The Boaty Show

Happy Thanksgiving you turkeys!  Enjoy an interview with the gin-u-wine heirs to the Blackball Ferry legacy, brought to you by Friends Of The Boaty Show. Skip to that at around 26:00, or dig in for  your dose of BS silly with an epic Old Boat Ad and Steph's stories from the largest outdoor hot tub park in North America... Spa Nordique!  Boaty Show hats are now available at www.theboatyshow.com/merch. We love you and are thankful for you, thanks for listening!    Jeff: Hi. If you enjoy the Boaty Show, you may enjoy my new audiobook. It's about AI and how we can live with it. You Teach The Machines: AI on Your Terms. Out wherever you get your audiobooks. By me, Jeff Pennington. [Music] Jeff: Welcome back listeners. I'm Jeff Pennington. I'm joined by my co-host... Steph: Stephanie Weiss. Jeff: Sipping on her coffee. It is Sunday, still morning. We, uh, we both have fires going. Mine's downstairs, Steph's is right in front of her in her living room. We're remote, and it's been a minute. We're not gonna talk about that. We're just gonna jump right back in. Right? Steph: Yeah, let's jump right in. Jeff: Jump right in. Like it's summer and we're going swimming again. Steph: Exactly. Exactly. Jeff: We have, uh, we have a show today. We're gonna do a segment on the Puget Sound ferry system—the history of. And we're gonna do, uh... what do we got? We got a "Old Boat Ad" from Jay. He was touring down in, uh, Whatchamacallit, Florida? Sarasota. He sent a picture of an alligator, which I will contend is Boaty. Steph: You want my opinion on that? Jeff: I want your opinion on that. Steph: I mean, it does... it does get from one place to the other. I don't know if they do that without getting wet, but yeah. I admit, boat adjacent. If you've seen an alligator, you wish you were in a boat. I mean, I can think of many ways that alligator is Boaty. Yes. Jeff: That was... that was excellent commentary. Thank you very much. Steph: You're welcome. Jeff: Wait, when you were down there last winter for the fundraising visit and you found that waterfront, that waterfront bar that served like drinks in buckets or something? Were there any alligators around then? Steph: Yeah. Well, yes. We were told there were alligators around, but I didn't see an alligator. But I did see lots and lots of signs about the alligators. Remember the signs? Jeff: In particular that it was alligator mating season. Steph: That's what it was! Yes. "Do not approach the mating alligator" or something super weird like that. Like... yes. That's right. Jeff: And then we did a whole... we did a whole, I mean we might have had a series of bits on alligator mating. And why you weren't supposed to go in the water when they were mating? Was it because it was gross? Because it's like, you know, it's the water that they're mating in and what's all that about? Or because you don't want like the throes of alligator mating ecstasy to like, end up with you getting like, you know, I don't know. Maybe they like bite each other in the midst of all that and you don't want to get confused... like get a body part confused. Steph: Right. Is there more traditional aggression? Right. Are they more aggressive when they're mating? These are questions. And then we had—I think we ended up really wondering whether that was a deep water thing or just a shoreline thing. Like if you're out in the middle, do you have to worry about that? Remember? We had this... this was a whole conversation. Jeff: I think... but I do think that it's ridiculous because... because like, if you see alligators whether they're mating or not, could we all just assume you don't go in the water? I just seems unnecessary, but... Jeff: And we'll count that as the only answer worth taking away because I only recall the questions we had at the time. Uh, and I don't recall any resolution of any of this. So, um, interesting though that Jay... winter-ish, maybe mating season or not. It looked like the picture was a solo... solo alligator. It was just, just an alligator. Unless maybe it was an alligator couple and you couldn't see the other alligator because that alligator was underwater? Steph: Like... that just occurred to me when you said... great minds think alike. Jeff: Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. Steph: We should ask Jay. Jeff: We should ask Jay what was going on. Steph: Or not so great minds think alike. Jeff: All right. All right. So I think we should lead off with, uh, since we're talking about Jay and his trip through Florida—he played at least one show down there, I saw a picture of a backyard concert, looked lovely. Or an outdoor concert I shouldn't say, I don't know if it was backyard or not, looked lovely. And, uh, he sent a boat ad. And since this is his favorite segment, we're gonna do it. Steph: Mmm. Do it. [Music: Old Boat Ad Jingle] Jeff: It's... I can't... It's been so long that we've done this that when we were in the middle of doing it all the time, it seemed completely normal. And now when we're like... we're like four months away from doing it regularly or whatever, and it's like holy [bleep]. What the hell is this? That was a song about old boat ad copy from Jay and that was like... like, you know, I don't know, six months ago I was like, "Well yeah, of course Jay's gonna make a song saying 'Come on Jeff read those vintage boaty advertisements, give us some of them old boat ads.'" And that was like in the midst of it, it was like "Yeah fine." And now it's like, what the [bleep] is this? Oh my god! Steph: And people want... people are like, "Hey man when are you gonna start making that show again?" 