The Power Cruiser's Pilot By Bradford Burnham Illustrated with Original Photographs $1.00 The Penton Publishing Co. Cleveland, Ohio 1916 Copyright, 191 C> by The Penton Publishing Co. Cleveland, Ohio All Rights Reserved MAR 30 1916 A427452 Foreword Cruising is a royal sport with wonderful oppor- tunities for obtaining health, happiness and character development. Shattered nerves or strained eyes are made whole again by rest and wholesome work afloat in a small boat. Enjoyment of life is made keener and deeper by intimate association with quiet pool and crested sea. A finer appreciation of Nature's power and grandeur is awakened by the touch of the wave. A spirit of unselfishness and an eagerness to do one's share of the work is stimulated by a zest and spice which only the water can give, while an atmosphere of good fellowship and comradeship at- tends the intimate life aboard the cruiser. Finally, the element of danger, often present, draws men closer to each other and to the big things of the universe. Like everything worth while the value received from cruising depends upon how it is done. To get the most out of a cruise it must be done in the right way. In this little book it has been my aim to help others, particularly beginners, cruise right. The advice given is practical, not theoretical, for it has been based on my own experience gained in cruises in all types of power craft and on every kind of water. I am hoping that in some small way these pages may help fellow cruisers to make of their cruise an orderly, comfortable vacation, instead of a dismal nightmare in which everything goes wrong. Bradford Burn ham. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I — The Pure Joy of Cruising 11 CHAPTER II — Some Aspects of Cruising 25 CHAPTER III— The Boat 39 CHAPTER IV— Equipment .57 CHAPTER V — Some Good Cruising Waters 73 L / S T O F /LLC S I R A T I O N S PAGE The Author in Cruising Togs 8 It is not Uncommon to see Steam Yachts of the Older Types Converted into Gasoline Cruisers 12 Good Fellowship is a Feature of Every Cruise 16 Franzes — A 61-Foot Mississippi River Cruiser with Shoal Draft and All the Comforts of a House Boat 20 The Family Launch for Comfort Has Its Devotees. .. . 23 A 70-Foot Tunnel Stern Cruiser, Designed for Florida Service 26 When the Boys are Aboard, Everybody is Happy 28 Canal Cruising Attracts the Timid Mariner 33 Southern Channels are Marked with Finger Stakes... 34 Sometimes the Bridge Deck is Enclosed in the Form of a Pilot House 36 The Modern Runabout Has Divided Seats and Tonneau Features Similar to the High-Grade Automobile... 40 Good for Calm Days and Quiet Waters 42 A Wave-Collecting Runabout at 30 Miles an Hour.... 45 Comfort Can Be Easily [mprovised on a Small Boat... 46 \ Splendid Type of Hunting Cabin Cruiser, Staunch Enough for Extended Trips 48 The Author \.\i> His Cruiser, Querida, en Jacksonville Harbor 50 ( Iutward Bound 52 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS CONTINUED PAGE A Combination Raised Deck and Trunk Cabin Cruiser, Built for Slow Speed and Seagoing Service 54 It is Surprising How Much Duffle a 25-Foot Cruiser Will Carry 56 Where Hunger Provides the Sauce 59 Navigating Under Difficulties 63 Storm Curtains Make the Bridge Warm and Com- fortable 65 The Harbor Buoy — Where is It ? 66 Wash Day on the Cruise 70 A Hitch Behind 74 The Auxiliary Cruiser Affords Deck Room for All Hands 76 A Bell Buoy 78 A Bit of Shade Along the Delaware and Chesapeake Canals 80 What the Cruiser Goes South for 82 Not Much Chance for Making Speed in These South Carolina Swamps 84 Out to Sea with a Fresh Breeze, the Auxiliary is Supreme 86 Pilgrim Monument at Provincetown, Overlooking Mas- sachusetts Bay 90 The author in cruising togs The Power Cruiser's Pilot CHAPTER I— THE PURE JOY OF CRUISING Someone has cleverly defined the much abused term "sport", as the pursuit of- pleasurable occupation which requires the exercise of all bodily muscles, judgment, skill of hand, foot and eye ; never to be followed without a degree of personal risk. Such a narrow definition includes football, mountain climing, hunting and canoeing, the handling of horses, the handling of boats — and not much else. And with each in its fullest measure, there must also be a thorough understanding of, and consequently a genuine love for, the particular sport indulged in. As the master understands and loves the horse he has trained, so the skipper understands and loves the boat beneath him, whether she be a rusted-plated, paint- patched, worn-out tramp, or a graceful, haughty yacht, adorned with gleaming brasswork, bright, rich teak- wood, and white-gowned women ; whether she be a stub-nosed, fish-soaked cat-boat, or a mite of a home- made, ridiculous power boat, equipped with a gentle and whimsical "one-lunger", which delivers desultory and homeopathic propulsion upon occasion. It is because of this vast range in the varieties of boats, together with the inevitable constant association with the sea in its ever-changing and ever-new moods and phases, with its consequent demand at all times for a human mastery over the grandest force of nature, that the handling of sail and power boats is raised to a higher plane than other sports less exacting of skill ; 11 The Power Cruiser's Pilot less personal in tone. ( )iic who docs not feel the wild exhilaration of the leaping craft, guided by a touch Upon the wheel that is sure and strong, through the Spume-tipped crested seas to the quiet, sheltered haven has no battle tire within him. The life of one who does not love the sea is as incomplete as that of one who has no ear for music. It is not uncommon to see steam yachts of the older types converted into gasoline cruisers Inspiration must indeed he dead within the one who i- not thrilled by the "spice" of the sea ; when on the wings of the half-gale is borne the tang of the spindrift upon set face, the rush of the crested wave when pierced by the sharp stem so that the sparkling water is split in two and hurled far to port and Starboard, 12 The Pure Joy of Cruising with a myriad of shimmering drops, salty tasting, showered upon the struggling pygmy at the tiny wheel, and the ''Mother Murphy", of white foam, and boiling, purling water underneath the speeding bows. Or, again, can any soul fail to feel inspired by that moon- less night, when the heavens were studded with stars ever so brilliant and ever so thickly strewn, making it light above, but very dark on the water, when with the wild sou'wester on your quarter you ran for the bright, white light, flashing hope and cheer through the darkness, and indicating' the little harbor which you sought? Then, indeed, you blessed the honest work- manship of your craft, praised the skill of her de- signer, and rejoiced in your own understanding of seamanship. For failure or incompetency in any of these things would have meant disaster. And when at last you raced by the light you had steered for so long, turned sharply up behind the protecting sand-spit, and let the mud hook splash cheerily in the black, still water, how good the quiet seemed, how pleasant the sounds ashore of a dog barking or a girl singing, with far beyond the distant thunder of the breakers on the bar! While the old-time sailing master and the devotee to the sailing yacht resents the invasion of the power boat, and scorns the gasoline cruiser's assertion that he, too, can gain from the sea and his craft a sport equal to that of his sail boat cousin, the power boat has certain immense advantages for business and pleasure which the boat dependent solely upon the vagaries of wind can never hope to attain. It is true, that the handling of a power boat, especially in heavy weather, cannot compete in skill and knowledge with what is required for the successful management of the boat with canvas. To some, too, there is more romance and poetry to the wind-driven craft bruising the waters with lee rail under, than to the melody of a never- 13 The Power Cruiser's Pilot faltering piece of cleverly constructed machinery, a human invention, whose rhythmic syncopation comes as music to the anxious mariner's ears, returning after the crash and turmoil of a boarding, tumbling sea is passed, and the treacherous inlet safely entered. Remember, however, on the sailing craft, the lee rail is not always beneath the surface ! Sometimes there isn't any lee rail, and your anger waxes while your patience wanes at your utter helplessness in the dead calm. Nowadays, when time is money so very fre- quently, the value of the power boat with its greater speed and reliability, has been quickly appreciated by those who ply the water for business purposes, and also, to a large extent, by those who ride the sea for pleasure also. So long as nobody invents a cheaper power than the wind, the sailing craft will not entirely disappear — and that date is happily likely to never come — but for the man who wishes to cruise to certain points with a reasonable degree of certainty of getting there within the time set, the power boat is the only practical craft. Auxiliary Cruiser is Eminently Practical Unquestionably for a very great number of purposes, a combination of wind and mechanical power is highly desirable, and in the modern auxiliary we have a boat eminently practical for certain kinds of cruising. With this mutual assistance rendered by the dual-power there is gained much economy and a greater degree of safety. For certain purposes, the sail boat with auxiliary motor is the only proper craft ; for others, the power boat, with an auxiliary sailing rig of one kind or another will be found the most suitable. In many instances the personal taste of the owner can be the determining factor. But in general, the out-and-out auxiliary, that is, the boat which is pre-eminently a 14 The Pure Joy of Cruising sail boat, especially when designed for the yawl or ketch rig, is the correct craft for extensive off-shore cruises, such as to the Canadian provinces, the West Indies, or the Pacific coast ; while the out-and-out power cruiser, with a sailing rig heavy enough to with- stand the average storm, and give the boat steerageway in an emergency, is the best type of craft for ordinary cruising along our coasts, upon the Great Lakes, and such popular, semi-protected bodies of water as Long Island sound, Chesapeake bay and the inland waters of Carolina, as well as' for the big river, the Hudson, the Mississippi, the St. John's where the slower speed and deeper draught of the auxiliary would be a handi- cap, at times insurmountable. Change the Real Vacation To get a real vacation, one should experience a change of people and a change of scene. A person is more apt to think of the latter than of the former, yet is not the other equally true? The more complete and radical the changes, the greater the benefits recur- ring from the vacation; the greater the pleasures found in it. With the power cruiser, this is readily attainable, no matter where your home mooring may be. For the power boat owner has an independence rarely afforded other mortals. His boat is ready at his beck and call to take him where he will and when he will. He may stay as long as he will, then go on. He may hurry; he may linger. He may visit the conventional, the usual, the common centers of social life, entering into it when he wills and ever able to retire from it to the privacy of his craft. Or, he may explore the remote, the unusual, where people are real and genuine, and where there is no dross and no veneer. Here he lays aside his white collar and other conventionalities, and is permitted the freedom of old clothes and the 15 The Power Cruiser's Pilot I 16 The Pure Joy of Cruising absence of the restraints which have irked him at home. In short, he can get down to nature, both ashore and afloat, and do some real living. To my mind the most interesting scenes and people are those not reached by the railroad, and seldom reached by anybody. You've seen the spots in Maine. I know of one in Carolina. They regarded our little craft — incidentally, the first outside boat to enter their harbor in three years, as a vehicle from another planet, and watched us silently, with big, staring eyes. At last, one of them, growing bold, asks if we have seen Niagara Falls and Coney Island, and whether we know their Jim, who works in a fish market in the Bronx. They listen to our tales with wonder and incredulity, too polite to call us liars. Then, inbred southern hospitality asserts itself, and we go ashore in a queer little boat, to eat a still queerer supper in a tiny, dark, log cabin. There are no hogs on the streets because the "bars have kotched" them all, and there is no wagon road or railroad through the dense, impenetrable pine forest behind them. It is with a new feeling that we finally bid farewell to this isolated community, where the people are happy and orderly, fishing four months of the year ; w r here lawyers are not needed, and where children are born without a physi- cian's help, as on the steppes of Russia — all within a hundred or so miles of Norfolk. Truly, what would you have taken for the experience? Unusual Incidents Make Cruising Worth While Such incidents as these help to make cruising worth while, and make the retrospection enjoyable and linger- ing. And there will live in memory also the countless other pleasant incidents of the cruise, the disagreeable features invariably vanishing first with time, while the pleasant features grow with the size of the fish you 17 The Power Cruiser's