Before launching your boat in the spring all the seams should be cleaned free of old paint and lead, and if any of the old caulking is loose or hanging out it should be removed and replaced with new and all seams, rough spots and nail head holes should then be filled with white lead or marine glue before painting.
Don’t drive the caulking too tightly into the seams when the boat is dry and don’t fill the seams flush with the glue or lead. Leave a little hollow along every seam as otherwise, when the boat swells in the water, the caulking and filling will be forced out and will either flake off or will present rough, irregular surfaces to the water and will thus take a great deal from the speed of the boat.
It is a good plan to pour a quantity of water into the boat a few days before launching as this will swell the planks and if any leaks exist you can find them before placing the boat overboard.
Before painting any part of the boat, all the old, loose, dry or rough paint should be scraped and sandpapered smooth and if it is in very bad shape it should be burned off by a torch, or removed by some good paint- and varnish-remover until the smooth surface of the wood is exposed.
Use only the very best paint and varnish for the boat, for cheap, poor paints and varnishes are worse than nothing on a boat, and the very best is the cheapest in the end. Use very little turpentine and still less dryer in the paint, for while paint mixed with oil alone may dry slowly, it will last far longer than paint with a great deal of turpentine or dryer. Haste makes waste in everything connected with a boat.
Aside from the care of the hull there are the masts, sails and rigging to be looked after. The masts and spars should be scraped and sandpapered, varnished with two coats of the best spar-varnish and allowed to dry thoroughly.
Standing rigging should be overhauled. Any frayed or worn parts should be renewed, the metal parts should be cleaned free of rust or corrosion and painted and new running rigging should be rove through the blocks if the old ropes are frayed, rotten, worn or weak. The blocks should all be looked over; broken ones should be replaced and sheaves should be oiled and turned until they move easily on their bearings.
The sails should be spread out; all torn or frayed spots mended and if reef points, earrings or other ropes on the sails are ravelled, frayed or worn, they should be replaced.
If the sails are mildewed, dirty or discolored, they should be scrubbed with good soap and water and bleached in the sun. Finally all stays and other rigging should be tightened up.
The boat’s equipment should also be overhauled and put in first-class shape. A good time to attend to this is while the paint and varnish are drying.