'Cause they want this nonsense! Jeff: Oh god. That makes me so happy. It's good to be weird. Steph: It's good to be weird. Jeff: Okay. All that aside, notwithstanding. Let's do it. Okay. Jay found this ad in the wild. I don't know where it was. Um, I'm looking at the picture. It looks like it's in a frame. Maybe it was in like... I'm gonna say it was in a bathroom at a bar that he was at, or a restaurant perhaps, and it was above the urinal and he saw this. It was right in front of his face. "You can't blame a guy for boasting about his new Mercury. Not only pride of possession, but downright satisfaction comes with the ownership of a new Mercury Outboard Motor. When you put a Mercury on a boat, you are completely confident of quick, easy starting and effortless 'hold the course' steering. You know that there will be instant response to every touch of the throttle. Whether you want a burst of flashing speed or just a ripple of hushed power for the slowest possible trolling. The new Mercury with 'Full Jeweled Powerhead'—bears repeating—Full Jeweled, yes like bling bling jewels, Full Jeweled Powerhead gives you greater all-around mechanical efficiency and endurance never before known in an outboard motor. Yes, with your Mercury, you'll experience that pride of possession realized only by those who own the finest." Scrolling down through the ad... that was the main copy presented next to uh, a lovely couple in a, looks like a Penn Yan outboard skiff uh, with an outboard obviously on the back. Um, she of course is reclining. He of course is driving. Um, and he's holding his hand out like, "Ah! Oh my god this is great!" Like out to the side like, "Can you believe it?" "Of course, of course this is great." Um, he doesn't look so polished, he's kind of look got... he's got some bedhead and a t-shirt on. She looks put together. Um, so he must have a great personality. Steph: [Laughs] Jeff: So scrolling down there's like more details. Um, mostly for him because there's like cutaway diagrams and whatnot. So: "The Rocket. A six horsepower precision-built alternate firing twin with sparkling power that will plane a boat beautifully. Yet throttle down for... oh, yet throttle down to a hush for continuous trolling. Another exclusive Mercury first." This is more on the Full Jeweled Powerhead. "Mercury's Full Jeweled Powerhead. Mercury engineers have developed a method of using roller bearings on wrist pins, crank pins, and crank shaft. It results in reduction of mechanical friction, new power and smoothness, readier response to the throttle, many more months of service-free operation than any outboard with conventional plain bearings." "The Comet. A smooth running 3.2 horsepower single. The ideal family outboard. Just right for your car-top boat or the average rental boat. Mercury. Own a Mercury. Matchless and outboard excellence. Kiekhaefer Corporation, Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Outboard Motors. Portable Industrial Engines." There you go. Old Boat Ad. Steph: I have a lot of questions. And an observation. Jeff: Go. Steph: I love how the masthead of this ad if you will—I don't know if that's the right word for it—but it's a... it's a bubble, it's a like a word bubble coming from the guy in the boat, right? "You can't blame a guy for boasting about his new Mercury." I love like the... I love all of the like the um... how proud you should be. Like there's a lot of like, you know, you just... you're just going to boast and it's going to be like everyone's going to be impressed with you. There's going to be "Pride of Possession." Which I think is very interesting. And then what is going on with the jewels? I don't understand the jewels and why are we talking about jewels? There's no jewels in this. Jeff: There's roller bearings. Steph: What is that? And how is it like a jewel? Is it a ruby? Jeff: Well, my guess is given that this is setting the guy up to boast, if it was made out of ruby it would have said that, right? But I can say... Steph: I agree. Jeff: I can say that I don't know whether it's jeweled or made out of a jewel or not. But uh, different... there's different kinds of bearings. I know a little bit about bearings. Not a lot. Steph: Didn't we talk about bearings once before? Jeff: I'm sure we did. I'm sure we did. Steph: I like this sentence... I like this sentence