Pilot caught, till finally they become lost in the anticipations of your next cruise which have supplanted them. And so life attended by a regular home routine becomes bearable! You can pay the milliner and the milkman with better grace, and tackle the problem of lifting that mortgage with renewed energy, even if in the end the mortgage remains and you install a new engine instead. Of course, even with a power boat there are cruising limits, imposed by time and expense, two very active agents that rush in and refuse to be silenced. One cannot do much to get the better of the time limit ; except by getting a faster boat and rising earlier in the morning can he make his cruise longer within a given time. And such a course is emphatically not recommended beyond reasonable bounds. Otherwise, you will return home with the feeling of a six-day bicycle racer on the last lap ! Patience and more modest ambitions are better substitutes. Expense Becomes Less with Experience As to the expense, the longer you cruise the cheaper and more economically will you cruise. You will know how to cajole discounts out of dealers, and eliminate commissions in the purchase of supplies. You will know the value of carrying your own repair plant with you so far as possible, and shunning the professional boat yard as completely as you are able. You will know how to beach your small boat properly for painting or packing the stuffing box, and thus save the cost of hauling-out. You will know that self-mixed paint is cheaper and better than ready-mixed — when you know how. You will know that it is better to carry the dink than to tow it, and that when it is not prac- tical to carry it, you will not need a spring balance to show that it tows easier on the crest of the second 18 The Pure Joy of Cruising or third wave of your wake than elsewhere. You will know that the need for a pilot is seldom as urgent as the pilot claims. And you will know that the law is very broad on salvage claims and so will accept assist- ance, when in a tight hole, only as a last resort. Such items are for the most part of minor im- portance and others involve circumstances rarely met with. There are one or two other considerations of expense, however, that are of first importance. Per- haps the very first consideration which the prospective purchaser of a new or second-hand power boat should bear in mind is the question of the cost of operation. Too large a craft is an enormous burden. Not only is it more awkward to handle, but the labor required in keeping the boat in respectable commission and in operating it, is vastly more. The cost of operating a power boat increases with the size at an alarming and wholly disproportionate rate. When it is remembered that a small boat, properly designed and properly built, is just as seaworthy as a large one, if intelligently handled, and when it is remembered that really com- modious accommodations for living can now be secured on a craft no more than 35 or 40 feet long, over all, it is clear that the odds are all in favor of the smaller boat, except in the case where there is no need for financial considerations. In two boats of the same size there is often found a considerable difference in the respective costs of operation. Aside from the fact that some owners, on account of experience or inclination, are able to reduce expenses materially by themselves doing the work which other owners hire done — even to the entire operation of the boat without any professional paid hands — the chief difference in the costs is due to the respective power plants of the two boats. In the case of the lower horsepowers, this brings up a discussion of two and four-cycle engines, concerning the re- 19 The Power Cruiser's Pilot •3 S ^ 20 The Pure Joy of Cruising spective merits of which one may argue till the; cows come home. It is, of course, generally conceded that two-cycle engines "eat up" more gas per horsepower per hour than their cousins that explode every other revolution only; to which the two-cycle fraternity reply that their cost is so much less than that of four-cycle engines, that this difference is more than made up for. There is also the question of repairs to be considered, the two-cycle engine being the simpler, and therefore the easier for an amateur to keep in good running order. Added Speed is Obtained at High Cost It is a power boat axiom that beyond a certain point the increase of speed per added horsepower is entirely disproportionate to the increase of cost and consump- tion of gasoline ; while, furthermore, with every added horsepower beyond a certain point the additional amount of speed obtained with the same hull is very small, and in some cases negligible. Time and again ambi- tious owners have been disappointed to find that a substitution of an engine sometimes even of twice the. horsepower previously used, gives them very little addi- tional speed — and very considerable more expense. It is better to be satisfied with a good, fair speed of ten or eleven knots, and think of the coin and perhaps the superior living accommodations, with absence of vibra- tion, obtained thereby. While on this question of fuel, it is pertinent to remark that large fuel capacity is a positive saving to the cost of operation — much outweighing the slight additional cost of the installation of larger tanks — by permitting one to purchase his gasoline only at the larger supply stations, where it may be obtained cheaper than at the tanks of the smaller, branch stations, or dealers, where another man's profit has often been 21 The Power Cruiser's Pilot added onto the consumer's price. At the big tanks, too, the fuel is likely to be cleaner and freer of water and sediment than at the smaller depots. There would be quite a saving, for example, to anyone cruising from New York to Miami, if he need take on gasoline only at Jersey City, Norfolk, Charleston and Jacksonville, than if he had to stop also for it at a lot of small towns between each of these cities. There is additional safety, too, in having a big cruising radius, especially when on long outside runs, where one may have to heave-to or run before a storm. Small Boat is Safe to Cruise in There has been a great deal of warm air floating about the piazzas of yacht clubs where the growlers and stay-at-homes are wont to congregate, on the high cost of power boat cruising. This is due chiefly to the mistaken notion regarding the size of the boat neces- sary for extensive cruising. It has been my fortune to take a 2,500-mile cruise, much of it outside, in a 25-footer; as well as several 1,000-mile cruises in a 22-foot open boat. On none of these cruises were we ever in anything like the danger and peril which featured a certain run down the coast in a 90-footer when we butted into the edge of a West India hurri- cane off the North Carolina coast. This is merely an illustration of the folly of fear to stray from protected waters because your boat is "too small". Cruising with a small boat and three congenial souls, whose gastronomic tastes are not too fancy and whose hearts are satisfied with a run of a thousand miles in a month, is quite possible at a cost of one dollar a day. It sounds like an absurdity to many to conceive of the possibility, for instance, of traveling from New York to Norfolk and back by power boat, over some of the finest and most interesting cruising 22 The Pure Joy of Cruising waters in the country, at a cost of a dollar a day. Yet we have "been there", and know. A "Dollar-a-Day" Cruise We started from Norwich, Conn., and took the inside route to Norfolk, returning by the same courses, except that we omitted Baltimore — the total distance run being 1,150 miles. We had a 22-foot open boat, but had adapted it for sleeping on board — hard board, too ! The family launch for com- fort has its devotees The little 4j^-horsepower Lathrop consumed 155 gal- lons of gasoline, a rate of seven and two-thirds miles per gallon. At an average price of 16 cents a gallon our fuel cost us, therefore, $24. Oil and extra parts brought the engine cost up to around $25. Canal tolls removed $21 from us with alacrity, while another $8.50 went for some repairs and towage charges. Our pro- visions for the meals we cooked aboard cost us $12, leaving a margin of $23.50 for meals ashore, hotels and sundries, to make up a total of $90, or a dollar a day apiece, for 30 days, there being three men. 23 The Power Cruiser's Pilot With a cabin boat of slightly larger dimensions the fuel consumption would be a little heavier, but the cabin would provide better living accommodations and so lower that cost, by eliminating restaurants and hotels from consideration. About the right proportion of the expenses for a 28-footer for a thousand-mile cruise with three men would be $35 for the engine, $10 for possible repairs, $20 for canal tolls, $20 for provisions, and $5 for sundries. Oh, yes, it's possible, but avoid canals and you can eat more ! By thus dividing the cost of operation and the cost of living among the members of the party, the indi- vidual cost is kept down to a modest figure, even with a boat 35 or 40 feet long — a figure small enough to permit thousands to enjoy a power boat cruise where they couldn't for the moment consider participating in a "yachting" voyage. The absence of paid help ; the presence of old clothes and, perhaps, of grease-stained fingers ; the comparatively low cost shared by all on board; and sometimes the disgraceful lack of luster on the brass, and the presence of soot and grime upon the erstwhile white sides of the hull; — these are the essential factors that differentiate power cruising from "yachting". 24 CHAPTER II— SOME ASPECTS OF CRUISING Down in the Everglades of Florida they use a power boat which is little more than a long, narrow packing box, with a tiny marine motor aboard. It is some 16 feet long and some 16 inches broad, and is intended for use upon the narrow lateral canals or ditches which form the vertebrae of the drainage system of that vast area. As roads are in most cases still lacking, and the railroad is unknown, such craft are frequently the only means of reaching the tomato land not yet fully opened to civilization, and pioneers take extensive "cruises" in such "boats" when prospecting deep into the interior. Now, compare such a boat and such a cruise with, for instance, the 6,000-mile run of the power yacht Lasata, a 90-foot, twin-screw speedy evolution of modern design, from New York to Los Angeles through the big Panama ditch, and you will see the tremendous range possible in power cruising, both as to the kind of boat used and the character of the waters traversed. Not only has the marine motor supplanted the white ash oar to a large extent in skiffs and tenders, but it has also largely taken the place of steam in big 100 and 125-footers. Select Waters Suited to Your Boat Obviously the first thing to do when planning your cruise is to consider your boat and what sort of waters she is suited to. You would not want to fool around the coast of Maine very much with an Ever- glade ditch boat ; nor would you want to spend a sum- mer on Lake Hopatcong, or any other two-by-four fresh-water pond in 100-foot, off-shore cruiser. Cruis- ing with a houseboat must be very different as to where and when from cruising in a deep-draught 25 The Power Cruiser's Pilot 26 Some Aspects of Cruising express cruiser, or again in a 16-foot canoe. And yet so generous and so versatile has been our endowment, here in the United States, that we have as many different kinds of water for cruising as we have kinds of power boats - and that's saying quite a good deal. With the canal at one end and the oceans and gulf at the other, we have a range of rivers, lakes, harbors, sounds and bays, where even the most exacting cruiser may find just the kind of cruising he desires. Naturally the small open boat is more restricted in its cruising radius than her big cabin sister; yet the latter, particularly if of deep draught, finds many en- joyable scenes denied her which are ideal for the little boat. Sometimes, of course, men force exceptions to these rules, and sometimes also to the rules of com- mon sense. I recall the cruise of Old Glory, an open, V-bottom runabout, from New York to Halifax, and I plead guilty myself to a cruise from New Eng- land to Hampton Roads in an open 22-footer. It might not be amiss in passing to mention the two types of boats which have been found entirely suitable for practically all kinds of cruising we find within our own "three-mile limit" — long, ocean cruisers being alone excepted. One is the "one-man" raised-deck cruiser of medium draught and not over 45 feet long; the other is the modern power houseboat, a type of "boat which is constantly increasing in popularity and which is now combining in one hull a shallow draught, sur- prising seaworthiness and "all the comforts of home". In another chapter the types of boats for cruising will be covered with greater detail. Nature of the Cruise Presents Problems There are many other factors which should govern the nature of your cruise besides the boat itself. Some are superficial ones ; you should stay in protected 27 The Power Cruiser's Pilot ■ft. C3 ^ fe 28 Some Aspects of Cruising waters if you shudder at the thought of seasickness ; you can cruise to fashionable resorts, where you must make colors on the gun each day and swab decks at dawn or feel ashamed ; or you can shun the swell yacht club and make for the wild and remote. Other factors are not superficial at all, but very, very real. They are, the time at your disposal ; the coin at your dis- posal ; and the amount of experience at your disposal. We have already seen that the cost of the cruise is largely dependent upon the distance you run, which, again, depends upon the time at your disposal. A very great many make the mistake of running too far in a given time. Now, I like variety and change of scene as well as anybody, and heartily detest being cooped up in a harbor which is devoid of interest by a nor'easter outside. It's fierce, especially when you're homeward bound and thinking of porcelain bathtubs, porterhouse steaks, and of her — maybe. On the other hand, it's just as bad to be compelled to turn out long before dawn and run long after dark without a chance to inspect some interesting bit of life in a quaint old fishing port or lie-over a day or two for bluefish or black duck, merely because you must keep up to schedule. So, if you must have a schedule at all — and you ought to have some sort of a vague, elastic one, if you're like me, or you'll never get anywhere at all — be careful and not make it too strenuous. Better leave some for next time than try to do too much on one short cruise. The cruise, remember, is not a race with everybody at high tension from start to finish, but is merely a ramble afloat, with plenty of time for explora- tion, for swimming, for hunting and fishing, and for plain ordinary loafing. That's the kind of a cruise that benefits one;* that gives one a real vacation. 