -forward to 
many pleasant sails this summer are taking ad- 
PAINTING THE HULL. 
vantage of every fine minute to get their boats 
in shape, and working with a pleasure that is 
made keener because it is in anticipation of good 
times ahead. 
In fitting out a yacht it is well to select a nice 
fine day for uncovering the boat, and then let 
SCENE AT EXCELSIOR Y. C. 
the fresh wind blow through the hull for a day 
or two before starting work. Then the first 
thing to be done is to clean the hull and wood 
work. This is rather a tedious as well as a dirty 
job. Every bit of the paint must be scraped off, 
and although there are liquid paint removers, the 
best way is to use the painters’ torch which will 
soften the paint and then scrape. After the 
Paint has been removed a careful examination 
should be made of the hull both inside and out¬ 
side. It is possible some decayed wood may be 
found in the planking or in the frames, and this 
decay must be removed and new frames or 
planks put in. If the amateur is not an expert 
carpenter, he can easily engage a man to do this 
work, for him at small cost, but it should be 
done well. It is very probable that the seams 
of the yacht may have opened during the win¬ 
ter s stay on the land and a novice might think 
that the yacht is worthless. I here are two ways 
of remedying this. Often a bucket or two of 
water thrown into the hull will cause the plank¬ 
ing to swell again and take its natural form 
shutting up the openings. If the drying process 
has gone too far it may be well to lower the 
yacht at low tide so that when the water rises 
it will swell the planks again and then the yacht 
can be hauled out and the work proceeded with. 
The hull having been cleaned in this way the 
wood work on deck and the spars must be 
scraped clean of all varnish. A piece of glass 
SCRAPING THE MAST. 
or a thin steel scraper will do the work satis¬ 
factorily, and after the scraping has been done 
sandpaper must be used and used liberally if a 
good finish is to be put on the boat. First a 
coarse sandpaper and then a fine grade should 
be used until the surface is as smooth as glass. 
The hull is then ready for painting, but before- 
applying the paint it may be necessary to use- 
putty to fill the abrasions in the wood. For the 
decks marine glue is best and this should be put 
in liberally between the seams, care being taken 
not to use too much or it will spoil the deck, 
which, on a well-kept yacht, should be spotlessly 
white. 
On the underbodv, that part submerged in the 
water, a special paint is used. Each owner has. 
his favorite. The paint is specially prepared to 
give a very smooth surface and not to foul in 
the warm water of summer. Some paint will 
give a fine surface, but will foul so quickly that 
the yacht must be hauled out every* few weeks 
to be cleaned and repainted. Then the top sides 
must be painted. White is the favorite color, 
but some yachtsmen still keep to black. A black 
yacht looks well, but it needs a lot of care to 
keep it looking well, and black is not nearly so 
cool as white in the hot summer months. 
A good deal of skill is needed to paint the 
top sides so that they shall not look streaky, and 