a lot. "The Mercury engineers have developed a method of using roller bearings on wrist pins, crank pins, and crank shaft." What? Jeff: Uh, I don't know what a wrist pin is. I don't know what a crank... was it a wrist pin and a crank pin? Steph: Wrist pins and crank pins. Yeah. Things I didn't know about. But I love... I also love that they're getting into this level of detail right in the ad. This is the good old days. You know what I mean? Like this is... this is the least reductive ad I've ever seen. They're really... they're just... they hit you a little bit with the ego in the top and then they get right into the deep, deep details. I think this is lovely. It was... it was lovely to listen to. Jeff: So you got... I don't know what those pins are. The crank... I don't know. Let's not talk about why you've got bearings or what they're on, but ball bearings are balls. And... Steph: [Laughs silently] Jeff: ...you're laughing silently with our... Steph: Wrist bearings are wrists? Crank pins are cranks? I don't know. Jeff: No. We're not gonna talk about that stuff. We're just gonna talk about the bearings. So you got ball bearings which are spherical, okay? And then you've got roller bearings which are like a... in my mind it's a bearing that's made of a... it looks like a rolling pin, okay? And a ball bearing can... can bear weight while moving in all directions because it's a sphere. Steph: 360. Jeff: Yup. 360 times 360, right? In any direction. And then a roller bearing can bear... bear weight while moving just in like one direction back and forth. One plane I guess. And uh, I know roller bearings because there are conical roller bearings on boat trailers in the hubs of the boat trailer. Um, because the... and they're almost like a rolling pin shape except they're flared a little bit at, you know, toward one end so it's like a slight cone shape. And that's because the axle on your boat trailer has a slight taper to it. And so the wheel spinning on those bearings on that slightly tapered axle shaft has to be slightly... has to match that taper as it spins around and around and around. Um, now, that being said, going from, you know, roller bearings to "jeweled"? That's... that's what I'm talking about right there. Yup. Steph: Full Jeweled. Yeah. I mean I don't know. I guess... you know how I feel about this stuff. I kind of love things that I don't understand and there's a lot here I don't understand. And I think this is a lovely... so we've got two en... Is the Rocket one and the Comet is the other? They have space names. Amazing. Jeff: Yeah. And this was before... this might have been early space era. Yeah. Steph: Yeah. Early space race. Jeff: It look... I like that it's like, it's just a little boat. Nothing fancy. It's just a little tin can. Steph: Yeah. Rockin' out. Or having a great time. They're all proud... proud of themselves. Jeff: They mentioned "Car Top Boats" which was a... that was a big deal in the expansion of boating into the middle class. And... yeah. So Penn Yan, the boat manufacturer, my understanding is they hit it big for the first time with car-top boats. So Penn Yan Car Toppers, you'll still see those around sometimes. And that was like what pontoon boats and jet skis are doing... they did for boating then what pontoon boats and jet skis are doing now. Which is just making it way more accessible. Steph: I hear you. Jeff: Yeah. Steph: I hear you. "There it is. Just right for your car-top boat or the average rental boat." Got it. Yeah. Jeff: Yeah. Give me... give me more opportunity to get in the water without having to be a rich guy with my own dock or a yacht or anything like that. Steph: Mm-hm. Equal opportunity boating. Jeff: E... E... E-O-B. E-O-B-B. Equal Opportunity Boating Board. Okay. Enough of that. Steph: Yes. That's a... that's a worthy goal. Jeff: All right. We're gonna move on to our... our next topic. Which, you know what? Let's... let's step back. What have you been doing lately? Steph: Mmm. That's a great question. Um... Jeff: Have you gone anywhere? Have you gone anywhere fun? Steph: I did. I went to the... I went to the Spa Nordique in... in Chelsea, Quebec. Yes. I did do that. I was... show before the show we were chatting about this. Yes. I did go there with my friend Julie, my personal historian. And we had a wonderful time. Jeff: What is the Spa Nordique? Tell us... You walk up to the Spa Nordique. What's the experience? Steph: Okay. So real... so real quick. It's like... it's not like a spa like people usually think of a spa. It's a "thermal experience." It's got this whole Nordic vibe to it. Everything's made of wood. And it's a very large... it's many acres. And it has tons of different ways to get warm and cold in water. And also not in water. So, for example, there's like ten different outdoor hot tubs scattered all over the place. And there's like fifteen different kinds of saunas. There's like a earth sauna and a barrel sauna and a Russian sauna and a