29 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Hints for Daily Runs When planning your cruise schedule, make your side-trips and your stop-overs on your way out. This is especially important if you have to return over the same route as you went, when there is little to divert you from the strange, unexplainable desire to get home, once your bow is turned in that direction. A kindred feeling comes to the woodsman and the trapper ; no matter how much he is enjoying life in the open, once actually bound "out" for civilization, there is no stop- ping him till he is there. The experienced cruiser makes the best part of his runs in the morning — even if he is fond of after- sunrise blankets. There are all kinds of reasons for this. In almost all parts of the coast the weather is better and the sea calmer in the morning than in the afternoon. In fact, with a small boat it is sometimes almost necessary to make outside runs at night or early in the morning, when the wind goes down with the sun and also inconsiderately comes up with it, too. Then again, with an early start you have a valuable leeway for delays due to engine trouble, etc., which may still make it possible for you to make your port before nightfall. If you plan to get up at dawn or soon after, start at sunrise, which will be about the time you have cooked and eaten breakfast, and cleaned ship, and, if possible, plan to make port about two or three in the afternoon. Then you will have time before sunset for doing this or that necessary thing about the boat which you couldn't very well do when underway, or didn't want to anyway, for sight-seeing and photography ashore, for calls on other cruisers, and, for just taking it easy. With a nine-mile-an-hour boat this will give you a 60 to 70-mile run for the day, which is quite enough. If you have a 12-knot boat, you may make 30 Some Aspects of Cruising longer runs and expect comfort and rest; but hardly otherwise. And neither should you plan to run Sun- days, even if your engine doesn't mind working seven days a week. You'll find plenty to do one day in seven without running, I assure you. The factor of the degree of experience you enjoy is perhaps the most important of all in determining the character of the cruise you should take. Next to a sound boat should come a sound knowledge of how to handle it under normal and abnormal conditions. I am not speaking of the cruise taken on the big yacht with professional help, but am talking to the fellow who is his own captain and engineer, with a friend as mate, and his wife, perhaps, as chef and housekeeper. It is to such that this whole series is directed. Safety First a Good Cruising Slogan "Safety first" is the cry now-a-days, and it is a good slogan for the cruiser, and does not mean that he must be an elderly spinster. It does mean that he should not cruise to Bermuda without knowing his engine thoroughly ; it means he should not cruise Long Island Sound or Lake Ontario without knowing something of navigation. By this I do not mean that he should be able to take latitude and longitude. He may not even know which is the business end of a sextant, unless he is indeed bound for Bermuda. But he should under- stand the plotting of a course on a chart, the taking of cross bearings, the significance of buoys and aids to navigation, the use of the compass, and at least a superficial knowledge of the barometer. He should have a taffrail log along and know how to use it, if bound on long outside runs, and he should have, of course, perfect familiarity with the rules of the road and of lights, bells and whistles. This latter he should master, before he ever sets foot in his own power boat. 31 The Power Cruiser's Pilot These things a man must know if he would keep without the red danger sector of the lighthouse of safety at sea, when making the usual sort of vacation cruises up and down the coast or lakes. There are plenty of places where he may find them; I'll not inflict the initiated with lessons in them here. It is pitiable how many we find, however, who are as ignorant of the commonest rudiments of seamanship and navigation as they are of handling a locomotive. Such men are a positive menace. Patience Necessary in Canal Work Canal cruising is likely to be found pretty tame to most of us, though if you have never done any, the novelty of riding through green fields and orchards and forests and beside city streets and country roads in a boat will produce a queer and pleasant sensation. Yet in most cases one soon tires of the canal, especially if passing through one with a speed regulation, and we look upon the canal as a means to an end. As such, they are invaluable to the cruiser, for they open up otherwise inaccessible bodies of water and enlarge the scope of one's cruising a hundred-fold. I have found patience to be about the most valuable ally in canal work. The locktenders and bridgekeepers are invariably deliberate, but usually kind and agreeable if you meet them with deference and maybe five-cent cigars. The canals along the inside route to Florida are toll canals and these tolls should be reckoned in one's, appropriation for the cruise. For a 25-footer the toll charge of the Delaware and Raritan canals is six dollars ; for the Delaware and Chesapeake, four dol- lars; for the Dismal Swamp canal, six dollars (which may be avoided by taking the alternate route through the Chesapeake and Albermarle canal) ; and for the canals along the inland route of the Florida east coast 32 Some Aspects of Cruising there is now a charge of 25 cents a running foot between Jacksonville and Miami. These toll chains have been increased in number lately, and a com- mendable movement is on foot for doing away with them altogether as should be the case. The government canals of New York state, the Erie, Champlain and Oswego, are all free. In speaking of canals, mention should be made of the Cape Cod canal and its great value in shortening the distance and making the route Canal cruising attracts the timid mariner safer from New York and Long Island Sound to the cruising grounds of northern New England. The rates of the Cape Cod canal have recently been reduced and are less exorbitant than formerly, when it was first opened. In running canals where there are many locks, your boat should be protected with a lot of extra fenders. 33 The Power Cruiser's Pilot These may consist of burlap sacks, stuffed with straw, of heavy ropes wound with canvas, or of old fire hose. Automobile tires that have finished their original purpose in life also make very good fenders. It is well to adhere pretty closely to the speed regulations, even if you are in a hurry. There is apt to be a good deal of floating wreckage and other litter in canals and an eye should be kept for such. Night running in canals is very easy with the aid of a small searchlight. Southern channels are marked with finger stakes Finding Deep Water in Unmarked Channels The entrances to most canals are from tidal rivers, or streams having a good-sized current, and care must be exercised in getting safely into the locks. In most of these streams, such as Back creek, Maryland, which you enter when locking. out of the Delaware and Chesa- peake canal on your way south, the channel follows the rule of the "ebb tide bend", which means that as you come to a bend of the river to starboard, for 34 Some Aspects of Cruising instance, the channel will keep straight ahead, carrying you across the river in a diagonal direction, and run- ning thence close under the port hand shore till you come to the next bend, where the operation is repeated. In unbuoyed streams, where there is any considerable current, it is pretty easy to find the best water by this means. Most of us are mighty glad when we get clear of shallow bays and twisting creeks and can dip our bows into the deep blue of the ocean itself. But cruising on the ocean is a very different matter from cruising on the protected waters of the Erie canal. And cruising along the coast of Maine, wdiere there is a good harbor every few miles, requires a different sort of skill from cruising along the Carolina coast, where the harbors are few and very far between. In the former case, one must know his charts well, and have good local knowl- edge of the waters. There are more rocks off the Maine coast than there are trees in the state to buoy them, and there is frequently deep water to the edge of half tide reefs. In Carolina, however, conditions are very different. There are no rocks, and what harbors there are lead one over tidal bars to get to them. Here you must know something of the ways of bar inlets, you must be good at predicting the weather, and you must be equipped mentally and physically, for running straight to sea and riding out a storm. Confidence is Your Biggest Asset Experience bestows confidence and this is your biggest asset of all in outside work — confidence in your boat, and confidence in your own ability to handle her properly. Equipped with this valuable little article, your trip outside in adverse conditions, your all-night run, your weathering of the big blow, your long leg across the bay in thick fog, will be attended with a 35 The Power Cruiser's Pilot thrill of joy rather than a nutter of fear. But the confidence must be genuine and not false, for false confidence spells either ignorance or recklessness, either Sometimes the bridge deck is enclosed in the form of a pilot house of which should receive the big red flag of danger. You must have good security for that asset. To gain confidence you must have plenty of practice. Complete your education of the handling of your boat under favorable conditions first. Of course, as in the 36 Some Aspects of Cruising bromidic case of learning to swim, you must try your- self out in a critical time before you can be sure of your mastery of the boat. But much can be learned, in fact, a very great deal, right in your own harbor or in protected waters. Then given your sound, sea- worthy, well-designed craft, and you'll be ready for anything. You will not go into a blue funk when night finds you far off shore and the black water, re- lieved by apparently menacing white crests, seems to tower over you. You calmly watch the binnacle light and pick up your lighthouses, without mistaking a steamer's port light for a fixed red lighthouse, or taking the lights of a string of barges for a city. Night Running is Fascinating Sport There is something about night running which fascin- ates, yet alarms. Plenty of experienced power boat men have a deadly fear of getting caught out after dark, and would not think of making an all-night run for anything on earth or sea. As a matter of fact, night running along a well-lighted course is easier than day running — or fully as easy. The lights of a light- house show farther than the building does in- the day- time. As a rule, it is clearer, and one has the stars to aid him. To be far out at sea on one of those stilly moonless nights, clear above and very dark on the water, seems to bring one a rare feeling of aloofness from this world and" a closeness to something bigger. The world seems very, very small and insignificant somehow. Of course, I am not speaking of running a dangerous, unlighted coast or a tortuous inlet channel, but of a night run up Chesapeake bay, for example, or from Beaufort to Southport along the coast of North Caro- lina. When you have the choice of an inside route and an outside one at night, choose the outside one 37 The Power Cruiser's Pilot if the weather will permit. And remember that your boat will stand a far better chance in an emergency in deep water well out to sea than she will in shoals and close to a big surf line. The maxim of the sailing skipper, too, holds good to a certain extent with the power boat captain; you can always get to leeward, but you can't most always sometimes work to wind- ward. In a 90-footer, caught off Cape Fear on the edge of a West India hurricane, we stood straight out to sea for 65 miles rather than run any chance of having Frying Pan shoals under our lee. Had we kept on our course and found the force of the wind greater than the power of our engines — w r ell, the own- er's wife might have gotten some insurance, that's all. Be Sure Your Crew is the Right Sort While this little thing called confidence should be most positive in the owner who is his own captain, his shipmates should have their share of it, too. There's precious little pleasure in cruising with fellows who are either afraid of rough water or afraid of rough work. It is just as important for the success of your cruise that the fellows with you should be of the right sort, as it is that the boat should be fitted for what is before her. A friend of mine took his bride on a canoe trip down the east coast of Florida in the days when there was no railroad, no Poinciana and Royal Palm hotels, and barring New Smyrna and Key West, no white women at all. They were fairly well acquainted before the cruise was over. So it is with life on a small cruiser, especially when out in the wilder sections. It is an intensely intimate life and there are a great many uncomfortable and unpleasant jobs and features (which happily dwindle in retrospect) which call for a display of the qualities in a man which make him a good sort and an eligible for the fraternity of true power boat cruisers. 