Yard work is the least glamorous part of owning a boat. From scraping to sanding, varnishing to cleaning out the bilge, it is necessary work but hardly romantic. Rosenfeld photographs show women engaged in these mundane tasks, working alone or with a partner to caulk seams, paint engine parts, or prepare the rig for another sailing season. 

The women depicted in these photographs were probably not boatyard employees. Many look to be average people captured in their work clothes, often facing away from the camera to concentrate on the tasks at hand. They work on their own boats, probably in yards on City Island in the Bronx where Morris Rosenfeld lived. A few women, with pristine clothes, perfect hair, and carefully posed facing the camera, were probably paid models for the Rosenfelds’ commercial work. Regardless, they all attest to women’s contributions to the necessary work of boat repair and maintenance.

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