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This elegant outfit was to be worn when we were to move our boat to the boatyard for her bi-annual bottom paint job. My husband had made arrangements for our boat to be hauled out of the water at this downtown boatyard. I was to arrive early and make sure that a slip was available for us to put our boat in.

When I arrived in my couture outfit, I walked over to what I thought would be an empty slip. Looking over the edge of the wall I saw that it already contained a rather large powerboat. The boat looked very well taken care of. Even though we spend an inordinate amount of time repairing and refurbishing our sailboat, the varnish on the teak outside is flaking off from the Florida sun so it doesn’t look as good as it should. I wondered briefly what to do about not finding an empty slip, but I knew that my Captain would be coming soon and he might or might not have a solution so I knew it was safe to do nothing.

I noticed a huge yacht directly across from what was supposed to be our slip, and I took a few seconds to admire its brightly polished exterior. It looked like it was cared for by a professional crew, as so many of Ft. Lauderdale’s finest yachts are.

Just then a Jeep drove up and broke the silence. When you are standing by the water in your own thoughts anything can break the silence. A man slightly older than I am parked and walked over to near where I was standing.

"How are you this evening?" I asked, after wondering for a moment whether I should even speak to this perfect stranger. In South Florida, the social norms don’t always apply.

"Fine and yourself?" the gentleman asked.

Before I answered the man about how fine I was, I noticed his eyes scanning me up and down. There was nothing inappropriate about the way he was looking at me, but I wondered why he was staring so intently. Then it hit me--he was staring at my beautiful, bright yellow rain outfit! I could see it in his eyes. He nodded to the huge yacht across the canal and said, "Is that yours?"

Now tell me if clothes don’t make the woman!

Editor’s Note: If you want your classic sailboat to look like a yacht, there are many good books available to help you with your refinishing and detailing. Take it from me—I’ve been obsessed with making boats look pretty ever since I was old enough to pick up a can of varnish. You don’t want to take on a refinishing project until you’ve done your homework. Don Casey’s books are always good. Sailboat Refinishing tells you how to fix up an old boat on a budget, and This Old Boat is a classic. Also, try 100 Fast & Easy Boat Repairs for a quick read and some great tips.