I feel sorry for this couple....

[lwarden]

A while ago I came across this Youtube channel of a young couple who bought a Brazilian wooden schooner. From the get-go I thought they had made a very unwise choice and the further they get into it the more I'm convinced they have made a huge mistake. But, like a accident on the freeway I find myself having to watch.

https://youtu.be/LX1jsZ1CF3A

[ssobol]

Parts of the series where they show the damage to the boat and how it is disassembled and repaired are interesting.

Good thing they have supporters to pay for some or all of it. Even in Brazil, that kind of work can't be cheap.

[kthoennes]

I keep thinking what most of the YT comments already say - a zillion dollars and years of work. Good thing they're young, they'll need a few decades.

[Pete Meisinger]

I have followed this couple's videos since they bought the boat. Right now it is on the hard, the keel and the bottom half of the hull and many of the ribs are rotten and worm eaten. They are all removed and they are getting ready to install the new keel, which is almost ready for placement. HUGE, HUGE job.

M.P. ( the wife) is always excited and in a great mood. Thats probably what keeps the project going. They are into it DEEP.

I wish they would elaborate on the costs and price of materials and labor a bit more.

I wish them luck, They seem happy..

pete

[kthoennes]

I wonder if that boat is worth it. I don't mean financially/rate of return kind of thing, I mean worth it in the aesthetic sense. Sometimes you look at an old classic in sad terrible shape and think, wow, that had to be beautiful in its day. When I look at that one, even that clip of what they call "old footage" I just don't see it. Seems like an odd design combination of Chinese junk and schooner with the stern too short and blunt.

[lwarden]

I don't see this boat as worth it. Now, if they had found an old 1950's classic European boat with great lines and good sailing performance I could see making the investment. But, this boat isn't blue water capable, so long distance cruising is out, and in general it's just not going to be much more than a floating home. And the entire thing is rotted out, so although they are doing some sistering of frames and some replacement of rotted areas they appear to be leaving a lot of rotted wood. The rotted wood remaining will continue to consume the old and infect the new wood. I was also surprised to see that they don't treat any of the new wood on the ends where joints are made. In fact, I haven't seen them treat any of the wood being installed.

My guess is that all this work will last 2-4 years before major rebuilding is required again. All this work is just not worth it for a boat like that, it has no real value.

[kthoennes]

That's the thing, in order to restore a diamond in the rough, you have to start with a diamond in the first place.

[bayview]

Education is expensive. never more so than with an old wooden boat as the teacher

[Xsbank]

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

[Shrew]

The entire YT channel has been alive for 2 months. I doubt they have much of a Patreon following at this point. Enthusiasm will wane in direct proportion to available funds.

If they had a large nest egg to begin with, they probably would have bought a much newer boat in better shape. If they had the skills and knowledge to properly repair the boat, they probably wouldn't have bought it.

I think they're in a situation where they can't unring the bell. I truly wish them the best, but I'm not optimistic that that will be their outcome.

[Ski in NC]

That is not a proper ballasted deep keel for a sailing vessel. Old keel or new keel. And booms are above pilot house, so sail pressure will be way high.

Doubt it sails very well.

[Barking Sands]

I like these kind of more raw channels much better than the slick more commercial/fancy ones. I just watched most of these videos in sequence. Good entertainment IMO...very interesting regarding the wood repairs.

I looked and they have about 105 people already on their Patreon roster, have direct donations through paypal and sell merchandise. I bet they are bringing between $2500-$5000 a month already. Probably making some money especially when converted in to Brazilian labor. I expect their channel to grow.

[lwarden]

Originally Posted by Barking Sands

I like these kind of more raw channels much better than the slick more commercial/fancy ones. I just watched most of these videos in sequence. Good entertainment IMO...very interesting regarding the wood repairs.

I looked and they have about 105 people already on their Patreon roster, have direct donations through paypal and sell merchandise. I bet they are bringing between $2500-$5000 a month already. Probably making some money especially when converted in to Brazilian labor. I expect their channel to grow.

I agree that there is entertainment value in their videos. They were encouraged to start a channel from another couple who recently renovated a unique steel sailboat, Odd Life Crafting. This channel is also worth a look IMO, the two are pretty entertaining. Another newer channel is Expedition Evans where a couple are repairing a Beneteau which was run aground. The difference in these channels though is that when they are done the boat they have will last for years and will be capable of long distance travel and have some value. The Yaba boat will not.

[wkearney99]

well, at least they're in a part of the world where labor is cheap.

[Pdxstriper]

I watched it and got hooked. They are a sweet couple and I am learning skills I will never use - rebuilding an old rotten wooden boat. But I can't help but root for them - ah to be young and spirited and hopeful vs my old, rotten, cynical self.

[alesnloggers]

I too discovered their channel recently and have spent the past couple of days catching up on the project. As the owner of a 60 y/o wood boat, I couldn't imagine taking on such a large vessel in that condition. At least they are young and energetic!
Do I remember correctly that the boat was built in 2007? Lots of worm damage for 14 years, hopefully they have the funds to copper sheet the bottom this time.

[lwarden]

I read a great book a few years ago called The Last Voyage of Christopher Columbus and there was a fair bit of discussion in that book about wood worm, especially in the Caribbean. Ships would only last a year in that water before they had to be rebuilt if I recall. I imaging they are using better hardwoods from Brazil than Europe did back then in the late 1400's but still a major concern in those warm waters. The wood they are using on Yaba's keel looks soft to me though, not at all like the purple heart used on Tally Ho.

[FlyWright]

I can't watch videos like that! They give me bad dreams at night!

[danderer]

I stumbled on another one, more trawler-ish:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MczJ6iYEZNo

[kthoennes]

Oh come on now. At some point it just gets silly -- heck, I'll just give them a rotten deck plank from nearby swamp instead and tell them it used to be a glorious boat, and they can build a whole new ship around it, that'll be easier. That's a literally rotting hulk, it's a pile of decaying material that used to be a boat. I understand restoring sad boatyard orphans to former glory, I grew up near Mystic and watched the guys (endlessly) refurbish the Charles W. Morgan and others, but at some point the remains are so far gone it's just silly. I'm no virtue-signaling social justice warrior either, but at some point I can't help thinking there really are kids starving in the world, what are you going to spend your time and money and energy on in life? In the final analysis Don Quixote was tragically sad and self-delusional, not admirable.