Rebuilding Tally Ho

Well, what IS Pete doing?! In the last video we got to know part of the crew a little better, and now it’s time to learn a bit more about Pete Stein’s story. We start the New Year by taking his boat out for a sail with the whole crew, before getting back into planking Tally Ho. In between cutting out and hanging planks, Pete shows us his own workshop and tells us a bit about his train-riding days, including a pretty wild accident that changed his life for ever. In other news, drills are broken, rivets are peened, Pancho enjoys the staircase, and Rosie receives a large box of Shipwright’s tools from a local legend.

In this episode we start by looking at sailing yacht rigs in general - we discuss some of the most common types of sails and rigs and how to tell them apart, with help from some examples in Port Townsend. Then we have a closer look at Tally Ho’s original sailplan before meeting some of the people who have been involved in planning her new rig. We have to do some detective work to determine the changes that were made to Tally Ho’s rig in 1927 - the year she won the Fastnet race - but finally we are confident in the dimensions and ready to draw a new sailplan and order the sail cloth that will become Tally Ho’s sails.

After 5 long weeks, it’s time for a planking update! There was so much footage to work through and edit, and so much information to cover, that I’m making this episode in two parts. In this first part, as well as catching up with the planking progress, we strength-test the copper rivets - initially using a very dodgy forklift/lead setup, and then subsequently on a 250-ton hydraulic ram! We also discuss plank widths and caulking / corking bevels, Rosie cuts out her first plank, and Pancho finds her way to the rooftop. Part 2 of this video coming very soon!

In this second part of the video we continue to hang more planks on the boat, getting closer and closer to closing up all the gaps and making the hull watertight. We discuss more questions that have been asked about planking, and an adventurous chicken closely inspects our work. Matt explains the new Butt-Block clamp, Pete talks about Whisky planks, and Pancho struts her stuff in the snow.

After the snowstorm last week, we start this video with Tally Ho full of snow! But it quickly melts and we get back to the business of cutting and hanging planks. I make some blocks to go between the sheer strake and the beam shelf in the bow, and then pattern and make the sheer strake (the very top plank) from Angelique. I also receive a large and worrying envelope from the Clallam County (our local county council) ORDERING me to stop making videos and receiving donations online! Can they do this?! Will I keep making videos? Will the boat get finished? I tell the WHOLE story.

Okay, we have a lot of BIG news! These developments only really happened yesterday, so this is fresh off the press, and I was up all night finishing this video. It seems we might have resolved our issues with the county, but we are going to have to make some big changes - which will be very challenging, exciting, and hopefully positive in the long run! Also - Rosie has her own exciting news, Pete tells us what he's doing, Rowan tries to remember what he's doing, and chickens get incarcerated.

There may be no audio on this livestream (play your favourite album in the background!) Make sure you tune in on Saturday to watch the full edited video in much higher quality, and with audio. Many thanks to the people who kindly provided us with the delicious whisky!

In this episode we hang the last of the regular planks and start making “shutter planks” - the planks that fill a gap between already fastened areas of planking above and below. These require more careful patterning, but are extremely satisfying to hammer into place if they fit properly - but will they ?! Before we hang the very final plank (the Whisky Plank!) I trim the plank ends flush with the transom, which really visually transforms the boat. Finally the Whisky plank is hammered into place, and the crew celebrates with a well earned wee dram.

BONUS TIMELAPSE VIDEO! I took a bunch of photographs from various different angles while we were planking TALLY HO, and intended to create a time-lapse for the previous video - but it was more work than I anticipated and I did not get it finished in time. So I’m releasing it as a short bonus video! I hope you guys like it.

In this episode we take on the glamorous and exciting job of fairing the hull! We start with power-planes and then use a variety of grinders and sanders for our initial fairing, taking off the worst of the high spots and shaping the outside of the boat into a smooth curve. Fairing can be a surprisingly complex and difficult job, but is essential for the next steps of the project, which we discuss - caulking, sealing, painting, and so on.. Meanwhile, Rowan makes a ridiculous quantity of bungs and David works inside the boat, taking off the sharp frame corners with a spokeshave.

