A big project!

[Rasputin22 2,549]

On 7/23/2019 at 3:49 PM, longy said:

Purple heart wood is toxic at some level. Research before you indulge.

I can attest to that!

[t.rex 80]

 

 

EPISODE 55. Tally Ho is fully re-framed! In this episode we see the final part of the frame-raising party, as we make and install the last of the frames that make up the bow of the boat. We also work on the Fashion Pieces, and take some time to do some local sailing. Finally, a container-full of really long timber arrives from Suriname, and we have to figure out the logistics of moving it around.

[HFC Hunter 147]

Loved his call about looking forward to picking up tools quietly on his own, rather than managing people. He’s smart enough to know when to have a team, and looks like he manages them brilliantly, but his heart remains the craftsman.

Exceptional fellow.

[Antoine31 13]

Exceptional fellow?  That's an understatement. 

[IStream 2,226]

What a thing of beauty that last, lingering shot is. Justified pride in a job well done!

[blunderfull 441]

No Wana jokes?   C’mon guys!

Wana see some?   Ck the Y’tube comments.

$25k for that container.   Forgot the price of the Live Oak - $18k??   Scaling up to a million $$$ + project.   Yikes, keep those Patreon gifts and Y’tube ad revenue coming.    

Jannelle, the new vanlife ‘star’,  reportedly pulling in from Y’Tube ads a cool $27k/month. 

Ad revenue numbers:

https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCaXEr4t_QBZBk3qlIlc2HRg

Things are really different now if you can not only build something cool but, also film and edit to a high level for big brand impact.   Amazing to watch these people pull their dreams off with help from their friends.

Go Leo!

[MauiPunter 665]

I am amazed at the pace this is going.

[Dex Sawash 447]

 

[Alcatraz5768 413]

It's a pleasure to watch Leo work. I really like his attitude to safety and PPE equipment which somewhat mirrors mine, wear what is appropriate, dont burden yourself with all the gear on all the time. Having said that, Leo looks like he is a huge proponent of self responsibility which is the other half of choosing what gear to wear and when. Huge respect. 

[blunderfull 441]

Stu & his Dad stop out in Western Mass to ck out Arabella.  Good stuff here.   Next stop: Tulsa, OK with Doug & SV Seeker.

[MauiPunter 665]

Who knew a "cutwater" was to, cut the water? 

[Boink 661]

It is so refreshing to see some honesty about undertaking critical cuts. It was palpable that the moment when he starts up that chainsaw to make the cutwater was with considerable anxiety.

You consider how much time and effort has gone into making those timbers and the responsibility of making sure that you measure twice and cut once makes this high stakes tool use. Big Chainsaws are unwieldly at the best of times - the apparent ease and effortless nature is not just slick editing. Real craftmanship.  I have been tasked with cutting big pieces of expensive timber in my time - but not like this. Big ups Leo, you earned a beer there my boy. As for Pancho, surely this bird deserves to be at next years emmys as a winner?

[allene222 67]

All the frames are new as is the keel and bow and stern timbers. I had thought he was going to reuse the planks but seems that his success as a youtuber has him buying wood for the planks and he is discussing what wood to buy for the deck beams. The lead is original though. I wonder if any other bits of the original boat will be useful. Someone said would it would be better to just build a new boat from scratch rather than calling it a restoration. The truth is that it would be easier to buy a fiberglass boat.  Anybody who wants to build, restore, or even own a wood boat is crazy. It is just a matter of degree as to how crazy they are. Leo is pretty much out there on the crazy scale. Probably a bit further out that I am. I just spent a couple weeks with a router and west system repairing the splits in my hull from the last year. 40 mahogany splines, most short. I missed the second series of races this year because I cut my finger nearly in half with my table say but won all 5 of the races in the 3rd series so life is good. Still crazy after all these years, just not as crazy or skilled as Leo.

[southerncross 3,901]

Reckon Leo could fall back on his chainsaw skills if the boat restoration thing doesn’t work out.

[MauiPunter 665]

 

 

[Boink 661]

Come a get it! While its Hot......

Fresh out the oven.