38 CHAPTER III— THE BOAT The boat is the all-important implement of power boat cruising. It is, therefore, highly essential that this tool be suitable for the work cut out for it to per- form; or, what is usually easier, that the work be adapted to the tool in hand. In other words, most people must make their cruise of a kind practical for the boat in their possession. They cannot go down the Inside Route to Miami with a keel auxiliary yawl drawing 7 feet. They should not go down it in an 18-foot sharpie built of boards indiscriminately clapped together. On the other hand, when buying a boat, much thought should be given in advance to the uses to be made of the boat, the kind of waters most frequently to be met with, and all its latent possibilities for real cruising. Then, when you come to consider what cruise you will take next vacation, you do not find the very ones you particularly wish to make eliminated from con- sideration, because you had borne in mind that such cruising was the kind you most enjoyed and would want to take, and had accordingly bought a boat which was suitable for such service, even at the sacrifice of some other cherished hope — speed, for instance. Even if you could not afford to combine all the desired features in one hull (for speed in a cruiser is ex- pensive, and extensive living accommodations mean a high cost of maintenance), it is probable you will find the radius longer than you imagined. Necessity has forced the architects and designers to exercise a rare amount of skill in evolving in the small cruiser of today a surprisingly seaworthy and able hull without, and a surprisingly complete home within; while refine- ments of engine design have made the power plant wonderfully efficient and economical. Possibly you haven't even a cabin boat ; still you can cruise, if you 39 The Power Cruiser's Pilot 40 The Boat plan it scientifically and do a little roughing. In short, it would be very hard indeed to find a power craft afloat today which could not be used for some sort of a happy-go-lucky cruise. This does not mean that you can live on board every power boat. There are no Pullman berths on Baby Speed Demon — however much one may need them after a 40-mile run in this spanking machine. But neither are there any sleeping accommodations to an automobile — except for a very few gilded limousines — yet an automobile tour is nothing but a land cruise. Its parallel afloat is the modern runabout, fast and elegant, with interior arrangements at the present time very much like those of the motor car. To some the superior speed and consequent greater size to a day's run possible with the swift, slender runabouts of today more than make up for the inconvenience of having to put up at a hotel each night or pitch a tent on a bit of beach or field you have borrowed for the night. As for me, I prefer to go slower and be comfortable — whether cruising through salt water or through life. Cruising Classified by Types of Boats The boat, with its individual restrictions and pos- sibilities, offers the most convenient means of classify- ing the widely differing kinds of cruising. Considera- tion of all the various forms of power boat cruising brings us down to four general types with quite tangible lines of demarcation between each one and the other three. The first of these is the cruising which one can do with the small, open power boat, the skiff with out- board motor, the power canoe, and also the hydroplane. The last named, however, is altogether too valuable, too expensive to run, and too inadequate in everything except speed and noise, to be used except in races and 41 The Power Cruiser's Pilot trials, and its cruising should be limited to its tours in box cars and the 'tween decks of steamships. With the other sort — the inexpensive small power craft of all the many varieties one finds on rivers, lakes and harbors — a certain amount of real cruising is quite feasible, although this class is obviously by far the most restricted of the four. When the outboard-powered skiff or the lady-like, narrow and coquettish "launch" with striped awning and blue or yellow waterline is located on a small fresh-water pond or the upper stretches of a river above the dam, as is so often the case, it must confine Good for calm days and quiet waters its rambles within the limits naturally imposed. But when used on the inner harbor or estuary, there are no such restrictions and the courageous owner can go as far as he likes. Yet the speed of these boats is so little that one should be careful about venturing far outside the harbor on account of squalls or sudden shifts of weather, and "cruises" of any sort must be limited to runs over routes where there is little, if any, open water, and where the harbors are close and easy of access. Naturally, only a minimum equipment can be carried, and the sleeping as well as most of the eating must be done ashore. A protection of some sort from the rain and spray should be improvised, 42 The Boat and all equipment should be carried in waterproof con- tainers of some sort. There should be carried at all time a supply of food and water sufficient to last several days. A wicker- covered demijohn or stone jug is the best container for the drinking water. The food should be in cans and of a character which may be eaten without further cooking. Hardtack, chocolate and raisins are the standard, or the emergency rations used in the army are excellent. These consist of cubical cans, each containing enough food to last a man 24 hours. In most cases, however, you will find yourself able to put in the regular canned goods, etc., and can cook from a little fire on the beach. Of course, the compass and heavy ground tackle should never be left behind. Thermos bottles are valuable. The latitude afforded the power canoe is considera- bly broader. Not only is the power canoe under the direction of an expert considerably safer in heavy weather than many power boats, which may be top- heavy or have rotted planks, but it is much faster as well. While the little harbor craft plug along at six or six and a half knots, the power canoe makes fourteen and sometimes more. This is a great advantage in cruising along semi-protected routes, where there are harbors one may dodge into upon the first indication of a storm. A fast craft can get in before it breaks, or if forced to stay out and take it, can maintain head- way easier and be handled much more surely than a poorly powered and slow boat. It is but a step from the power canoe with sponsons and canvas decking over all of the interior except where the occupants sit, to the Alaskan kyack, a very seaworthy craft. A chap up New London way has a power canoe with which he has cruised through the southern New England sounds, making quick dashes from port to port and sometimes going eight to ten miles from shore. It 43 The Power Cruiser's Pilot should be borne in mind, too, that the power canoe, and also the light power skiff or dory, can be beached quite easily and safely, a great advantage when skirting a long beach where harbors are few and far between. But, after all, the scope is limited, the equipment must be the minimum, and many would find more fun in staying at home and skipping about their own familiar waters. The Most Numerous Class are Open Boats The boats suited to the second class of cruising are probably the most numerous of any variety of power craft afloat. And yet, to every sound and practical one, there are a dozen freaks or makeshifts, usually poorly built of cheap materials, launched to sell to suckers, and dangerous to all who go to sea in them. Under the general term "open boat" is included a tremendous fleet. There is the clinker-built, full- bodied life boat, and its sister, the slimmer, high-ended whale boat. There is the dory of Cape Cod, the dory of Seabright, the Maine lobster boat, and the vast navy of open fishing boats, each with features peculiar to the builders of that locality, but a great fleet of able, seaworthy craft, designed and constructed by men with the experience of their grandfathers behind them — so far as the hulls are concerned. Hundreds of open boats are built along the same lines, too, for pleasure alone. It is obvious that the cruising possibilities of this type of boat are a great deal wider than the boats in the first group. To this same class belong also another increasingly popular type, the open runabout. It be- longs in this class only in that its cruising scope is about the same as the less pretentious "ordinary power boat". It is far more expensive, much faster, and higher-pow- ered, and less seaworthy. Yet neither type has a cabin 44 The Boat or real living accommodations, though many of the so-called open fishing boats are provided with half- cabins or shelters, which, however, are seldom large enough to do more than crawl into out of the rain. Assuming that the superior speed of the runabout about equalizes the superior sea-going qualities of the open boat built for business, the two types may be classed together so far as cruising goes. There is generally more room in the less pretentious open boat, for the engine takes up less space, and there is invari- A wave-collecting runabout at 30 miles an hour ably more stowage room for cruising equipment. The runabout can make longer runs each day, but it must be more careful in picking good days for long outside runs. The equipment for both must be carefully select- ed. As these open boats run all the way from 18 feet (an extreme under-limit for seaworthiness) up to 40 and 45 feet, the number in the party and the amount of equipment carried must be regulated to the capacities of the boat. The longer the cruise, too, the larger the amount of equipment and the less amount of crowding you can stand for. 45 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Open Boat Cruiser Need Not Sleep Ashore The open boat cruiser does not need to sleep or cook ashore, if his boat is large enough to be admitted to the class with sufficient seaworthiness to make ex- tended cruises. All open boats, nowadays, have or should have a spray hood or canvas cover, entirely Comfort can be easily improvised on a small boat enclosing the inside of the boat. In the case of the runabout the automobile top is usually employed to best advantage. With the other type some form of waterproof spray hood is to be chosen. In most cases the so-called melon form of hood will be found the most satisfactory. This is the kind that folds down on the deck outside the coaming on one side and is held open with a brass or galvanized pipe bow amid- 46 The Boat ships with curved longitudinal ribs running up on this bow. This form of hood is superior to the kind that swings up in front with a series of hoops, as it can be placed partly up to exclude spray or sun on one side. Two of these hoods, one forward and the other aft, may be made to cover the whole boat, and do away with the old familiar tent-shaped canvas cover, strung over the cockpit on a wire or clothes line. The interiors of most of the open boats have lockers running along the sides, which form the seats. These sometimes run aft as-far as the engine, which is usually located amidships and housed in, or they may run all around the boat inside the coaming. These lockers should be divided up for receiving, the different parts of the equipment. The clothing, etc, will probably have to be carried in a small trunk or chest, set aft of the engine and covered with tarpaulin. The forward lockers may be improvised for sleeping in the follow- ing way: Usually they are too narrow, or too curved to form a comfortable berth, but by getting a number of tongue and grooved boards cut to fit the inside of the boat from the forward bulkhead aft, stretching them athwartship with the ends resting upon the locker covers you have a wide level surface, upon which you can place the seat cushions as a mattress and roll up in your blankets on top, the spray hood affording shelter and a semblance of privacy. This sleeping on board (s) is really a more comfortable stunt than it sounds in cold