"It might have been simpler and quicker and cheaper to build a new boat"

December 12, 2020 10:52 AM

"Hi. My name's Leo, and I'm a boat builder and a sailor, and I'm on a mission to rebuild and restore this 110-year-old classic sailing yacht, Tally Ho." Over 3 years and 87 episodes (and counting), Leo Sampson Goolden and an ever-changing team of volunteers have documented the process of tearing down the old keel and deck, raising money by piloting and building other boats, milling live oak and casting bronze, and explaining what all the words mean. One man’s mission to save a historic ship built a digital community
posted by clawsoon (22 comments total)

It's always "simpler and quicker and cheaper to build a new boat." Always.
A boat restoration project can ruin you and your family for generations.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 11:16 AM on December 12, 2020 [7 favorites]

I have been watching this since March. I had to get through a couple of year backlog and I remember thinking, as the vlog date approached the current date that they were all about to Find Something Out. Turned out to be anticlimactic, just like a lot of this year.

Anyways, it really has been one of the bright spots of my year, watching the boat come together. I especially enjoyed the process of lofting and the boat saw, which I'd never heard of before.

Pancho is my favorite member of the team.
posted by Horkus at 11:35 AM on December 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm a huge fan of Leo. His video's are on my 'must immediately watch list.' I've been following him for a couple of years now, sent a few donation items and recently became a patron. As the post suggests, there's no one thing that pulls me in... it's the amalgam of beautiful woodworking, careful architectural design, a sense of preserving history while carefully introducing modern techniques and details, and a wonderful cast of characters who have shown up to help over time. Add one dancing parrot, a couple of dogs, chickens, plenty of obscure nautical terms for a landlubber like myself, and funny inside jokes that eventually become clear*, and you've got a engrossing story. And at this point, as Leo gently reminds us every episode, this work subsists purely on the donations of many strangers who will likely never see the finished product in person, myself included.

I am disappointed not to have shared this with y'all myself.

* So, what are you working on, Pete?

Thanks much. New video just dropped today.
posted by grimjeer at 11:35 AM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

It's always "simpler and quicker and cheaper to build a new boat." Always.

Ironically, by the time they're done there'll be very little of the original boat left. Leo discusses the Ship of Theseus in respect of the Tally Ho.
posted by clawsoon at 11:52 AM on December 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

I have to say, "Tally Ho" is a phenomenal name for an old boat. Just perfect.
posted by brundlefly at 11:58 AM on December 12, 2020

Rise Again
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 1:50 PM on December 12, 2020

A boat restoration project can ruin you and your family for generations.

So, do you have some links for us here or is this just a general purpose ghost story writing prompt.
posted by mhoye at 3:17 PM on December 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

mhoye: So, do you have some links for us here or is this just a general purpose ghost story writing prompt.

"If in the first act you have hung an old yacht on the wall, then in the following one it should be restored."
posted by clawsoon at 3:50 PM on December 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

I look forward to each and every new upload from Leo like, I dunno, church or something. I'm actually a little disappointed on the Saturdays that don't have a new upload. Even though I know very little about woodworking and even less about boats and sailing I find all of it absolutely fascinating. And Leo is such a good explainer and videographer.

I think my #1 favorite bit is the part 1 and part 2 episodes on Lofting the Lines. This is a process where you take the ship's plans/blueprints and then REDRAW THEM AT FULL SCALE on the floor. That was the point when it really hit home for me just how crazy an undertaking this is. Just the scale of it and the depth of planning that's going to have to go into each and every single thing - amazing.

I fully expect to be watching every single video from this channel for the next forty years.
posted by ssmith at 4:11 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Real English captions... +1
posted by Fukiyama at 4:43 PM on December 12, 2020

I plan every other Saturday morning around grabbing a fresh cup of coffee and sitting down to watch the latest episode - I was fortunate to find the series early on and it's been a real pleasure to watch him and the team put the boat back together. It's been really great to introduce new people to the series as well - if you like this you may want to check out Acorn to Arabella and Salt and Tar, although those two series aren't filmed in the same style and with the same overall project goals.
posted by iamabot at 5:03 PM on December 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