 

[Antoine31 13]

Astonishing level of craftsmanship in the cutwater. This guy can do anything. My question:  After watching all the videos, I wonder how much of what we see replicates what the original build was like.  Difficult  to imagine this level of craft and precession going into the original boat.  How large would the original crew be?  How long did it take to build it? 

[allene222 67]

My boat was not built with that precision. I talked to Buzz when he was measuring Papoose for my new mast. The opening in my cabin top was off to one side by an inch which I considered a huge problem and have since corrected. Buzz said most boats are off and many by several inches. Mine is wood and Buzz was talking mostly about glass boats but still. I also have a friend who grew up hanging out in the boat yard his dad worked in. He said a lot of the cutting was done by eye and thus the length of the finished boats would be different one to the next. But the work that Steve does on my boat mirrors the precision that Leo is showing.

[Snowden 275]

I enjoyed the video but I did wonder why he was doing the cutwater now.

As far as I can see, it's only decorative, and cutting it now means that there's a risk of bashing it with, for example, a forklift truck over the next two years.

[luminary 34]

58 minutes ago, Snowden said:

I enjoyed the video but I did wonder why he was doing the cutwater now.

As far as I can see, it's only decorative, and cutting it now means that there's a risk of bashing it with, for example, a forklift truck over the next two years.

i believe he explained it - so that its easier to join (missing the boat builder speak) the planking into the stem

[IStream 2,226]

That's what I recall. He wanted to get the forward edge of the cutwater shaped to facilitate the cutting of the rabbet for the planks.

[blunderfull 441]

Doug showing off.  

My head hurts sometimes with his detailed life.  

Hive Mind.
 

 

[allene222 67]

Ironwood?

[familysailor 121]

 

[allene222 67]

At the risk of repeating myself:  "Anybody that owns a wood boat is either crazy or in love and it really helps to be both". This video is evidence. So is my boat. Someone just today asked when all the wood in my boat will have been replaced. Never is the answer but a lot has. I think the answer to Leo's riddle is that typically boats have bits replaced a little at a time and nobody would question if it is the same boat. Leo is doing it all at once but as he sort of points out he is also not. He is replacing frames against some of the original planking. And as one new piece goes in, some new old piece comes out. It maintains its identity through every step of the project so it is the same boat. Is it a wise thing to do? See the quote above. 

[blunderfull 441]

4 hours ago, allene222 said:

At the risk of repeating myself:  "Anybody that owns a wood boat is either crazy or in love and it really helps to be both". This video is evidence. So is my boat. Someone just today asked when all the wood in my boat will have been replaced. Never is the answer but a lot has. I think the answer to Leo's riddle is that typically boats have bits replaced a little at a time and nobody would question if it is the same boat. Leo is doing it all at once but as he sort of points out he is also not. He is replacing frames against some of the original planking. And as one new piece goes in, some new old piece comes out. It maintains its identity through every step of the project so it is the same boat. Is it a wise thing to do? See the quote above. 

It's odd to see people question the 'identity' of wooden boats getting refits   I would bet that much of Paul Revere's house & many more Colonial era wood structures around Boston, Concord and Lexington have been refitted many times in the last century without much of a fuss from those who run the Preservation Societies.   Wood rots - end game.

[Black Sox 655]

It's my grandfather's axe. The handle has been replaced 15 times and the head twice. But it's still my grandfather's axe.

Whatever about the "old" boat being rebuilt but by bit and still retaining its identity as the Ship of Theseus, I liked Leo's notion that when, as eventually happens, all the old bits accumulate to one side, you can rebuild them into another Ship of Theseus.

Thus Theseus thrives.

[blunderfull 441]

Doug doing some woodworking.

 

[blunderfull 441]

 

[allene222 67]

 

 

[allene222 67]

Wow.  Why should I not be so impressed with the progress and approach Leo is making after watching post #530 video? They have a crew of thousands and are only half way toward where Leo is in more time. Please excuse my exaggeration (lying) as I have only learned how to do it in the last 3 years.

[blunderfull 441]

1 hour ago, allene222 said:

Wow.  Why should I not be so impressed with the progress and approach Leo is making after watching post #530 video? They have a crew of thousands and are only half way toward where Leo is in more time. Please excuse my exaggeration (lying) as I have only learned how to do it in the last 3 years.