whatever. There's like... And then there's um, also like steam rooms. And there's cold plunges, which is not for me, but for other people. And there's places to eat and drink. And that's it. And you put on a robe, you leave your phone and all your [bleep] behind and you just wander around in this environment for the day. It's very affordable. Like sixty bucks for the whole day, like US. And it is very beautiful and it's very calming. And very relaxing. And it's delightful. And I would recommend it to everybody. So I've been there probably four or five times. And um, it's close, you know it's like two hours away from here. It's not far. And I think it's the largest spa in North America. But it's not like busy feeling. It's very calming and relaxing. Jeff: We're gonna... we're gonna back up to the very... one of the first two... two of the first words you said which was "thermal experience." Steph: Yeah. That's what they call it. Um... yeah, I don't know. I guess you're just getting in warm water. And then you're supposed to get in cold water cause it's good for you, but like I said, that's just not for me. But um... but you know like, it's like good for you. I don't know. You're supposed to like steam yourself and then get... We were... it was like snowing when we were there. There was actually a hail storm that happened. Like a full-on hail storm um, when we were sitting in one of the hot... my favorite hot tub which is like a hot spring kind of a thing. It's up at the top. And um, they totally just started hailing. And it looks like... like accumulating in our hair. It was very exciting. Jeff: Thankfully... thankfully accumulating in your hair and not like... they were baseball sized and like braining you and knocking you out. Steph: Right. No, they were not baseball sized. Which is good news. They were small and they were accumulating and it was very snow monkey. The whole experience is like just being a snow monkey for the day. That's it. That's how... Jeff: Can you make this up? Thermal experience. Be a snow mon... have a... have a thermal expe... we're gonna have to write an ad for this. Have a thermal experience as a... be a snow monkey for the day. Steph: I don't know why that's not their tagline. For... I don't know why not. It makes no sense. Jeff: So the other thing that grabbed me about... about this is you said you leave your phone behind. Which I think is probably healthy because that means that um, people aren't like nervous about somebody taking a picture of them when they, you know, take their robe off and get in the... in the tub or whatever. But also, dude, anything that people do where they leave their phones behind... those are becoming more and more valuable experiences as people just come to the conclusion that their phone makes them sick. And I had this experience recently... did... did an um... one of my book events at uh, the Poor Sethi headquarters in Brooklyn. In Gowanus. Uh, the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. And afterward, my... my daughter Mary Jane was there uh, and it was the first time she'd come to see one of these... these talks. The book talks. And uh, she brought a few of her friends who had moved to New York after graduating... they all graduated last spring. And they were so psyched. They're like, "Oh my god. Why does it feel so... so like novel to get together in person in a room and talk about something and talk to... with each other?" Because it was a... it ended up being a really interactive session. People were going back and forth to each other. And I started to fade a bit into the background which is what I go for with these... these events. They're kind of like group therapy community workshops about, you know, AI in your life. Not so much what AI is, but like how AI merges into your life. Anyway, at Spa Nordique, it's a thermal experience minus your phone. And you're there for the day or most of the day because you want to get... you want to get as much thermal experience as you can for your sixty dollars. So that's a day without your phone. That's freaking awesome. Steph: Yeah. And when I fir... when we first started going a few years ago, it was pretty much like "Don't bring your phone in here." Like it was like a kind of a rule. Now it's like um, you're allowed to bring your phone, but most people don't. So every now and then there'll be somebody with a phone. But the other funny thing is that... that you know, it's an adjustment going... like you said, you go for the whole day because it's... it's big, there's you know places to stop in and have a bite to eat or get a beverage or whatever. So you really do stay there for a while and you do really disengage from the sense of time. And it's funny how many times you're like, you know, think of things that normally you'd be looking up to your phone but you just don't do it cause you can't. But my... but one funny... one funny thing that happened when we got there was... um... when you first walk in