Sampson Boat Co

Billing inconsistency

Dear patrons!

Normally, as you know, your pledge is paid each time I release a video - which is usually 2 or sometimes 3 times per month. So if your pledge is $10/video, and I release 2 videos, then $20 will be charged at the end of the month.

Due to a mistake on my part, one of the 2 videos I released last month wasn't charged for at the end of that month, and will be charged for at the end of this month instead.

That means although I released 2 videos last month and...

Marit returns!

Did I already mention that Marit is back on board now? She has been working on leathering the mast hoops - this will help protect the mast from chafe during the ocean passages that we have coming up. There are lots of jobs like this that we are aiming to do before leaving Canada in just a couple of weeks!

High-res downloadable image.

An early morning start, as we leave Desolation Sound and start heading south again - back towards Sidney, where we will get ready to head offshore in a few weeks!

EP223. Optimistic wood-butcher attempts to work on diesel engine.

In which I attempt to adjust the valve clearances, and do some laundry.

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Music;

M.O.O.N. - Hydrogen (https://m-o-o-n.bandcamp.com/)

Quincas Moreira - Spy Funk (https://www.quincasmoreira.com/ ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL...

Maintenance!

Getting into the guts of the engine for the first time - for a bit of routine maintenance. Any ideas what I'm working on here?

It was my first time doing this particular job, but it was really fun to figure it out!

EP222. Solo Sailing through Fjords, Tidal Rapids, and Endless Waterfalls.

Visiting Princess Louisa Inlet by sail.

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Daniel Graham - Making the Tally Ho Violin / Fiddle (Part 1)

https://youtu.be/0LJzn5sT1xQ?si=tY1sSyDLwnhgUSNw

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Music;

Doucement - Wayward Jane https://www.waywardjane.com/

Sheep In A Stubble Field - Wayward Jane 2025-07-12 16:15:35 +0000 UTC View Post

Jervis Inlet

Another photo from the recent sail up to Princess Louisa Inlet - these Fjords are incredibly beautiful, but the wind tends to blow from either directly ahead or behind, so for this passage (with the wind behind) I decided to sail with just the headsails up. In the distance ahead you can just make out Will's yawl HERENTHERE.

How it feels to wake up on my boat... next to a ferry dock (sound on!)

Music; Jazz Apricot - Joey Pecoraro

Sailing Tally Ho under full sail with just 2 people - for the first time!

Music; Wayward Jane - Brokeback

EP221. Sometimes you just have to use a bigger hammer.

In this video, I try to fix a stuck bow-roller - while the anchor is in use, I’m balancing on a chain over the ocean, and it’s pouring with rain. If you think that sounds silly, you’d be right.

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Jazz Apricot - Joey Pecoraro

Beach Walk - Unicorn Heads

Lagos - Quincas Moreira

Heriot Bay - Leo

EP220. We’re going to Mexico! (and having a minor crisis)

The last two weeks have been a little bit odd, and things have changed a little bit!

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Music;

Castello Oak - Bird Creek

Bluebird - E's Jammy Jams

The Bywater - The Mini Vandals

September - Wayward Jane

Acoustic Blues - Audionautix

(Cockpit tune - Elzic’s Farewell)

Princess Louisa Inlet

A singlehanded sail up to Princess Louisa Inlet, a couple of weeks ago now. People familiar with this area will know that this is a special place, and takes some effort to get to.

Thanks for all the messages after my last post - I didn't mean to worry anyone! A minor existential crisis every now and then is par for the course, and I find they can often prompt really positive change. Regardless, I'm touched by the amazing support of this community. Tally Ho!

A slight change of plan..

I was planning to release a video this weekend, but for some reason decided to have a minor existential crisis instead. Here are some frolicking Sea Lions to illustrate the point.

Marit has talked some sense back into me now, and I'm recalibrating and aiming to release a video next weekend. Thank you all for your pictures of your wooden boats - they will be used, at some point!

Thank you all for sharing your wooden boat photos with me!

I've been overwhelmed, in a very good way, by all the responses to my post. All the ​b​oats I've seen are really beautiful and I'm inspired and heartened by seeing so many people caring for their special vessels.

Keep an eye out for your boats in tomorrow's video - ​I will fit in as many as I can!

Pictured is Russell Brown and the amazing trimaran he is building in Port Townsend.

Scheduled Maintenance Spreadsheet!

In the last video I showed the scheduled maintenance spreadsheet that I developed for keeping track of regular tasks on board Tally Ho. It calculates the next date for regular tasks, and there are a few highlighting features that makes overdue tasks obvious at a glance.

I received quite a lot of messages from people wondering if I could share it, so here it is! You should be able to download either the Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers version by clicking on the file name below.

I...

Team "Chapped Sterns"

Look who came to visit! Nic - of Argonaut fame - came up to spend a few days on board Tally Ho, and he bought his pizza oven with him too!

