Evening star., 1936-05-02
By TeSta Cummings

battles Tor recOgnltlon IN
swirl of sound which means that
Washington'S feet of private pleasure
craft is being prepared for another
season.
The ear, Of course, is not the only
organ through which filters the story
of tremendous activity. The nose
catches it, too, in the smell of paint.
tar. varnish and freshly scraped wood;
and the eye in the hustle and hustle
of men, women and children scamper-
ing over decks and docks on the way
to Summer afioat.
1t will be a big Summer on the
Potomac.
Fifteen years ago I knew the
name and history of every boat on
the river" says DR.. Harry w. Smith.
feet captain of the Corinthian Yacht
Club, but now I don't know some of
the members of my own club. When
I took to the water as a hobby there
we're only 200 or 800 cruisers and SAIL
boats around these parts. Now about
5000 are registered from Washing
ton.
the Districts maritime week-ending
souadrons was then from $1,000 to
$500 Now, although the majority
are still small, several anchored IN
the harbor are worth around 100000"
The season opens with the Spring
marine dress parade around Halrs
Point and the Speedway and up and
down the river. some time this month,
and closes officially with an illuml-
mated parade in September. Mean
while hundreds of citizens live on
their boats through the hot months
and all other owners rush to their
floating Summer cottages soon after
! o'clock Saturday to weigh anchors
for the breezy blue channels and
verdant coves of the friendly river.
They do not tie-up along the water
front and batten down the matches
against thunderstorms and Summer
heat again until night has fallen
Sunday.
Annual Spring overhaul has reached
It's noisiest peak at docks and yards.
One hears the rasp of scrapers on
bilge strakes, the pulse of motors
being tuned to steady beat, the
wooden thump of caulking malletS,
the singing of saws and ringing OF
axes, with an undertone of signing
sandpaper, slapping paint brushes
and the tapping of fresh Spring waves
against hundreds of hulls, tossing on
the icy temperatures OF the past
Winter.
ONE catches the half-forgotten
" melodies of footsteps hurrying
along plank wharves and gangWays
and sidewalks, as eager owners ar
rive at the river to remove canvas
shrouds from their beloved craft and
take stock of the damages of weather
and food.
A red piledriver, pouring black
smoke from its funnel, groans and
fuses while pounding piles into the
floor of the river, creating new
anchorage for shining craft delivered
daily from manufacturers. They will
eleam no brighter than the older
boats, however. The small boat
yachtsman, assisted by club workmen,
youngsters, is putting his boat In con-
dition for Summer cruising. Sailing
veterans of many stiff Potomac gale
and thunder squalls will join the
Spring parade, rendered so spanking
clean and new by loving hands, that
the new craft will smack the spray
no more proudly nor lift their pen
nants higher to the breeze.
The aromatic scent of cedar shaw
ings strikes the nostrils along the
wharves, the pungency Of turpentine
and brass polish, and faint salty
odors may be whitfield near craft that
sailed to Florida last Winter. The
smell of tar, freshly applied to lines,
mingles with the essence OF clean oil
on valve springs and cylinder-head
bolts, stretched in orderly array on
tiny decks.
Sailboat mariners with furrowed
brows are seen examining, inch by
inch. acres of canvas stretched on
the dock, and committing narrowing
feats of athletic prowess at the JOB
of rerigging.
Capt. Homer B. Millard who was
lost 500 miles of the Carolina coast
last season in his 69-foot schooner
Kaydet, is seen preparing his sail
boat Beany.
THE Capital hobby feet, lined up
- and straining at its moorings'
ready to hit the foam again, is reml-
niscent of thoroughbreds prancing at
the starting post. Their names might
belong to race horses. too-SkylarK,
Fifty-Fifty. Decoy. Sea Jay, Gunboat,
Ali Babi, Manatee and Skip.
Reftting begins with getting covers
off the boat if she has been laid up
in the open, or clearing away room
for work II she is in shed. Fortu-
nately, scrubbing the boat from stem
to stern must be done first, while the
owner is in the peak of preseason
enthusiasm, for scraping and sand
papering a copper-painted bottom ana
applying suds of caustic soap to
many square yards of stained and
srimy topside, is dirty job. requir-
ing not only muscle, but fervor.
The skipper seldom skimps on his
'brightwork." Should he start the
long process Of scraping down to the
hare wood or compromise with sand
papering and q couple of layers OF
varnish? Few navigators of the
MOSQUITO fleet are able to resist the
lure of a new surface annually.
After putty and caulking have been
applied to rough and weakened weams
and scraped smooth every inch OF
the hull is sanded down to such
faultless surface that toddling infant
may caress it without picking up a
splinter. At this point the owners
fingers are likely to be in bad con-
dition. But he applies ointment to
his outraged Office hands at night
and starts painting the next day.
Two coats of fiat white" are
usually applied above the water line,
followed by the final gloss Of enamel