on the left there's this very cool like... like experience. Like it's like a... like they do a Boreal Forest experience and they like um, they like wave branches around and like whatever. So that happens at certain times. So do we really want to do it? Because afterwards you were like rub salts all over your body and then there's like a flash dance bucket that you dump on yourself... you really... you have to be... obviously you need to get involved in something like that. So we were looking at the times. And then we were like... and like Julie and I together are like we're always like a little on the spazzy side anyway. Like it's always... things are always just awkward and weird and great. And like... so we were like, "Okay. So we can come back at one at eleven? Or maybe..." And then it's in like... it's like Canadian time so it's like 1300 and 1500 and we don't know what that means. It's complicated. So it's just... it was so hard. We were like talking about it and... and then this... and we were like, "How are we gonna come back? How are we gonna know when to come back because we don't have phones?" And then um, so then a nice young man who worked at the spa went by and we asked him... The other thing is just constant like language situation going on about wheth... you know we don't speak French. Everybody else does. So you know... and they're very sweet about it. But you know you always have to navigate the fact that you're speaking English. And so we in English ask this nice young man what time it is. And he paused. And I thought maybe it was just because he had to switch into English in his brain. I don't know why. But and he looked at us. And he was like, "Well, right now it's blah blah blah o'clock," and he like explained what time it was and um, the fact that it would be this time in an hour and a half we could come back and the thing would do it again. And then he kind of like looked at us and we were like, "Okay great thank you." And we left. But then later when we came back to actually do the experience, I... we were sitting in the sauna and I looked out and there is a clock so big. Like so big. It's hu... it's huge. It's like... it's like seven feet across. And it was right behind... right behind us when we had asked the guy what time it was! And we realized that like the long pause was like, "Should I just tell them that there's a clock right there? Or should I just be really nice about this and just answer the question and not point out the clock?" Like for sure he was like... are these people being... is this wrong? Are these people... Jeff: Are they... are they messing with me? Steph: ...messing with me? And and he's... he's Canadian but he's also French Canadian so like he he also like... because if you're not French Canadian and you're Canadian the stereotype is like you're just super nice and you're just gonna be super nice and... "Oh of course I'll just tell you what time it is." If you're French Canadian you might be like, "You freaking idiot. Like... I'm glad that you're up here... I'm glad that you're up here you know spending your money even though we can't freaking stand you because you're from America, but..." Steph: It was a lot... there were a lot... yes, there were a lot of components. I love the fact that I think a little bit he was just like, it seemed like if he was like, "Dude, literally a clock right there," then it just would have felt a little less polite. So he didn't say that. And then we had to discover the clock on our own. And um, it was amazing and hilarious. So that was, again back to the time thing. Jeff: I have more soapbox about about that. Um, I'll... I'll do it... I'll do it briefly and try not to go on um, and make it annoying. But uh, when you... you treat your watch as your... as your timepiece... I'm sorry. When you treat your phone as your timepiece, and then you don't have your phone, you end up lost. And you can't conceive that there might be a giant clock on the wall. Although maybe you can conceive of it and you just because you're having a nice day with some beverages and with Julie you don't con... conceive of it. But anyway, this is why I'm always on Instagram, I'm always posting uh, these Sheffield watches. Because if you put on a watch that's just a watch on your wrist and it's not an Apple Watch like all of a sudden you've got the ability to tell time without necessarily getting hit by a bunch of distractions which an Apple Watch is gonna do to you, which pulling... pulling out your phone is gonna do to you. And I'm... I'm huge on this for my kids. I'm like, "Hey like... if you're looking at your phone to tell the time you're like, I don't know, half the time you get pulled in because you see a notification. And now you're looking at your phone more. And now you're more te..." Oh wait, I said I wasn't gonna keep going on and get on my soapbox but... Steph: No, but I hear what you're saying. And at first I was kind of like... you know, I have a thing