Nic and friends are rowing 70 miles in the seventy48 race, starting this evening - raising money to continue to maintain and repair Argonaut! Follow team "Chapped Sterns!" at https://www.instagram.com/mv_argonaut/

A cosy spot...

This must be one of the most snug anchorages that we've visited. At low tide those rocks felt slightly close for comfort, but in this settled weather this was a great spot. Apparently this area can get a bit crowded in the height of summer, but we had the place to ourselves. Can any locals identify the island group?

EP219. Anchoring a dinghy on a rocky shore….

We start this episode by anchoring our dinghy off a rocky island to search for some special wildflowers. We are given a fish, cross paths with Orca Whales, ghost underneath some huge cliffs, and arrive in a secluded anchorage where we tour another wooden boat - a beautiful 1930s Yawl.

Meanwhile, I work through the job-list on board Tally Ho - servicing the heater, mounting a vice in the forepeak, and attempting to fix a water pump.

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Music;

Sunday Drive - Silent Pa...

Free high-res downloadable image.

These cliffs on the West Coast of Valdes Island drop straight into deep water - even this close, we had around 100' under the keel! The eroded rock-face makes a stunning backdrop to Tally Ho ghosting along under working sail.

Preventative maintenance..!

It's time for a Diesel Heater service, after 1 year and 1000 hrs of use. Tally Ho's preventative maintenance schedule is real, and well underway!

I've been really pleased with this heater from ITR. It's incredibly reliable and robust, and has kept our space and water piping hot whenever we have needed it.

ITR do not seem to use social media, but you can find info on their heaters on ITRheat.com

Rowing home after a morning exploring small islets.

A birds-eye perspective often reveals new details about our surroundings, and I love seeing how these rocks fade away into the depths. In different conditions this would be considered too close for comfort for Tally Ho, but on a calm day like this it's just fine!

EP218. Pacific Ocean to UK, by sail - revealing our plan!

In this episode we reveal which route we will be taking from the Pacific Ocean to the UK - a journey we are trying to make in time for the 2027 Fastnet race.

We also test the autopilot and trim-tab, now that the rudder is swinging freely - and race a friendly Yawl around the Gulf Islands.

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Music;

Hickory Hollow - Dan Lebowitz

Side Steppin - Dan Lebowitz

Plantation - Audionautix

Hold on tight!

I'll never get tired of seeing the deck from the spreaders! One of these days I'll learn how to slide down the forestay.

Recognise any of these scallywags?!

We somehow found ourselves with a cockpit full of YouTubers 😅

Thanks to all of them for much hospitality and generosity in Gabriola.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SailingMagicCarpet

https://www.youtube.com/@findingsimon

https://www.youtu...

Here'an'there.

Recently we've been sailing in convoy with a friend of ours who has a beautiful wooden yawl named HEREANTHERE. He lives on board full-time and picks up all sorts of interesting jobs as he cruises BC. We had a great sail together a few days ago near Portland Island, and are currently on our way North towards Gabriola. There's nothing better than sailing with friends!

Saving Sauntress?

I usually don't post about wooden boats that need saving, simply because there are so many of them out there. However, this one speaks to me.

Sauntress is a 28' Gaff Cutter - built in 1913, engineless, with a yard for a square-sail. She needs serious work and is lying in Carriacou, an island in the south-eastern Caribbean.

Though she comes from a relatively unknown Welsh designer, she is achingly beautiful, and has many stories to tell - thanks mostly to the care and devotion of p...

So many seals!

Probably my favourite shot from the most recent video - so many seals! The noises they were making were other-worldy. It sounded a bit like the noise of barking dogs echoing around the anchorage.

217. Docking a 30-ton boat alone - tricks for manoeuvring heavy vessels with ease!

In this episode we talk about various tricks that can help when manoeuvring heavy vessels under power - particularly long-keel, single-screw sailboats like Tally Ho.

At the beginning of the episode I find myself losing all my crew, and having to pick up the anchor and move the boat alone. Once I find a sheltered anchorage, I am met by a huge group of seals… shortly followed by a pod of Orcas (killer whales)!

The next leg of the journey takes me to a marina where I have to manoeu...

...a small delay.

I'm really enjoying learning to animate, but it's proving to add some time to the editing process! As a result, this video is delayed until tomorrow.

However, I can't complain - the wood-burner is hot and I must have one of the cosiest editing studios in the world today 😁

Orcas in the anchorage.

I'm currently working on the next video, and I think it's going to be a fun one. I'm hoping to discuss manoeuvring and mooring a heavy boat singlehanded, but we're also revisiting some footage from the winter when I was alone on the boat for the first time, including this amazing scene when a whole pod of Orcas joined Tally Ho in the anchorage. It was just a little bit scary watching them from my tiny dinghy!
(Sound on for full effect)