print. In the daytime the boards may be piled up on top of one another and set alongside the engine housing. Cooking on the open boat is best performed on a single-burner oil vapor or alcohol stove. As these stoves are good for nothing except the nourishing of select forms of profane language unless they are kept away from all wind, even to the minutest draught, it is best to provide a large and deep wooden box of 47 The Power Cruiser's Pilot 8 •"3 ^3 48 The Boat square size, into which you may set the stove. Its dimensions should be such as to permit the frying pan or stew kettle to repose upon the top of the stove. If a few draught holes are bored in the sides of the box low down, the whole contraption — lighted stove, kettle, boiled dinner and all — can be safely covered with a piece of thick cardboard laid across the top of the box and forgotten till "dinner is served". Three is the outside limit in numbers for open boat cruising. And to negotiate it happily, the equipment must be scientifically prepared beforehand. Next to the boat and the personnel, the equipment is the most important feature to a cruise, and we'll dip into that subject more fully in the next chapter. The ideal waters for open boat cruising are the big rivers, the semi-protected waters, where harbors are frequent, and towns plentiful, so that the provisions may be kept fairly low and be re-stocked every few days. A very fine open boat cruise is from New York to Montreal (or part way) — the Hudson river, Champlain canal, Lake Champlain and the rivers to the north affording just the right amount of variety and zest for an able little 22-footer laden with good fellows and good cheer. Next Comes the Small Cruiser We next come to the small cruiser — the backbone of the power boat industry so far as pleasure craft are concerned. Except on inland lakes, shallow rivers and a few exceptional points where there is a local influence favoring some other type of boat, the "one-man cruiser" is the most popular all around power boat afloat. They range from 24 to 45 feet in length and the design is more or less standardized. There is a raised-deck or half-trunk cabin forward, which gives a high freeboard and consequently a dry boat and roomy cabin. The cabin extends from the peak to amidships and frequently 49 The Power Cruiser's Pilot | *P§ 1 ft! mm mm w a c ^ § Q 50 The Boat still farther aft. Then comes a self-bailing cockpit with a wide transom seat in the stern. The engine is placed under the cockpit floor, with flywheel in cabin under companionway stairs. Access to the whole motor is had by a hatch in cockpit floor, which may be flush or slightly raised. Fuel is usually carried in tanks under cockpit seats. The smallest fellows have no built-in cruising facil- ities, as a rule. Cooking has to be done on a one- burner stove with no permanent resting place ; there is no ice box except a tub or movable one carried in the cockpit; fresh water must be carried in large jugs or casks ; and the provisions must go anywhere. There is need for much science in successful cruising of this sort, but experience teaches a person to improvise accommodations for everything and enables one to get along all right where another would have everything in a muddle from start to finish. Gradually, however, with the growing popularity of extensive cruising in small craft, the designers and builders have found ways in which to provide really wonderful accommodations in a very small hull. There is usually room for a toilet forward, and a chain locker and fresh water tank forward of that. The transom seats in cabin have extensions affording wide and comfortable berths with drawer or locker room beneath. Built-in Galley is of Great Importance A built-in galley is of great importance — even more so than a permanent ice box. If you can have a regular shelf, lined with galvanized sheeting, wide enough for a two-burner stove, with running water and room above for hanging pots and pans and cupboard room beneath for provisions, the culinary department will be well taken care of and you can count on having made a 51 The Power Cruiser's Pilot big strike forward toward a successful cruise. Some initial expense in installing a regular galley may safely be met with as the saving in eliminating restaurants and hotels, as a regular thing, is considerable, while the greater convenience and enjoyment is immeasurable. The cockpit should be really self -bailing. That is it should have large scuppers — at least 2 inches in diameter and the floor should be at least 15 inches above the waterline. The hatch over engine should be Outward bound watertight and the step into companionway should be a foot high and watertight. Electric lighting is now so simple on a cruiser that it should be installed, if at all possible, both for the sake of safety and convenience. Riding lights should be oil lanterns, however, and if the running lights are electric, there should be oil lights aboard to supplement them. If an electric lamp is used for a binnacle light, it should be very small and the globe should be frosted and the dial shaded to reduce eye strain. Remember, too, if you use an electric binnacle lamp, to cross the 52 The Boat wires to prevent deviation of the needle. There should be a trouble lamp, for which current can be taken from the regular system. A couple of hand flash lamps are very handy for use in going ashore in the tender or on board the cruiser if anything goes wrong. If properly designed, the small cruiser of today is very able and very comfortable. The V-bottom, now so much in vogue, has brought greater speed and, according to some, greater strength and seaworthiness as well. In the larger "small cruisers'' many comforts are possible which are denied the smallest ones. There are clothes lockers, commodious cupboards, shelf room, a desk, a built-in ice box, which may be filled from the deck, Pullman berths, heating plants and other luxuries. But these are by no means necessary to extensive cruis- ing, even to a trip from Halifax to Cuba, if one so desires. The little one-man cruiser is easy and eco- nomical to keep in respectable shape, it is extremely easy to handle, may be operated with a small and simple engine, and, if properly designed, properly built, properly taken care of, properly equipped, properly handled, can go anywhere on the seven seas that its fuel capacity can carry it. Forty-Five the Limit in One-Man Boats Forty-five feet is the. outside limit for a really "one- man" boat. Of course, much larger boats can have "controls at the bridge", etc., the engine being left to take care of itself — a mighty poor policy, no matter what the engine. The theory that "anybody can steer" is all very well for a few minutes out in the open, while the captain is looking over the oiling system of the engine and trying the pet cocks, but there are times when it is very dangerous to leave the engine alone. There should be a man at the engine whenever a landing is made, for when handled from the bridge, S3 The Power Cruiser's Pilot 54 The Boat the engine may stall and the boat may be injured. But for other reasons a man should not have too big a boat to handle without paid help. A fine cruiser should receive fine care and constant attention when in commission. This is impossible with the business man who can only be on his boat a couple of hours in the evening and over the week ends. With a boat of from 45 to 60 feet, however, and the corresponding power plant, a man can get along with comparatively un- skilled help if he's something of a navigator and engi- neer himself. With one permanent hand aboard to look out for the engine, keep the boat clean and ship- shape, and perhaps act as steward as well, the owner can get some pleasure besides work out of his boat. His engine will not receive as good treatment probably as would be the case if he hired a regular engineer, but with what he saves on wages he can pay for more outside service. An engineer is more important than a captain. The latter individual, except on the larger craft, is frequently called upon to do no more than take the wheel when the owner tires of it, swab decks, go to market, set colors, and do a million odd jobs which suit the whims of the sometimes petulant owner. The big power yachts are a revelation in modern luxury and comfort. It is now an old story how the gasoline engine is replacing the marine steam engine on large yachts because of its saving of space, crew and other big items. And now that large, high-speed, heavy- duty engines have been designed — that is, a long-stroke motor to turn at from 600 to 1,200 revolutions per minute — and have passed the experimental stage, speed in large power craft is becoming more common, and the "express cruiser" and racing yacht has become the last word in power boating. 55 The Power Cruiser' s Pilot ^3 ■5S ©> S ^ •^ 56 CHAPTER IV— EQUIPMENT It is as important to a successful cruise that the equipment carried be correct, as it is for a bride's trousseau, to be just right. Strangely enough, even seasoned boat men are frequently at a total loss to know just how much to carry and just what to carry as cruising equipment. A chap who knew boats once prevailed upon four friends to embark with him upon what was to be a week's outing up the Sound. The conveyance was a 35-foot auxiliary yawl. Each mem- ber of the expedition got busy on a list of what to bring. The result may be imagined. In spite of the trunks, telescope bags, valises, suit cases (the suit case is an impedimenta absolutely unexcelled in ob- trusiveness and inability to be stowed anywhere) and hand bags, a great pile of cans seemed to be the only thing on the Club float on the day of departure. This mountain of cans loomed from afar. Trucks and drays had been bringing capacity loads since dawn, the driver in each case handing the discomfited owner an invoice as long as a Cook's ticket around the world. The task of stowing these supplies aboard occupied the balance of the day, till finally at nearly sundown the owner climbed over, wiggled through the cargo to the engine and they got underway. There was no room on board for anybody or anything but cans. Every locker was crammed till it wouldn't close, and the cabin floor was covered with a thick layer of them. As soon as the yawl got out into a seaway the cans began dancing around with all the vivacity and spontaneity of Eva Tanguay. The worst of it was, they could not find anything they wanted, and even so huge a collection as that did not contain many of the most important and essential articles to a successful cruise. The yawl ran into a squall, the party, dodging 57 The Power Cruiser's Pilot cans on every side, groped their way into a harbor and waited for the morrow. Fortunately, there was a rail- road near at hand and with the morrow came the train back to town. The other extreme is no less objectionable. A power boat's capacity for the carrying of equipment is in- finitely greater than that of a pack saddle or a canoe, and there is no need of depriving oneself of the things that go to make the cruise comfortable and safe to one's health. To know just what these things should be for different kinds of cruises, and to strike a happy balance between too much and too little, is something much experience only can fully bring, though the experience of others will greatly help in accomplishing this end. An Example of Cruising Comfort A father and his son made a cruise in a 24-foot catboat, without power, from New Bedford, Mass., to Miami, Fla., and return. They were gone from Sep- tember to June, meeting all varieties of climate and temperature, and every sort of weather and water. They knew how to cruise. Their equipment was scien- tifically chosen, and their arrangement of it below decks was no less scientific. Except on one occasion, when they attempted to take their 4-foot draught through an inlet on the Carolina coast, where a storm had left only 26 inches of water, causing a near-ship- wreck, their craft was invariably to be found with everything shipshape and Bristol-fashion. Their limited cabin accommodations were not further restricted with useless impedimenta. Yet their equipment was mar- velously complete and liberal. It included, for exam- ple, a steamer chair, a small library of good reading — and a cat. Clam rake and fishing tackle were their inseparable companions, while canned goods and fancy 58 Equipment foods were conspicuous by their absence. They never put to sea without food and water enough to last them three weeks. They had a Shipmate stove and carried on the stern a contrivance for cleaning fish and open- ing oysters. Their grocery and meat bills were small, their laundry bills smaller, and their gasoline bill (fuel for a 16-foot launch) was smallest of all. And the Where hunger provides the sauce over-all length of the boat was 24 feet. Many a 35-footer has come into port on a cold, wet evening, with none of the cheer and warmth within found in the cozy little Mascot. While the size of the boat, the nature of the cruise, and, to a lesser extent, the inclinations of the shipmates, will determine up to a certain degree what the equipment should be, there are certain items which should appear on every list, no matter how short the cruise or how protected the waters to be traveled. To begin with, there are the government require- ments. You will find them here in tabulated form. 59 The Power Cruiser's Pjlot en 1) en in (U OT C 4_> rfl c . bos ^=J-52 en bo ■1 W ^ 3 bJD .S '■*■> X