This episode is all about Caulking (or Corking, depending on your location). I start by visiting Port Townsend, which has an unusual number of very skilled and proficient Corkers. We briefly discuss the history of Caulking and we meet Brad from the Port Townsend Shipwright’s Co-op, who is putting together a crew to help us Caulk Tally Ho! Brad and Paul (Shipwrights Co-op) Jordan Bard (Bard Boatworks) join us for a Saturday and demonstrate the amazing skill and rhythm of a highly practiced Corking crew, getting over a third of the boat Caulked up in one day. Huge thanks to these guys for getting involved and spending their free time helping us out! After that it is down to Pete (another very highly skilled Corker) and me (a highly UNskilled Caulker) to finish the hull. Along the way we discuss the different traditional tools, methods and materials that are used for this fascinating and hypnotic process.

In this episode we work towards sealing up the timber of the hull, inside and out. First we varnish the interior of the boat, using a traditional varnish that should hopefully hold up for decades. Then we get a serious workout with some good-old-fashioned “torture-boards”, we glue and trim plugs, and we get a little closer to painting and moving the boat. We have a bit of a change of crew as David and Rowan head back to the East coast, and we get some great help from some local guys. Meanwhile Pancho delights in a game of hide-n-seek.

In this episode we welcome Megan and Patrick to the crew, and then continue with fairing the hull and preparing to move the boat! As well as organising a new workshop and place to live, we start deconstructing the boat-shed and lofting floor. Meanwhile, I carve the scallops into the prop aperture area that will help to improve water-flow over the propeller.

In this episode, we - you guessed it - paint the boat. This video features some of the most satisfying blue-tape peeling footage ever to have existed! We also explain how we find the waterline, why we don’t want to varnish the planks, why we haven’t filled the seams yet, and so on. Pancho observes, Backtrack snoozes, Patrick and Megan paint a bed-frame.

We look back at all the work that got this project to where it is now, from the very first glimpse of Tally Ho 4 years ago right up to her present condition as an almost fully rebuilt hull. I answer a few questions about the project and talk about some exciting plans for the future!

In this episode we attempt to slightly enlarge the lead ballast keel by pouring a layer of molten lead on top of it. Before we actually pour I discuss the reasons for doing this and we fabricate a large “pig” to melt the lead in. Unfortunately when we actually pour the molten lead things do not go as planned! ….and now I’m left with a very difficult decision.

In this episode we move Tally Ho! Before the move we experience a crazy heatwave with record-breaking temperatures, and I have to take some drastic measures to keep the boat cool. Next we take the boatshed down, revealing the lines of the boat without any visual obstructions. I also finally introduce the owners of the property where Tally Ho and I have been living for the past 4 years, Raul and Darlene. They tell a little part of their story and we all get a bit emotional. Finally, Associated Boat Transport arrive with their amazing hydraulic trailer, they load up the boat, and thanks to some incredible driving we manage to squeeze her through the tiny gap between the house and the trees, with no room to spare! I have a hair-raising trip to Port Townsend watching my boat speed down the highway ahead of me, and finally we arrive safely in the new location.

In this episode we finally get back to work on Tally Ho! ….Leo and Pete fair the deck structure with power-planes, Rowan and Patrick pay the bottom-seams, and Pancho destroys anything she can lay her beak on. Meanwhile we meet some neighbouring craftspeople, watch some boats get launched, and discover the advantages of a concrete floor… (dolly-skating!)

This episode is all about planning for the interior of the boat. First we get hold of some beautiful Douglas Fir and mill it down to be ready for bulkheads. Then we take a look at the new drawings for the accommodation layout, and compare them with the original drawings from 1909. When I am happy with our design, we start to mock up the proposed interior to get a real feel for the space. We also get a new small boat for sailing around the bay, and we challenge ourselves to find a suitable name for it!