Sail Cargo is much more than the ship.  Local boatbuilding school, tree nursery, etc.   They have a really impressive community growing there.

[Antoine31 13]

Leo is simply astonishing.

[blunderfull 441]

 

[blunderfull 441]

Masts

https://www.sailcargo.org/journal/2019/9/23/haida-gwaii

 

 

Homemade adze

[familysailor 121]

Blunderfull--

 Why not start another thread about your particular interest?

Leave the "A Big project" to Leo and his followers. Please.

[allene222 67]

 

[allene222 67]

 

[allene222 67]

 

His boat will be a lot truer than mine when he is one. The level of precision is something to behold.  Nice tools too.

 

[Presuming Ed 188]

Tally Ho under sail...

 

[Bluto 91]

 

[Bluto 91]

 

 

[blunderfull 441]

Luke Powell’s a Natural Resource.  
Could listen to him talk story all day.

Trying to imagine what it’s like being ‘The Boy’ and the Skipper hands it over to you for the solo 100 mile sail back to port.  
 

Great stuff Leo.  Thx.

[Bluto 91]

1 hour ago, blunderfull said:

Luke Powell’s a Natural Resource.  
Could listen to him talk story all day.

Trying to imagine what it’s like being ‘The Boy’ and the Skipper hands it over to you for the solo 100 mile sail back to port.  
 

Great stuff Leo.  Thx.

 You must have forgot this.

 

[blunderfull 441]

22 minutes ago, Bluto said:

 You must have forgot this.

yup.   Thx.

 

[blunderfull 441]

 

[plenamar 46]

On 1/27/2020 at 9:45 PM, Bluto said:

 

 

This is excellent!

[t.rex 80]

 

 

Back to work on Tally Ho! After returning to the West Coast, I start by planing and bolting the beam shelf scarps joints. In the process, I buy a vintage pipe threading machine and use it to thread the bolts.
After a 3500 mile journey across the USA, a Pink Fireman arrives with a trailer-full of White Oak for TALLY HO’s deck beams, which we unload with the help of a forklift and a stubborn parrot. It’s good to be back!

[Windward 332]

How the heck these craftsmen get joints to line up perfectly is a complete mystery.

Fiberglass or metal are so much more forgiving.  Just slather on some more. (at least the way I always seem to do it)

90% sculpture is woodworking that involves any joints.  Witchcraft!

 

In other news, that bolt making machine is awesome.   

[Antoine31 13]

My question:  How would this compare to the way the boat was built originally in 1910?  Seems like this build is much more precise, careful and exact than the original, and employs more workers than they did in the old days.

[allene222 67]

40 minutes ago, Antoine31 said:

My question:  How would this compare to the way the boat was built originally in 1910?  Seems like this build is much more precise, careful and exact than the original, and employs more workers than they did in the old days.

Compared to my wood boat, he is building a piano.

[Snowden 275]

12 hours ago, Antoine31 said:

My question:  How would this compare to the way the boat was built originally in 1910?  Seems like this build is much more precise, careful and exact than the original, and employs more workers than they did in the old days.

If you are watching the Acorn to Arabella project - they dismantled a similar vintage boat (Victoria) and it was full of shims and bodges to get the deck level.

[MauiPunter 665]

On 2/23/2020 at 10:45 AM, Antoine31 said:

My question:  How would this compare to the way the boat was built originally in 1910?  Seems like this build is much more precise, careful and exact than the original, and employs more workers than they did in the old days.

Leo has already said that when Tally Ho was built, these boats were mass produced work horses, not works of art and were put together the fastest way possible.  A gett'r done kind of attitude.  His restoration will far exceed any example when brand new.

 

[zenmasterfred 399]

I really admire his figure it out attitude and his range of skills is amazing.  A delight to follow the progress, may hop across the Straits to see the project first hand this spring.  Definitely a work of art and love.

[t.rex 80]

 

 

EPISODE 67. In this episode, I finish planing the beamshelves, move them into the boat, and start the process of bending them around the inside of the frames - creating some big loads and some scary creaking noises… Meanwhile, Marshall helps by cleaning up the vintage threading machine, and we send a broken part to Keith Rucker for repairs. In other news, the StarBoat finally finds a great new home, and I have some really exciting news about the future of the project!