Efficient mea of promptl} extinguishin urning gaso Sand and sa mixed in pai permitted -2 en SO O so t-i eu o3 C/3 C/3 < pq Q w en en £ rO S Lite Preservers Life Belts, Ring Buoys Oi" Buoyant Cushions sufficient to sustain afloat every person on board Same as for Class 1 Same as for Class 1 3 PQ lent Blast O fl 4- C bfi Same as for Class 2 Fog Bell 8 inches across mouth O « (U en IS en .2 fl IS 3 o Whistle Equivale wo-Second Efficien Fog Ho fficient Fo O H H W w ^ < O PQ en bo 3 ation tit ard Green ght Af Light ard Green ights ght Af u o en <*8 « mbirj Lig ?orw and e Li bite Forw and de L e Li w G Su & c 3 £ «» 13 o en In cd en u cu 6 ^2 cu cu o N o V £ en" 5 Ih cu CJ o T3 cu bo en CU ■* -a to u CU > CU o 1) cu cd Ih bo CU cd en cd o > u CD u 3 Ih •6 g en "ft cu cd X ^ ft cd bo jj X* CD X u cu Ih o cd cu ft - bo 3 X CU rO X bo P_i C '> "-M CU 3 cu > Ih CU X c Ih CU o CU en en cd CU cd -3 T3 cu cu Ih ft CU J- 1 Ih Ih cd o ^2 .ScJ X bo bO C e o CU U cd CO Ih o en Ih CU bo e cu > CM be 5 'ft bo *^ ^2 in o u g CD Ih •3 cu Ih U cd Ih Ih o o X en CU CU 1 bo CU X cu 'o cu X X o X X Cu > cu X -2 bo ju Q cu cu ^2 2 £ p5 a O en g a cC ~ cu a >> ft bo C Ih ft o c o o ft o en CU cj S3 CvJ li- ft cd o 01 cd » o cd O *o "ft g en Ih < < O fJ-H h3 ^2 O » ft a o "o < 61 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Government Regulations are Important The government regulations are very important and the penalty for their disregard is becoming more severe. In certain sections the inspectors are extremely vigilant and heavy fines for the non-observance of these reg- ulations are becoming frequent. Fortunately, boat men are coming to see their importance from a practical as well as legal standpoint and are more careful to ob- serve them. The rules for lights are especially im- portant. In the case of the boat carrying passengers for hire the regular government-passed life-preservers must be carried — one for each person on board. Fur- thermore, the owner of a boat carrying passengers for hire must first obtain a license for same from the local steamboat inspectors. There is no examination for this at present. The candidate must merely affirm that he has had experience in handling power craft, stating the size of the boat and boats he has operated and the length of time on each. The equipment required by law should be supple- mented at all times by additional items which are of equal importance. In fact, without questioning the wisdom of the omniscient governmental power, it seems to humble us that there might be times aboard a boat on the high seas when a compass might come in for more importance than that second copy of the Pilot Rules. Ground tackle is convenient, too, at times. And so is a knowledge of said Pilot Rules. It is in- teresting to see how some boat men "carry" these rules. We once saw the two copies nailed securely to the cabin bulkhead with a 4-inch nail through both of them. The inspectors were in the neighborhood and the owner did not intend to be caught napping. Another government requirement for Classes II and III is a fog horn. Search the rules of the road as you may and you'll have a hard job finding a legitimate 62 Equipment use for it. If your engine is broken down and you are trying to work in under emergency sailing rig, you can toot it legitimately; and perhaps you can find an excuse for it if you are being towed. However, these conditions are infrequent. As a matter of fact, the fog horn is used by lots of power boaters in place of the air whistle when there's real danger, because its voice is usually louder if less musical. Inspectors are queer Navigating under difficulties folk, too. One of them passed a "prolonged blast pro- ducing whistle", which the owner was pumping fran- tically and noiselessly while a faithful confederate with head out a cabin window exhausted his lungs mightily into an innocent 4-inch mouth whistle. Two Anchors Should Be Carried There is an abundance of literature upon the subject of ground tackle, the proper weight of anchor, chain 63 The Power Cruiser's Pilot or cable, for different-sized boats, the amount of scope to let out for different depths7 etc. Here it is sufficient to state that for an ordinary cruise two anchors should be carried, with independent cables (stowed separately by dividing the chain locker in two compartments) and with the heavier anchor provided with a heavier cable at least 30 fathoms long. If stockless anchors are used, they should be heavier and be given a longer rode than the regular anchors. For a 30-footer the heavier anchor should weigh 50 pounds and a % manila cable used. Remember, a 35-pound anchor will hold more with a long rode than a 50-pound anchor with a some- what shorter one. Sad experience in one unforgettable instance taught me that. Compass is Most Important Next to adequate ground tackle, perhaps the most important "supplementary" item of equipment is the compass. The regular compass (it is always better to carry an additional smaller compass if on long outside cruises) should, of course, be an oil or spirit compass of reliable make, with a dial wide enough to maintain a fair amount of steadiness and which can be easily read. It should be placed at a convenient height and, of course, lined up absolutely accurately. It should then be compensated as accurately as possible. This is very hard to do on small craft with machinery near at hand, as is usually the case. For all practical purposes it is almost as well to check your compass up on known bearings at 16 points, make out a table of the variation for each point and allow for it when plotting your course. This is quite a job, but very interesting work. The old hand knows his compass as well as the master mariner can judge the leeway his vessel is making, and makes allowances for the different bearings with- out thinking of it. For night steering by compass a 64 Equipment binnacle is necessary. If electric binnacle lights are used, remember to cross your wires to eliminate varia- tion. A shade keeping all but four points of the compass in darkness reduces eye strain. Personally, the writer favors oil binnacle lights as more trust- worthy and easier on the eyes. Astral oil should be used for this purpose. The use of the compass and the correct following of a compass course is one of the most fascinating Storm Curtains make the bridge warm and comfortable features of power boat cruising. The satisfaction of bringing up your objective point on schedule time dead ahead in thick weather is immense. It is something that cannot be taught by printed lines. Only the ex- perience which comes with practice will bring it per- fectly. To anticipate the ship's movements correctly, to line up your bow with a bit of cloud, a headland, or a star, and check it from time to time with the needle, to accurately gage your leeway and your tidal 65 The Power Cruiser's Pjlot set, are things which make cruising and small boat handling infinitely finer sport than anything it can be compared with, such as guiding an auto along a dusty road. The beginner is apt to watch the needle too much and the water too little and to give too much wheel. The harbor buoy — Where is it? The average cruiser has little need for the barometer. Even a slim experience will give him the ability to predict a coming storm in time to find shelter before it breaks. It is an instrument for the veteran only — and a tremendously valuable one to him, too. A barometer is an item of equipment which should be carried on long outside cruises, however, if the owner knows something about it. This, too, is a matter of experience, though books will assist one greatly if studied carefully. Every "hard shell", however, has his own ideas on barometric readings and weather 66 Equipment predictions therefrom, but there are certain general laws governing the barometer for various latitudes and localities which one should know. Charts, parallel rules, dividers, marine glasses, per- haps a taflrail log, and the lead, complete the naviga- tion equipment for the average cruiser. The use of each should be thoroughly mastered. The navigator should also carry a government tide table and use it. Too much gasoline is wasted by not making the best use of the tides. When a man can actually win a race over another man, who has a faster boat and goes a shorter mileage,, simply by using the tides to best advantage, their value is apparent. Such cases are on record and can be relied upon as true. The navigator should also carry a light and buoy list, and the govern- ment "Coast Pilots" kept up-to-date (as are his charts also) by means of the weekly "Notice to Mariners'', which is for free distribution, published jointly by the Bureau of Lighthouses and the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Every Cruiser Should Know His Engine Turning to the mechanical department, which is no less important than the navigation department, we find a knowledge of the subject at hand just as essential. Every cruiser should know his engine. There are too many who know only how to start it, keep it oiled, and cuss it out when it breaks down from neglect. The modern marine engine in the lower horsepowers is extremely simple in both two and four-cycle types. The cruiser does not have to be a mechanical or elec- trical engineer to safely go to sea. Little by little he confidence with each advance, he should gradually will learn his engine as he learns his boat, and gaining acquire the necessary experience, which will come to him in no other way — certainly not by calling in outside 67 The Power Cruiser's Pilot help whenever something goes wrong or by hiring someone to put the engine in commission each spring and give her a "general overhauling" every so often. He should know, for instance, that if his paint be- gins to blister and smell, something is wrong with the circulation system; he should know that base explosions come from lean mixtures and he should be able to detect faulty ignition from gasoline trouble. He should not lose his head when the engine stops with the boat out of sight of land or other craft. Instead, he should systematically set to work and locate the trouble, even if he has to resort to the somewhat lengthy process of elimination. He must be resourceful. A felt hat makes an excellent substitute for an asbestos gasket. But he should not rely too much upon this resourceful- ness. It would be much better if he had a supply of extra gaskets aboard than to use the hat. His tools should be complete and kept in good shape. He should carry extras of the commoner parts, and a good supply of copper wire, packing, waste, etc. Pieces of rubber hose have a multitude of emergency uses. There should be an emergency five-gallon can of gasoline, plainly labeled, and well-stowed, perhaps under the cockpit floor way aft, if same is well ventilated. It should not be mistaken for the kerosene can when filling lamps. Carry a Serviceable Tender Every cruiser, no matter how small, should carry a serviceable tender. It should be large and strong enough to trust in heavy weather, and light enough to produce a minimum amount of perspiration when used as a ferry. When underway for a long run it should be carried and not towed, if possible. A 14-foot flat- bottomed cedar skiff with generous freeboard is an adequate dink lor a 30-footer if one is not fussy about mahogany and style. Shorter boats, built to carry 68 Equipment loads and stand a sea and especially designed for tender service, are on the market at reasonable prices. The question of cooking and clothing outfits, if con- sidered exhaustively, would fill volumes by themselves. Individual preferences have a large share in their selec- tion. But briefly we may consider a few points. First, the grub question. The longer one cruises, the more he shuns the restaurant and lives on his own resources. These may be frugal at first, but if he takes to cooking readily and learns to "live off the sea" to a great extent the pleasure and economy resulting from this course will cause him to. become an adept as time goes on. The smaller cruisers must cook with oil vapor or alcohol stoves ; the larger ones may have the luxury of a "Shipmate" and a tiny oven. The correct selec- tion of pots, pans and kettles is important, the ma- terial, more so. Tin is worst, graniteware only fair, aluminum better, but expensive, short-lived and ac- companied with infernally hot handles ; copper tinned on the inside, best of all. Plated ware knives and forks are better than steel. Drinking glasses should be thick. Earthenware bowls are very useful. You can serve both soup and cereals therein, to say nothing of stews and chowders. Mason Jars for Carrying Food Supplies The writer is a great believer in the use of Mason jars with screw covers for carrying food supplies. He uses pint sizes for things like condensed milk and butter, quart sizes for the usual staples, and two-quart ones for the most commonly used things. His friends think he has a mania for the use of Mason jars, for he carries in them such a heterogeneous collection of things, as matches (to insure waterproofness), pre- serves, salt, grape nuts, condensed milk, cocoa and Gold Dust, each prominently labeled. They keep out 69 The Power Cruiser's Pilot the moisture, keep the food much better, prevent pto- maine, and insure accessibility. They are easy to clean. Space prevents a treatment of the pleasant subject of what to cook and how to cook it, but space must be given to merely state that there is no need