Page:Yachting wrinkles; a practical and historical handbook of valuable information for the racing and cruising yachtsman (IA yachtingwrinkles00keneiala).pdf/286

 racing stables and theatres run for the pleasure of rich men without business instincts. A large racing yacht conducted on the same extravagant and reckless basis might well hold the third place in the list.

A prudent man, before investing in a yacht, will make inquiries as to the probable expense likely to be incurred, and will cut his coat according to his cloth. In this he will act as a sensible man making any other investment. Before purchasing a cottage at Newport, a person of average intelligence calculates the cost, and decides whether it is within his power to afford such a luxury. He doesn't rush at it blindly like a bull at a gate. Most of our racing yachtsmen have begun when mere boys, generally with small craft, and have gradually worked their way upward tentatively, as it were, until they have owned the largest type of vessel. Take Mr. J. Rogers Maxwell, a representative yachtsman, as an instance. He commenced his yachting career with a mere cockleshell of a craft some fifteen feet long. He has ascended by easy stages, and knows the cost of building and running all kinds of pleasure craft. The result of his varied experience would be valuable indeed, for he has had a hand in the design of every craft that has carried his private signal.

The life of the yacht owner, of course, is not all rose-colored. There is an occasional dash of bitterness in his daily