[Antoine31 13]

Amazing what one man with a come-along can accomplish. This guy is astonishing. And BTW, has anyone sailed a Star boat?   I always found them intimidating, with their tiny cockpit and low  boom. Must be fast though.

[Oceanconcepts 173]

No one has sailed a Star boat in many years. Sometime back in the 80's they were found to be in violation of the Geneva Convention for treatment of crew. 

[zenmasterfred 399]

If you haven't sailed a Star boat go for it.  Favorite one design boat I have owned and raced.  The game has gotten very expensive at the top level but for a pure sailing experience they can't be beat.  I know that the vintage Star racing is taking off now.  I continue to be amazed how unfazed Leo is about accomplishing super human feats.  My mantra always has been "there is always a way".

[Oceanconcepts 173]

1 hour ago, zenmasterfred said:

If you haven't sailed a Star boat go for it.  Favorite one design boat I have owned and raced.  The game has gotten very expensive at the top level but for a pure sailing experience they can't be beat.  I know that the vintage Star racing is taking off now.  I continue to be amazed how unfazed Leo is about accomplishing super human feats.  My mantra always has been "there is always a way".

The Star was my very first  introduction to sailing, sort of. As a small boy I received a wood model of a Star- a pond sailing model. Even had the class symbol on the sail. I loved that boat.   I doubt I had ever actually seen a real sailboat in person, growing up in 1950's Arizona. Somehow that kicked over gears in my head, started me reading books about sailing, and eventually led to full sized boats.  

Always had a soft spot for Stars. 

[Jules 1,869]

I've been binging on Tally Ho lately.  It's like a drug.  I think I'm up to Ep 52 now.

Earlier I was considering volunteering, in part to escape another Florida summer and in part because I love woodworking and boats.  But that frame raising episode where they turned working on it into a job changed my mind.  I'm retired for a reason. 

But it is fascinating to watch. 

Early on I saw Leo using weekend warrior tools.  I'm sitting there and saying, "Get rid of that battery drill and buy a Milwaukee Hole Hawg!"  Then he's using a Triton wide planer and I'm yelling at him to get a Makita or a Mafell. 

As time goes on I see his tool collection becoming enviable.  And most, if not all, were donated! 

For anyone thinking about doing a refit on their boat, get a decent camera and a YouTube account and walk away with a nice profit, a rejuvenated boat and a lot of great tools.

[Jules 1,869]

On 4/9/2019 at 10:08 AM, A guy in the Chesapeake said:

I'd have never taken you for a wooden boat romantic - glad to see that you and so many others are.

My first taste of a real sailboat was back in 1970.  It was a 1936 Alden 44.  I can't explain why, but I instantly fell in love.  And that has never died.

45 years later, in an attempt to satiate that love, I bought a wooden model kit of the J Class, Endeavour.  I thought that would suffice.  I was wrong.  I'm still having to force myself to work on it, 5 years later.

But put a wood slab in front of me and I'm mesmerized.  There's something beautiful about taking trees and turning them into a sailboat.

[Jules 1,869]

Yesterday I watched the "Ship of Theseus" episode.  It looks like Leo is still struggling with the question if this is a new boat or not.  So I wrote this poem for him in hopes it will dispel his concerns:

 

Every sailing ship has a unique soul
So replace parts as needed should be your goal
For the soul will transfer to the new part
To maintain the beating of the ship’s heart

[allene222 67]

 

[Foiling Optimist 224]

This thing where he sent the broken tool part to vintage machinery guru Keith Rucker who made a couple of videos of repairing it and sent it back, is just so great. You can find the link in the description for the video above. If he sends any parts to Abom79, Adam Booth, my sailing and machine worlds of youtube and internet fora will have completely merged.

[Jules 1,869]

I really thought those 3/8" dies would break apart under the load of a threading machine.  I was pretty surprised they didn't.  I've run pipe threading machines countless times and I know when the dies dull, they have to be changed.  It was pretty cool to see Leo bring them back to life.

