Before the sails are put on or bent, it will be advisable to paint the yacht. A coat of paint should have been given to the inside of hull as well as under side of deck, to prevent the wood from becoming water-soaked in case of leakage.
Custom has rigidly prescribed the colors for the exterior of a yacht, above the water line; either black or white, with a narrow gold line below the gunwale, being universally employed. Below the water line greater latitude may be given to individual taste; either dark green, brown, or black, may be used, according to the preference of the owner.
The greatest pains are taken to keep the bottom of a racing yacht in the smoothest possible condition. It is usually covered with black-lead and polished to the utmost degree. This treatment is often renewed three or four times in the course of a season.
The mast should not be painted, but stained a bright yellow, with a little raw sienna in oil. When dry it should be shellacked; in fact, the latter will form a good coating for the painted surface of the hull as well. If the shellac be thick, it may of itself stain the mast to a sufficient extent, but in that case—if thick—it should not be used on the white hull. The short space where the mainmast and topmast overlap each other should be painted the color of the hull. The bowsprit should be the color of the hull, and the jib-boom stained like the masts. The deck may be painted with white, to which enough sienna has been added to give it a buff tint.
The prow, or upper portion of stem just below the bowsprit, is usually carved and gilded; and the stem is occasionally decorated in like manner; but although there seems to be no limit to the increasing richness and elegance of the interior of our American yachts, the tendency of the time leads more and more toward a severely plain and quiet treatment of the exterior.
A yacht always carries a little triangular flag at the topmast-head called the “burgee.”
A schooner yacht, of course, flies two of them, one at each mast-head. These are simultaneously hauled down at the moment of sunset. A national flag, called the “ensign,” is generally hoisted at the peak of the mainsail.
These instructions apply equally well to the papier-maché boats described at page 90, which have the advantages of lightness and ease of construction.
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