Clawsoon’s link to Ep 58 - the ship of Theseus discussion is a great overview. Recommend that to anyone just finding this for the first time. I’m just dipping in myself and it hits all my buttons.
posted by bumpkin at 6:04 PM on December 12, 2020

Wonderful series. Been following it for over two years now. Can't wait to see it on the water.

if you like this you may want to check out Acorn to Arabella and Salt and Tar,

Plus Tips From A Shipwright, with Louis Sauzedde.
posted by Pouteria at 7:20 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you'd like to also watch a boat restoration project that might actually get done pretty soon, I've been really enjoying Expedition Evans, by a scrappy young couple who bought a (hopefully!) salvageable 2008 Beneteau 49 at auction and are rebuilding it from the hull up.
posted by nicwolff at 8:18 PM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Today's episode reveals that Leo is a pretty competent illustrator, as well. Before the episode, being a lover of old mechanical things, I was on team "original olde engine!" but am now fascinated, excited to see and in complete agreement with his choice.

I think I found his channel when he was at about episode...40? or so, and I really look forward to every other week. Before covid hit, I was hoping to go volunteer, even if only to push a broom around or clean tools, but that's ok, he's got some very competent folks helping at the moment.
posted by maxwelton at 9:07 PM on December 12, 2020

There's another wooden boat restoration being documented on YouTube in nearby Port Townsend; the Western Flyer, the boat featured in Steinbeck's "Sea of Cortez".
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 1:09 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

Mei's lost sandal: There's another wooden boat restoration being documented on YouTube in nearby Port Townsend; the Western Flyer, the boat featured in Steinbeck's "Sea of Cortez".

I think I see a familiar face. I have my suspicions about whether he ever rests.
posted by clawsoon at 5:14 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]

So, do you have some links for us here or is this just a general purpose ghost story writing prompt.

I'll offer that Leo is unlikely to disagree. Early on I worried that he was making a life changing mistake, but it turns out he's well equipped to the task. The only question I have is where the seemingly endless money he's sunk into the project comes from.
posted by wotsac at 8:08 PM on December 13, 2020

I'll offer that Leo is unlikely to disagree. Early on I worried that he was making a life changing mistake, but it turns out he's well equipped to the task. The only question I have is where the seemingly endless money he's sunk into the project comes from.

Youtube and Patreon seems to be funding him now, although in the early days I think he was just scraping by trying to figure out how to fit in work between gigs working other boats.
posted by iamabot at 8:36 PM on December 13, 2020

Thank you for posting this, I got sucked in and watched 3 or 4 hours last night.

Ironically, by the time they're done there'll be very little of the original boat left. Leo discusses the Ship of Theseus in respect of the Tally Ho.

There's a nice point in episode (11?) where he addresses this and says either he's sailing a 100 year old boat or he's sailing a boat that he built and that those are the 2 most romantic things he can think of, so who cares?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:20 AM on December 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

Last time I did the math, the Sampson Boat Company patreon was (probably) pulling in roughly $10 - $15K per video, so double that per month, at a video every two weeks. (It's hard to know exactly, but that was making a reasonable guess as to average level of support given his tiers, ie, a large majority at the base level and smaller percentages climbing the ladder.)

I have no idea what type of money comes from YouTube ad sharing, but I can't imagine it's much of a small fraction of that...the old general math from a couple of years ago was about $6,000 per 1M views, wasn't it?

I suspect it mostly goes back into the boat. Numbers I can remember from the videos include things like $20,000 for the live oak for the frames, $6,000 for just the keel timber (let alone the rest of the purpleheart for the centerline), and he just spent $35,000 on the bronze floors and hanging knees. He also pays Pete, buys food and presumably throws in pocket money for the volunteers...it's a hugely expensive undertaking.
posted by maxwelton at 8:21 AM on December 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

thatwhichfalls: It's always "simpler and quicker and cheaper to build a new boat." Always.
A boat restoration project can ruin you and your family for generations.

Ha. That was my takeaway from reading Farley Mowat's https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/118210/the-boat-who-wouldnt-float-by-farley-mowat/9780771064630 as a kid.

This is a great series of videos. Thanks for the post.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:28 AM on December 15, 2020