[Foiling Optimist 224]

Jules are those dies standard? McMaster-Carr has Rigid threading dies but seemingly only for NPT threads, not straight threads. I wonder where you would get replacements.

[Boink 661]

21 hours ago, Foiling Optimist said:

Jules are those dies standard? McMaster-Carr has Rigid threading dies but seemingly only for NPT threads, not straight threads. I wonder where you would get replacements.

If you go to the You Tube page - in the comments is an offer by a connection to a company, to supply replacement dies. You may want to start there.....

[A guy in the Chesapeake 1,674]

On topic, but a different build - from the CBMM: 

 

[Jules 1,869]

On 3/22/2020 at 1:55 AM, Foiling Optimist said:

Jules are those dies standard? McMaster-Carr has Rigid threading dies but seemingly only for NPT threads, not straight threads. I wonder where you would get replacements.

The dies we used were for conduit.  They don't taper like plumbing pipe dies.  I never had to buy them.  All I had to do was order them from our supplier.

All the threaders I used myself were Rigid.  From hand crank to the full sized machines.  McMaster Carr may have everything but they are pricey.  Most of the contractors I worked for bought the dies from electrical suppliers or direct from Rigid.

[Boink 661]

On 3/23/2020 at 11:13 AM, Boink said:

If you go to the You Tube page - in the comments is an offer by a connection to a company, to supply replacement dies. You may want to start there.....

S/V Oceanghost3 days ago

If you need new cutting die's send me a personal message with the numbers, that should be stamped on the sides. My father owns Worthey Screw Machine Products in Alabama. He may be able to help you.

 

@Foiling Optimist this was the comment in the You Tube page that I referred to. Hope it helps.

You may be able to track the company from there or PM the You Tuber.....

 

Good Luck

[familysailor 121]

On 3/24/2020 at 3:47 AM, A guy in the Chesapeake said:

On topic, but a different build - from the CBMM: 

 

Please start a different thread. Let's keep this purely all thing related to "Tally Ho" and Leo. Thanks.

 

[TheDragon 430]

New video, really good news about hiring another shipwright, and with a volunteer on board, they can get repetitive tasks done while Leo does the tricky design work. Great progress and in coronavirus isolation they should make rapid progress. I visited in October and was very impressed.

 

[t.rex 80]

 

 

 

EPISODE 70. It’s time to start building the Deck Structure! Firstly I take a look at the old Beam Shelves and analyse the 110 year-old joinery of the original boatbuilders. I decide to replicate these joints and we start fitting the King Beams, starting at the stern and working forward. Pete cuts out the Carlins and Half-Beams before joining me fitting the main beams, and Patrick starts with planing and sanding the beams prior to install. After lots and lots of chisel-work fitting the main beams, I look at the original Carlin joints, and then fit the aftermost Carlins that make up the Lazarette hatch.

[allene222 67]

I saw a gap in one of the joints! Finally, building a boat instead of a piano. Probably drove Leo nuts...

[Antoine31 13]

Sharp tools.

 

[PaulK 344]

15 minutes ago, Antoine31 said:

Sharp tools.

 

Mystic Seaport had a webinar this past week on tool sharpening.  Wildly sharp slicks, chisels & plane irons that you could shave with by the time they were done.  Diamond honing stones to get a mico-bevel, and leather strops to finish. They seem to make iroko, angelique and live oak turn into butter. 

[allene222 67]

38 minutes ago, PaulK said:

Mystic Seaport had a webinar this past week on tool sharpening.  Wildly sharp slicks, chisels & plane irons that you could shave with by the time they were done.  Diamond honing stones to get a mico-bevel, and leather strops to finish. They seem to make iroko, angelique and live oak turn into butter. 

There are a number of Youtube videos. Seems one thing that is super important is getting the back flat first.

[sailglobal 5]

22 hours ago, allene222 said:

I saw a gap in one of the joints! Finally, building a boat instead of a piano. Probably drove Leo nuts...

I'd be surprised if that gap wasn't closed when the bolt was installed. Leo is quite the perfectionist.

 

[allene222 67]

18 minutes ago, sailglobal said:

I'd be surprised if that gap wasn't closed when the bolt was installed. Leo is quite the perfectionist.

