Do real mariners sew curtains?

The ragged remnants of moldy old curtains hung in her windows when Ms. Bettencourt came to me in 2004. When I pulled them down, the rusty curtain rods and plastic brackets came with them.

In the context of the rest of the long-abandoned boat rehab mess I was facing at the time, new curtains were immediately assigned a "maybe someday" priority.

A long time passed. Then, a couple of years ago, I happened on a source for 1/4-inch fiberglass rods. I bought some rods, made some oak brackets and installed curtain rods at the tops and bottoms of the forward and aft cabin windows. After that, the project stalled. The curtain rods have been used mostly for towel racks. After the last cruise, however, it was decided the time had come for curtain work.

My wife Dia helped me select material. Dia doesn't sew--even buttons--but she has a great eye for colors, patterns and how decorative stuff works together. She is also good with coupons and getting deals at stores. My friend Paul's wife Erena, who is an accomplished interior designer, looked at my windows photos and measured drawings and helped estimate how many yards of fabric we should buy. She told me how to sew headers and rod pockets. She told me there is a difference between hems and seams. She said I should use Mercerized cotton thread.

I'm thinking: Hey, how hard can this be? We're only talking about six little windows. This will not be a Martha Stewart project. Sewing machines are not that complicated. I remember my mother helping me make a shirt for a Teddy bear with her sewing machine. I don't remember if she was sewing the shirt, or if I was at the controls. Nobody was hurt, as I recall.

My friend Major has a sewing machine he said I can use. Nevertheless, I am now thinking this might be more difficult than expected.

Perhaps the next thing I need to do is to cut some fabric. I hate to do that. The stuff looks so good on the roll. Scissors are unforgiving implements. Cuts are forever.

Dia says we should hire somebody to make the curtains. I am going to the library to get some sewing books. This job can wait awhile longer.