to limit oneself to eggs and bacon, varied occasionally by bacon and eggs — if you but learn how. And in conclusion of this very important subject, be absolutely sure that Wash day on the cruise you have an abundance of fresh water on board at all times, and enough emergency canned goods and non- perishable staples to give all on board healthy rations for at least two weeks, if you're cruising outside. A Word on Clothing Just a word on clothing. The locker room on board determines, to a large extent, the amount you can comfortably carry. A good shore outfit, stowed away 70 Equipment where it won't mildew when at sea; a semi-respectable outfit for expeditions to the grocery store or ship chandler when passing through a town; and a suitable boat outfit to wear on board, is all that is needed. A coat is absolutely useless on board; much more so than mittens, for instance. For cold weather cruising the best "uniform" consists of woolen underwear, woolen "lumberman's" socks, double-weight khaki trousers, "felts" (felt-lined rubber boots), flannel army shirt, woolen mittens (don't handle wet lines with them), woolen muffler, felt hat with ear laps, a close-woven sweater (optional) and either a lumberman's jacket (corduroy-lined leather coat) or the popular windproof "Mackinaw". Also oilers and sou'wester, of course. For warm weather cruising — athletic underwear, lightweight khaki trousers or sailor's duck working trousers (a special pair to use when working at engine), a sleeveless jersey, which is also the "upper" to your bathing suit, "sneaks", white canvas hat, cotton hose, a heavy sweater (or Macki- naw), and shirts of differing weights and degrees of warmth. Even in midsummer it is sometimes extremely cold on the dog watch. As for the shore and boating apparel for lady cruisers, you'll have to ask them! There are plenty who know. Below is appended a somewhat arbitrary list of what should be carried on a cruise in a 28 to 35-footer along semi-protected waterways — where replenishment at least every four days is reasonably certain. Cruising Equipment What to Take. — (N. B.) — For an outside cruise a more complete equipment of safety precautions, danger signals, etc., as well as a larger supply of emergency rations, should be carried than for an inland trip. An open boat should carry a tent or boards to place across the locker covers, and more elaborate cooking utensils than are necessary to take on a cruise in a cabin boat. 71 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Boat. — .Ground tackle; regular anchor and cable; spare anchor and cable; lights; bell; whistle; fog horn; fire extinguisher; Coston signal; compass (on long outside cruise, two); charts; coast pilots; tide tables; dividers; parallel rules; barometer and clock; life preservers; log book; hand lantern; pocket flash light; cabin lamp; kero- sene; pennants and ensign; pump for bilge; tender; spare lines. General. — Tent or set of boards (if open boat); hatchet; clasp knife; firearms; bucket; fishing tackle; cameras and films; marine glasses; writing materials and stamps; fold- ing table; folding chair; playing cards; candles. Engine. — Extra parts; gasoline; lubricating oil; hard grease; extra batteries; tools; wire; waste; piece rubber hose; packing. Culinary. — Stove; wood alcohol (for starting oil vapor stoves); matches; four granite ware plates; six teaspoons; three dessert spoons; four table forks; four table knives; four cups (no saucers); four bowls; four glasses (thick); bread knife; cooking fork; cooking spoon; paring knife; can opener; ice pick; cork screw; bottle opener; coffee pot: sauce pan; large kettle; fry pan (small); broiler; dish mop; dish chain; two cakes Fels-Naphtha soap; package Gold Dust; jars and tins for provision; waterproof sacks for provisions; Thermos bottle; provisions to be replen- ished from time to time; two stone jugs fresh water (if no fresh water tank); two quarts milk; four cans con- densed milk; emergency rations — two pounds hardtack; four cakes sweet chocolate; one -allon water, or six cans army emergency rations; one gallon water, six cans soup; one can tomatoes; one can peas; four cans baked beans; one jar bacon; one jar marmalade; one-half pound butter; package pancake flour; two loaves bread; package oatmeal; package grape nuts; salt; sugar; pepper; can cocoa; one- half peck potatoes; two packages graham crackers; package milk crackers; fruit. Personal Outfit. — Sailor work suit (blouse and trousers) ; pair old trousers (heavy); sailor white hat; heavy sweater; mackinaw; pair mittens; heavy flannel shirt; soft shirt (light); three pairs socks (light and heavy); two sets underwear; eight handkerchiefs; two pairs tennis "sneak- ers"; bathing suit; set oilers; sou'wester; pair double army blankets (two, if cold weather); waterproof bag for same (if open boat); pillow (small); three towels, two pairs pajamas; besides shore clothes. 72 CHAPTER V— SOME GOOD CRUISING WATERS Nature has been so generous to us that it doesn't very much matter where you are located or what size or type of boat you have ; as long as she floats and you have sufficient water to float her on, you probably have the opportunity for a real cruise, and sooner or later you will want to go cruising. With most of us it is sooner. Along our coasts and Great Lakes the distribution of suitable cruising water for every sort of craft has been so even and so complete that the chances are you will not have to look very far from home in order to find the kind of water best adapted to your boat. We have already indicated approximately what this should be — inland waters for the small open boat oper- ated by the novice; semi-protected waters for the stout small cruiser or one-man boat in the hands of the man of somewhat limited experience; off-shore work for the seasoned skipper with a craft built for "weather" (I care not whether she be large or small). Frequently, perhaps usually, a combination of all three kinds of waterways may be incorporated in the same cruise, which is a very happy end to seek in planning a cruise if you have a boat you can justly place con- fidence in. Variety is something desired by every cruiser (and most everybody else), and "spice" in cruising comes only with the excitement and exhiliration of the crested seas to be found outside the harbor. Perhaps the best concrete examples of the various forms of cruising waters we are blessed with are to be found by selecting New York City as a starting point. As this port and its environs comprise the chief pleasure boat center of this country, it is undoubtedly the starting point for more cruises than any other. 73 The Power Cruiser's Pilot A hitch behind 74 Some Good Cruising Waters Three points of the compass lie open to our choice. The bow may be turned northward up the Hudson and by means of the canals to the lakes and rivers beyond; or we may head eastward through glorious Long Island Sound to the open water beyond ; or, again, we may turn to the south, running boldly down the Jersey coast, or taking the famous "Inside route", which so many cruisers annually traverse on their way to Florida. Roughly speaking, the cruise northward will be the least exciting and hazardous for the beginner, though by no means devoid of enjoyment to all lovers of the cruise; the eastward cruise provides the most zest and open water, while the inside route southward, if car- ried far enough, gives one a sample of every phase of cruising known from the pastoral and sometimes tedi- ous canal and the tortuous passages through swamp- land to the exposed outside runs along the Carolina coast, where Hatteras has a reputation for wrecks. A Cruise Up the Hudson Full of Interest The cruise up the majestic Hudson and beyond is full of interest and varied scenery. Until we reach the Great Lakes and the broader portions of Lake Champlain on this cruise, no water is likely to be encountered too rough for even the smallest boat if the skipper use prudence and stays in port when con- ditions are unfavorable. It should be remembered that the more exposed reaches of the lower Hudson when the wind and tide are working at cross purposes, are very disagreeable and at times even dangerous to small craft. Even a stout 40- footer can get a good shaking- up and occasionally take solid green over the bow in some of the uncomfortable choppy seas which make up on the river at certain times. The small boat cruiser should also look out for sudden squalls when among the Highlands. 75 The Power Cruiser's Pilot IS 76 Some Good Cruising Waters Starting from New York, then, with a cruiser of ordinary speed, say 9 or 10 knots, we find the run to West Point, a distance of 50 miles, a pleasant one for the first day. On any cruise the first day's run should be short, and try as one will, he cannot make an early start on that day. There are too many last things to put on board, too many last things to attend to at home before leaving. The small open boat cruiser will find a very beautiful spot for spending the night on the west bank of the river, about five miles below West Point. The place is called Popola Cove and is a V-shaped little indentation, flanked with high wooded hills on either side. The West-Shore railroad bridge, however, prevents any but very low boats from enter- ing the cove, though it is worth a visit by tender from the craft. It should be remembered that on the Hudson it is well to seek shelter for the night in some cove or branch stream wherever possible, as the wash from the numerous night steamers is very annoying. Newburgh and Poughkeepsie are the next points of interest on the way up the river. Both have hospitable clubs, belonging to the Hudson River Association and at both towns gasoline and supplies may be con- veniently procured. When you reach Poughkeepsie you will be half-way up the river, or 75 miles from New York. Above Poughkeepsie the Hudson grows narrower and there are several shoals. The beginner will have an opportunity to learn the meanings of buoys and other aids to navigation and to read the charts. Below Newburgh he can go practically anywhere in the river he pleases. The run on up to Albany will furnish a capital opportunity for him to safely attempt running on compass bearings, estimate his speed with and against the tide, and to become familiar generally with the rudiments of inland navigation preparatory to mak- ing use of this knowledge later on in more open waters. 77 The Power Cruiser's Pilot The tide in the Hudson is an element which he should carefully figure upon beforehand, making his starts nt such times as to give him the best use of favorable tides. It is high tide at Albany just six hours later than it is at New York, and a 12-knot boat starting up the river at the first of the flood can carry it practically all the way if he runs right through. The beginner will be puzzled to find the tide running out A bell buoy at New York for sometimes two hours after it is low tide by the government tide tables. The veterans of the Hudson will explain the why of this to him. Saugertis, Kingston and Hudson (or Athens on the opposite shore) will be found agreeable places for spending the night, on the upper Hudson, providing, as each does, a quiet harbor ofif the main stream, where one can sleep without fear of landing on the floor after every steamer passes. The latter place is 28 miles below Albany, a short morning's run, leaving the 78 Some Good Cruising Waters balance of the day to inspecting the sights of New York's capital. At the Capitol itself, a permit for the use of the Erie or Champlain Canals must be procured from the superintendent of public works before you will be allowed to enter either of these state waterways. Canals are Deep and Easy to Navigate These canals are entirely free, and are deep and easy to navigate, as compared with some of the canals in the southern states. In all probability the cruiser will elect the Champlain Canal, unless he is bound for the Great Lakes or the Thousand Islands, since this is much shorter and less tedious because of the fewer locks. There is a speed regulation of six miles per hour in each canal. The Erie Canal is entered at West Troy and the Champlain at Troy. . The run across the state of New York by means of the former is very long and the locks are very numerous. To reach the Thousand Islands, the Erie Canal is left at Syracuse and the Oswego Canal entered. At the city, of Oswego, Lake Ontario is reached and a bold dash across the eastern end of the big pond bring us to the entrance of the St. Lawrence River, from which it is but a short run to Alexandria Bay. This run will take nearly a week, however, from Albany, at best, while a week is the shortest time that can safely be allowed for the run through the Erie Canal to Buffalo. The Champlain Canal, however, will bring one into some of the finest cruising waters of the country in a much shorter time, as it is only 63 miles long and contains only 23 locks, while the Erie Canal is over 300 miles long. On the Champlain Canal a good place to lie over is Mechanicsville, from which place an interesting side trip to Saratoga Springs may be conveniently made by trolley or automobile. The entrance to Lake Champlain is at the little town 79 The Power Cruiser's Pilot ■ex 80 Some Good Cruising Waters of Whitehall. For the first 18 miles the lake is very- narrow, the course is crooked and appears to be more like a river than a lake. The scenery, however, is very beautiful and picturesque, and the navigation very