This episode sees us getting back to some constructive woodwork! But first - I make some important changes to the interior layout mockup, before Rowan rips it all apart with great enthusiasm. We say goodbye to Patrick and welcome a new character to the team, and we suffer some inclement weather in the boatyard. Finally after a lot of patterning and cutting, the full-width lazarette bulkhead gets installed in the boat, with the second bulkhead not too far behind. Huzzah!

In the last 2 weeks we’ve made a lot of progress on the bulkheads, and the construction process has become quicker and more efficient! As we install the Dug Fir double-diagonal boards, the space inside the boat gets a lot more defined. Also… a piece of history in the mail - some hardware from TALLY HO, sent by the grandson of the man who skippered the boat in the 1927 Fastnet race! In other news, I decide to auction off one of my smaller boats, and Rowan shows us his favourite boatyard doggos!

In this episode I make the Mast Partners - a big chunk of Oak that holds the mast in place within the Deck Structure. Pete caps the Bulkheads and installs the tie-rods. Rowan and Richard keep making great progress on the remaining Bulkheads. In other news, I’m desperately looking for someone who is regularly importing Canadian Softwood Lumber into the U.S, and has an established Annual Customs Bond in place! If you think you can help, please email info@sampsonboat.co.uk Regarding the auction from the last video, the dinghy is now listed for sale on craigslist after the winning bidder pulled out - so if you’d like to buy the boat and can pick up locally, please make me an offer!

We’ve been busy! In this episode, we finish a bunch of big jobs that we’ve been working on for a while. All the athwartship bulkheads are now installed, the Mast Partner has been bolted into the deck structure and carved out to accept the mast, and the final Teak plank of the Transom has been made and fastened! In addition to this, I spent some days at our previous location in Sequim, sorting and removing some large piles of timber and catching up with Pancho. Rowan gets go grips with the TIG welder and makes a fancy bronze bracket for one of our bulkheads, and Nina joins us to help varnish the Transom.

Lots of progress on the boat this week - Firstly, the guys fill the bilge with hot pitch, followed by some cement! Although slightly disconcerting at first, cement is actually a really useful material in boatbuilding. Richard has been working on the Bulwark Staunchions, which are made of White Oak and will support the Bulwarks, a kind of fence around the perimeter of the deck. Pete has been making the aftermost deck beam, or transom cleat, which will support the end of the deck strakes.

It’s time to line out TALLY HO's deck planking - deciding the positions and sizes of all the deck strakes, the cover boards, the king planks, and so on. To figure this out we take a look at a wide variety of different wooden boat decks in the yard, consider the different parts, and then draw the layout on the deck planks using battens. I also take a quick weekend break sailing the beautiful schooner MARTHA around the San Juan islands, and we take a look down below and meet her captain. Back in the yard, in the midst of a storm, we receive a large delivery - the Alaskan Yellow Cedar for TALLY HO’s deck!

In this episode I make and install the Sampson Posts (otherwise known as Samson Posts or Bitts). Lots of big joinery and visit from Pancho makes for a fun week.

In this episode we follow Pete, Richard, Rowan, and our new crew member Jake, as they tackle a whole range of different tasks. The biggest ongoing job is the deck blocking, which is essential to receive the nibs of the deck strakes and also for bolting various deck hardware down to. Pancho visits us briefly to watch some boats get moved around the yard, Richard works on the cockpit area, the deck stock gets processed, and I discuss possible changes to the video format.

In this Christmas special, we have to move 7 tons (14,000lbs) of lead from the old workshop to the new one. The 5-ton original keel is far too heavy to move in one piece, so I have to cut it into smaller pieces - with a chainsaw?! We also get a tour of ROEDDA, a beautiful 1931 wood fishing tender, and we meet her new owner and captain Alex.