Watch Leo Goolden as he brings back the 47’ teak-planked TALLY HO to the glorious gaff cutter she was when launched over a hundred years ago in England. This vessel, designed by Albert Strange, lies under a shed in Sequim, WA, that Leo built next to the shop/apartment he rejuvenated—helped out occasionally by Poncho the parrot and Brian the dog.
The backstories, and ther are many, can be found on
. . . sign up to the right to get immediate access to this full post,
plus you'll get 10 of our best videos for free.
Get Free Videos& Learn More Join Now!!for Full Access Members Sign In
David Mowen says:
Leo,
You grant us all a great lesson in self-confidence and courage. There is nothing, really, that we can’t tackle and prevail over. It is good to choose the scale,commensurate with the available energy. You seem to have no lack of that.
I have an Alden 43 ‘ schooner built in 1924 by Morse. She needs a new keel.I’m using you as inspiration to keep my 80 year old bones on the project.
Layne Carver says:
Beautiful work, mate. Hate to see you working with those power tools with your shirt untucked. That planer/jointer could have sucked you in and ruined your day. Best of luck on the remainder of your project.
David Corey says:
Leo is amazing! A quick calculation suggests the keel timber weighs a bit more than 4000 pounds. With the right jacks and levers, he’s moving it by himself.
David Lindley says:
Great work Leo. I’ve seen this done before but the ballast was only 5,000 pounds and the timbers much smaller.
Sean Hogben says:
Nice work by Leo. It was particularly gratifying to see how he roughed out the keel and moved it. Half a world away and 23 years ago myself and fellow students at the Shipwrights’ Point School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Franklin, Tasmania, cut out a (single) piece of southern blue gum (eucalyptus globulus) exactly the same way. We first sunk the stern post and knee to the bottom of a creek to wash out the sap. We used the jack out of my old Ford to move the keel on pipe rollers and one of us hopped up and cut the shape freehand with a chainsaw. It was tough work. Good tip on the rip chain! Cut the rabbet with adzes. The Eric Cox-designed Lady Franklin was launched on the Huon River in1996. Just goes to show when you learn a craft like traditional timber boatbuilding in a linear, first-hand fashion, how all roads lead back to common techniques, all the way to the Phoenicians.
John McCarthy says:
Absolutely amazing!!!