simple. At Crown Point we come out into the broader expanse of the lake. From here it is but a short run to Ticonderoga, equally famous in history and now famous for mosquitoes. This is the nearest point to Lake George, five miles overland. Continuing up the lake, and following the Vermont shore, we pass a number of inviting coves and bays and finally pass Shelburne Point- and come to Burling- ton, the metropolis of the state of Vermont. This is a good place to lie over for a few days and make side trips from, making headquarters either at Burlington itself or at Queen City Park, a little to the southward. Straight across the lake on the New York shore is Port Kent, from which Au Sable Chasm and the Adiron- dacks may be easily reached by rail. Mallets Bay, 25 miles above Burlington on the Vermont side, is another interesting and beautiful place with a splendid harbor. Farther north is Plattsburgh, on the New York side, and St. Albans, Vermont, then Rouse's Point, where the Richelieu River is entered for those bound for the St. Lawrence. Space will not permit dwelling on the delights of cruising in those superb Canadian water- ways, but if you have time, cruise around the triangle, going to the Thousand Islands, as we have indicated, then running down the St. Lawrence to Sorel, turning up the Richelieu River and returning to New York by way of Lake Champlain, Champlain Canal and Hudson River. The charts required for the cruise up the Hudson and to the lakes and other waters beyond, are as fol- lows : Coast and Geodetic charts Nos. 281, 282, 283, 284, charts of Lake Champlain are now published by the war department. These, together with charts of 81 The Power Cruiser's Pilot What the cruiser goes south for 82 Some Good Cruising Waters the Great Lakes and the upper St. Lawrence may be obtained by addressing Chart Department, Power Boat- ing, Cleveland, O. Florida "Inside Route" Now Well Known The "Inside Route" to Florida, concerning which a comparatively few were familiar with a decade ago, is now very well known and is taken annually by hun- dreds of pleasure craft of all kinds, sizes and descrip- tions. The shallower portions of the route have been improved somewhat during the last few years, and improvements in the way of dredging and the erection of aids to navigation are now being continued gradually. The route has been made much easier to follow by the publication by the Coast and Geodetic Survey of an edition of the coast charts, covering the route with the course to be taken on the inside route shown by a dotted red line. An "Inside Route Pilot" has also been issued by the government, which gives detailed sailing directions, covering the entire route from New York to Key West. A second volume has recently been issued, covering the partially inside route along the Gulf coast between Key West and New Orleans. Quite a number of cruising men who have had time for it, have completed the cruise around the eastern half of the United States, covering the Hudson, Erie Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Missis- sippi River, and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, probably the most pretentious cruise possible in this country. If taken, it should be made in that order rather than the reverse. The Mississippi is not an easy stream to buck, nor a short one. So much has been written about the inside route to Florida and the government instructions and helps are now so complete that we will not say more about it here. Taken as a whole, it is a most enjoyable cruise, 83 The Power Cruiser's Pilot ^ £ CO -si 84 Some Good Cruising Waters though to the majority of people the portion north of Charleston will be found the most enjoyable. Long Island Sound a Fine Cruising Ground Conveniently situated at the very door of America's metropolis is what many consider to be the finest sheet of water for cruising in the whole world — Long Island Sound. Other spots more beautiful in rugged grandeur can be found; other portions of the globe undoubtedly possess bits of water more picturesque and striking. Yet as one comes out of the choked and swirling East River and meets with his eye the blue sheet of salt water with the green shoreline stretching away in a gradually widening V, frees his lungs from the smoke and dust of the city and drinks in the pure salt-laden free air straight from the Atlantic, his soul must indeed be dead if he does not imbibe the beauty and inspiration of the scene. The Sound contains just the right amount of variety, just the right amount of "spice". Never is it as tame as the canal; never is it as dangerous to the able boat in skilled hands as Monomoy or Hatteras. Harbors, good ones and easy of access are plentiful along both shores, and the aids to navigation are all that could be desired. Always is one in sight of a light from lighthouse or light vessel on a clear night, and in most places several are visible at the same time. Long Island Sound is 76 nautical miles in length down its axis, and 16 miles wide at its widest part, off New Haven, Conn. Therefore, the run from New London, Conn., at its eastern end to New York can easily be made in a single day or night ; yet a two weeks' cruise may be profitably spent without fear of repetition or lack of variety without leaving its waters. When one is making the run through the Sound merely as a means to an end, if he has a fairly large 85 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Out to sea with a fresh breeze, the auxiliary is supreme Some Good Cruising Waters craft and good weather, he should follow the ship course running from Execution Rocks light, E. by N. 31 miles (nautical) to Stratford Shoal light; thence E. y 2 N. 34 miles to Cornfield light vessel; thence E. l /\. S. Southerly 15 miles to Race Rock light if bound east through the Race, or E. ]/ 2 N. Northerly 11.7 miles to Bartless Reef light if bound for New London or Fisher's Island Sound. If bound for Shelter Island or Greenport by way of Plum Gut, he should maintain an E. J / 2 N. course from Matinicock Buoy \\y% miles, to Oldfield Point; thence E. ]/ A N. 53^ 8 miles to Plum Gut. The Interesting Harbors Along the Sound But it is to be hoped that the cruiser on Long Island Sound for the first time will not have to rush through it without stopping, but may follow along the interesting coast on the Connecticut shore, returning by the Long Island shore. Assuming that he can devote sufficient time for this, we will mention the most suitable and interesting harbors along the north and south shores, from New York eastward along the Con- necticut shore and from Fisher's Island westward along the Long Island shore. Distances and bearings may be obtained from Charts Nos. 115 and 116, while de- tailed sailing directions will be found in the United States Coast Pilot, Vol. IV. City Island, at the western end of the Sound is a convenient harbor for lying overnight in after running- through the East river preparatory to running the Sound. Echo Bay, New Rochelle, is a small and usually congested harbor easily entered. It is the home of the New Rochelle Yacht Club. Larchmont harbor, a couple of miles farther east, and the home of the Larchmont Yacht Club, is not as cozy and comfortable or as convenient a harbor for the small and unpretentious 87 The Power Cruiser's Pilot cruiser. Stamford harbor is easy of access, but one has to run up quite a ways to avoid the swell, which is troublesome off the Stamford Yacht Club. Bridge- port is the next good and convenient harbor eastward, but this is noisy and some distance in from the Sound. If not in need of supplies, it is much better to keep on and lie over at the mouth of the Housatonic River, just east of Stratford Point, where a quiet harbor will be found, a half mile from your direct course. New Haven harbor is poor for yachts and the small boat will find a much quieter and cozier harbor at Branford, 10 miles farther east, from which New Haven may be reached by trolley. The Thimble Islands, a few miles east of Branford, are picturesque and possess one of the most attractive small harbors on the Sound. Care should be observed in entering, however, on accourt of the reefs. The next good and convenient harbor to the east- ward is Duck Island, a harbor of refuge, located in the hollow of an L, formed by two breakwaters and the island itself. It is very near the direct course, but no supplies can be obtained there. Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, comes next, a good harbor, with a clubhouse belonging to the Hartford Yacht Club, located there. To the eastward from Saybrook the next good harbor is New London, the queen of them all. Here the New York Yacht Club have a station, here is located the famous Hotel Gris- wold, here all supplies and repairs can be obtained with despatch. Harbors on the South Shore are not Numerous The harbors on the south shore of the Sound are not as numerous except at the western end. Gardiner's Bay, Shelter Island Sound, Great and Little Peconic Bays, while not properly a part of Long Island Sound, 88 Some Good Cruising Waters are easily reached by a short run from the Race or Plum Gut and are well worth visiting. Westward of the Gut the only harbor is Mattituck, until we come to Port Jefferson, nearly opposite Bridgeport. Then farther westward are the beautiful indentations of Huntington Bay, Oyster Bay, Hempstead Harbor and Manhasset Bay, each possessing several anchorages of more than ordinary interest and beauty. And yet, with all its beauty and attractions, Long Island Sound is but a gateway to the extensive and alluring cruising grounds beyond. As we pass through the Race between Fishers Island and Gull Island and enter Rock Island Sound, most of w T hich is practically open ocean, we feel the long, easy roll of the old Atlantic, find the water even bluer and the air still more salty and invigorating. If we prefer, we can run through Fishers Island Sound and enter Block Island Sound by Watch Hill Passage, giving us about nine miles more of protected water. Then comes the 18-mile stretch along the beach to Narragansett Bay, which we enter after rounding Point Judith. Here is found the lively and fashionable harbor of Newport. Buzzard's Bay Close Rival of the Sound Continuing our cruise eastward, another day's run brings us well up Buzzard's Bay, a close rival of Long Island Sound in cruising delights. By means of the Cape Cod Canal we easily reach Cape Cod Bay, the quaint old harbor of Plymouth, and Boston Harbor. It is then a long outside run to Portland Harbor, Maine, where fairyland itself begins for all who have time to cruise down the famous Maine Coast. All the way to Eastport an inside route w T ith occasional open stretches threads its way through green-covered islands. Rocks are plentiful and there is not timber in the state of Maine to buoy them all, but the water is deep 89 The Power Cruiser's Pilot Pilgrim monument at Pr ovine et own, overlooking Massachusetts bay 90 Some Good Cruising Waters and navigation profoundly interesting. To mention the delightful harbors well worth visiting along the Maine Coast would be merely to read the names off the map as we chug eastward down this ragged rock- strewn coast of both wild and gentle character. No- body should miss a cruise along the Maine Coast some time in his cruising career. Great Lakes a Cruiser's Paradise There are several other portions of this great coun- try where the power boat cruiser may find splendid and beautiful waterways to explore. Certain parts of the Great Lakes are a cruiser's paradise in themselves, possessing plenty of change and interesting country to satisfy the most exacting for years. The Mississippi is well worth cruising down. The Pacific Coast possesses many unique features and cruising conditions there are such as to attract the most adventurous. There are very extensive cruising grounds, however, suffi- ciently protected to afford the small boat owner a lifetime of enjoyment. Of these Puget Sound is world-famous. Many consider the inside route up the British Columbia and Alaskan Coast to be the finest cruise in the world. And so we find that no matter in what particular spot upon this planet we happen to have our habitation we shall not lack for a place to cruise. To many of us it is impossible to get away for more than week-end trips, with an occasional week or two weeks for a "real one" to strange waters. To others of us may sometimes come the special privilege of a month or six months aboard the cruiser. But whether the cruise be short or long, whether it be made in an open dory or a palatial houseboat, and whether it be to Coney Island or the Florida Keys, its opportunities are there. Opportunities for pure 91 The Power Cruiser's Pilot sport, wholesome and life-renewing; opportunities for bringing out the best there is in a man by close intimacy with a kind and with an angry sea. Such opportunities you will discover and enjoy in fullest measure if you but plan well, start well, finish well; — in short, if you but cruise well. It has been my aim in this little book to help the new recruit in our great power boat navy achieve this happy end in the shortest and most painless manner. And I sin- cerely hope that the foregoing remarks, as scattered and disjointed perhaps as a swirling tide rip, may at least enable those putting out from the home port for the first time to find some shelter behind the friendly breakwater of experience. 92 Some Good Cruising Waters 93 ■ . : ■ ■•■ : ' ••■'.■• ■ HHHHnHI ■■■■■ ■HgH