Ventilators are a very important part of the boat. The model-builder will encounter considerable trouble if he attempts to make his cowl-ventilator from metal, unless he is very experienced in drawing copper out by hand. The writer has found a method of producing cowl-ventilators by the use of clay pipes. Clay pipes can be purchased for a few cents each, and when cut down as shown in Fig. 96 they form very suitable ventilators. The pipe can be cut as shown by the use of a file. The ventilator is held to the deck of the boat by being forced into a hole in the deck that is just a trifle under size. Of course, the forcing will have to be done carefully to prevent the stem from cracking. The inside of the ventilator should always be painted red, and the outside should be the same color as the boat. Ventilators made in this way absolutely defy detection and do much toward bettering the general appearance of the craft upon which they are used.
A simple searchlight, easily made by the model boat builder, is shown in Fig. 97. This is an electric light, and the batteries used to propel the boat can be used for the light. First a small circular piece of wood is cut out, as shown at _A_, Fig. 97. The center of this is drilled out to accommodate a small flashlight bulb. A tiny brass screw is then driven into the piece of wood, so that it will come in contact with the center of the base of the flashlight bulb. This little screw forms one of the electrical contacts, and one of the wires from the battery is attached to it.
A little strip of brass is then cut as shown in _B_, Fig. 97, and provided with three holes, one hole at each end and one in the middle. The brass is bent into a semicircular shape, so that it will be just a little larger in diameter than the outside of the wooden piece in which the flashlight bulb is mounted. This little piece is then fastened to a wooden post with a small brass pin, as shown in Fig. 97. Two more pins are used to hold the wooden piece to the searchlight proper. One of these pins is driven through the wooden piece until it comes in contact with the base of the flashlight bulb. This forms the other electrical connection, and the second feed wire from the battery can be attached to the little brass piece that holds the searchlight. Both the feed wires from the battery can come up through a hole in the deck close to the wooden post upon which the searchlight is mounted.