 

I don't think Leo did that one. Look at 14:34 and compare it to 11:07 or 11:14. Boats should have gaps here and there. It isn't going to hurt anything and will get covered up by the deck.

[SloopJohnB 236]

Leo is buggered as he couldn't go back at night and redo the joint.

[allene222 67]

10 minutes ago, SloopJohnB said:

Leo is buggered as he couldn't go back at night and redo the joint.

1) He doesn't have enough wood to replace it

2) There is a lot of labor in that piece

3) It doesn't matter.

But yeah...

[Boink 661]

I think the boots that were pressing down on that Less than perfect one belong to Pete (or Piet) the new Shipwright. Not casting aspersions or anything as he is clearly a good and talented tradesman in his own right.

Nice to see a genuine pick up in pace with his addition to the Team. Need another animal to counterbalance the increase in Bi-peds....... Or more Pancho, Dog or Chicken footage......

[allene222 67]

They got a lot done and you don't get a lot done by building a ship like it is a piano. 

[southerncross 3,901]

Reminded me of Leo.

Not a shipwright.  But a resourceful, do it all kind of guy.

 

 

[Cristoforo 345]

12 hours ago, southerncross said:

Reminded me of Leo.

Not a shipwright.  But a resourceful, do it all kind of guy.

 

 

Amazing. That dude is 87 years old 

[Laurent 1,546]

 

 

[Mid 2,824]

Quote

An ORIGINAL Part of the Boat , Right There Where Everybody Can See It .

[Boink 661]

On 4/20/2020 at 10:07 AM, Boink said:

Need another animal to counterbalance the increase in Bi-peds....... Or more Pancho, Dog or Chicken footage......

Great progress, genuine acceleration in pace - and more animals. What's not to love? 

Those bronze floors - their patterns and construction looks like a serious undertaking and a major financial investment, but necessary undertaking to allow planking to go on after their fastening. 

It's real interesting to consider the opposing stresses that the structure is undergoing both during different phases of construction - remember how much energy is stored in those deck shelf beams, the resolution of oppostion that deckbeams give to ribs, keelson, and even hull planking - but even the tension and compression of deck planks to different parts, not to mention the change that will occur as the Oak matures and hardens as well as the ultimate strain applied by loaded rigging and hydrostatic pressure upon a structure that will end up weighing 30+ Tonnes (possibly a lot more). Not something that could be easily calculated. I know the scantlings are huge, but it does explain the cabinetry/joinery approach being applied throughout, and woodwork on this scale and accuracy is a joy to watch.

 

 

[allene222 67]

2 hours ago, Boink said:

Those bronze floors - their patterns and construction looks like a serious undertaking and a major financial investment, but necessary undertaking to allow planking to go on after their fastening. 

There were several comments on Youtube that castings shrink and you need to make the patterns bigger to allow for a percentage shrinkage. Hope they read the comments. If not, maybe one of them will read this.

[MRS OCTOPUS 115]

3 hours ago, allene222 said:

There were several comments on Youtube that castings shrink and you need to make the patterns bigger to allow for a percentage shrinkage. Hope they read the comments. If not, maybe one of them will read this.

Ha,Pretty sure this isn't Leo's first gig.

[Boink 661]

21 hours ago, allene222 said:

There were several comments on Youtube that castings shrink and you need to make the patterns bigger to allow for a percentage shrinkage. Hope they read the comments. If not, maybe one of them will read this.

Sure both Leo and PT Foundry will cover this aspect, but it demonstrates that while these videos make the difficult look achievable, mundane even; put the average Joe into these scenarios and they would trip over themselves whilst bodging it up good and proper.

Leo has enough smarts to recognise which battles to fight and which ones to concede and get "outsourced". The community he operates in and alongside also recognises each others strengths and the increased profile and awareness that these videos bring to the whole boatbuilding/tradesman scene, both locally/regionally  and nationally. Its a genuine Win Win all round

Hats off and Big Respect to everything going on with this project.

[zenmasterfred 399]

+100, Leo is the real deal and it is great to see him solve problems and keep moving forward,  ps.  His girlfriend is really cute.