Whether a yacht is moored alongside a quay or another vessel, winter storms cause her to do a little rolling, which invariably induces chafing. Unless a vessel is properly protected by fenders, her planksheer and bulwarks are sure to be seriously injured, and to repair this part of a ship is costly in the extreme, especially in regard to the planksheer. Should the planksheer be "shoved up" by contact with the dock or the ship to which she is moored alongside, the damage done could only be properly repaired by the removal of both bulwark and rail. To guard against severe injuries of this kind unceasing vigilance is necessary. If you can induce your skipper to live on board, all the better. In such a case your yacht will be kept in as dainty condition as your wife's boudoir. Snow is very penetrating. It will find its way even through rubber boots. A little leak may at first have no significance. But the leak increases and rot follows, fastenings are corroded and paintwork discolored.
Every vessel afloat suffers more or less from "sweating," caused by the difference between the temperature of the air outside and inside the ship. To obviate this a fire should be kept going; not a furious furnace that would involve a great expenditure of coal, but simply some heating device that gives a moderate amount of warmth all through the ship. Thus, when the owner returns to his yacht in the spring, he will find her sweet and clean, and will never regret the few paltry dollars it has cost him to keep his floating summer home in seagoing condition. The careful skipper will see that his extra help is kept busy, so that not only a casual visitor must compliment her owner on her spick and span condition, but a naval architect or a Lloyd's surveyor can find no flaw or fault to peck at. For, down to her deadwood and timbers, by the application of soap, hot water and plenty of elbow-grease, she is made fit for repainting right down to her keel.
By conservative and preservative methods such as these a yacht's life is prolonged, and she will always fetch her value in the market, the noisome odor of bilge water being unknown.
The foregoing remarks are applicable to pleasure craft that are kept afloat during the winter. It is needless to expatiate on the benefit of hauling out yachts of any size or construction, whether of wood, composite, iron, steel or Tobin bronze or aluminum. The expense of hauling large boats out is considerable, for obvious reasons, and thus it is that yacht owners do not care to incur the cost. This objection does not apply to small craft, which should invariably be landed for the winter and efficiently protected by canvas, or other covering, from the destructive influence of snow and rain. All that has been said above in relation to the storage of sails and gear applies as much to a one-tonner as to the largest pleasure craft afloat.
When we go into the question of steam yachts, no better advice can be given than that contained above, so far as hull and equipment are concerned. It is different when the proper care of machinery is considered. There it is where the services of a loyal and skillful engineer come into full play. Unless sufficient attention is paid to a vessel's boilers and engines during the critical time when she reposes in dock, disastrous results, entailing vast expenditure, are sure to follow. The complicated and ingenious mechanism which propels the modern steam yacht requires devoted regard. Very expensive when new, repairs during their second season, if in any way neglected in the winter, call for the resources of the purse of a Crœsus. In matters of this kind the old adage which relates to a stitch in time should be noted by the prudent yacht owner. Thus it is that an engineer and a sufficient staff should be kept on the pay roll in the winter for economic reasons alone. By this means extravagant bills for unnecessary repairs will be avoided. The engineer will take pride in his work and do justice to a liberal employer.
It is well known that engineers can only become acquainted with the true capacity of machinery by long and careful study. Statistics have proved that marine engines in the navy under the direction of good men have been run with less coal, less oil and greater working power year by year when the same man has had control of the engine-room. All of which means less strain on the owner's bank account.
Lincoln's famous aphorism about the unwisdom of swapping horses when crossing a stream applies with great precision to skippers and engineers. It takes time for the most masterly and adroit captain to become acquainted with the peculiar idiosyncrasies of a vessel, for it is true that each one has her own individuality, and it takes time to comprehend her. In this they much resemble the fair sex. It is a case of whip and spur on one hand, and saddle and bridle on the other. Which is to wield the whip or wear the saddle is a question between captain and ship. The struggle is sometimes a long one, but in the end mind conquers matter.
The captain, as in the case of Gen. Paine and the Mayflower, eventually gets the hang of her, brings her into a state of submission, and compels her to become a cup winner. The engineer in his own sphere accomplishes similar results. His machinery runs with the regularity of a chronometer. His owner's bills for coal and oil are confined within reasonable limits. There are no breakdowns. His firemen implicitly obey his orders, and all goes well in engine-room and stoke-hold.
If these few practical suggestions and hints prove of any service to yachtsmen, captains and engineers, the writer will feel happy. He has simply touched on the limits of a wide and fertile subject that might be expatiated upon at a large expense of paper and printer's ink.