about Apple Watches because they were like they're meant to be like they don't want to make you... to help people avoid pulling out their phone all the time. But they actually just make people look super rude because you look like you're literally just like, "Um, I don't have ti... like every single time something goes off you're like, 'Uh, is this over? Is it time...?'" You know what I mean? So um, but I hadn't thought about that cause you're right. Whenever you look at your phone, of course there's gonna be notifications and all that's gonna pull you in. And that's... it's a very good point. So yes to watches. Agreed. Jeff: Yep. And I'm gonna I'm gonna bring this all home and make it all Boaty. Ready? All right. Spa Nordique is... Spa Nordique is Boaty because in Iceland outdoor hot spring fed pools and indoor became about because the rate of death by drowning amongst Icelandic fishermen was so high because it's the freaking North Sea. And the last thing you want to do there and there aren't any lakes, right? But the last thing you want to do there is learn how to swim in the ocean. But so that meant the entire population of Iceland whose entire existence was supported by fishing... nobody knew how to swim! And it became a... a public safety, public health, community health like anti-drowning initiative to start... to create public outdoor hot springs... public outdoor hot tubs so that people could learn to swim. Uh, and they sprang up all around the country and it became like part of the culture that you go there to learn to swim but then you also go there to hang out with each other. And um, that's all so that people in Iceland can go fishing, if they go in the drink uh, survive... have a great chance of survival. Boaty. Right? Um, also the... the watch thing. If you have to pull your phone out to tell what time it is while you're out in a boat, you might drop your phone on the deck. You might drop your phone in the drink or off the dock. You also might get distracted by your phone and you're... when you're driving a boat or you're out there in a boat, you probably shouldn't be distracted because A, that means it's taking away from the enjoyment and B, because you might run into something. So... Boaty. Boom. Done. Okay. Steph: So... so learn to swim in a hot spring and buy a watch. Boom. Jeff: And have thermal experiences. Steph: Oh. Jeff: Um... Missy just texted me and called. Um... they just got hit from behind on 76. They're all okay. The cops are there now. Uh oh. Steph: Whoa. Jeff: Hold on a sec. Let me... let me communicate. Steph: Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Jeff: Everybody's okay. They don't need me to call or come pick them up. All right. Good. Well how about that? Steph: Do we have to move on? Jeff: Yeah. Yeah. Steph: I have... I have a th... I have a... one of my... I'll just tell you and you can always like edit this out later if it's boring. But one of the things that's funny about it is when you're at the spa you can tell which are the hot pools and which are the cold pools because there's nobody in the cold ones, right? Um, but there was this one that Julie and I found and they had... they tell you like the temperatures and um, it was empty and we were walking around and it is... I think they said it was like 69 degrees or something like that? But there's nobody in it and it feels cold but then we realized, wait, that's like the river temperature. That's like the temperature of the river, right? In the summer. And then we got in this cold-ish thing and then it was... and that but we got used to it really quickly and it was really delightful and lovely. So we think of it as like that's like the river temperature pool and we... that's the only cold-ish pool that I get in. But it's very nice. Jeff: That... that's awesome because if the river temperature hits 69 degrees we're probably bitching about it cause it's too warm. Steph: Exactly. Exactly right. Jeff: That's awesome. All right. All right we're gonna move on. Uh, next segment. Um, we're gonna play an interview which was uh, listener submitted. So Rob uh, shared this. Some friends of his recorded an interview with the heirs, the descendants of the founder of the Black Ball Ferry Fleet in Puget Sound, Seattle. So we're gonna play that and then uh, I did a bunch of research on all this that we'll talk about after the interview. So here it is. [Interview Segment] I am standing here with the heirs of the Black Ball Line. Yeah. A couple of them. Was that heir or errors? Errors. Probably errors. Doug and Chris McMahon are standing here with you. Doug and Chris McMahon. And our great grandfather was Charles Peabody who came out west in 1885 and started the Alaska Steamship Company and then the Puget Sound Navigation. They were flying the Black Ball flag, which his family owned on the East Coast from 1803 forward. The Black Ball flag's been flying... Nice. ...and uh, his son... I have one on my travel trailer and every time I go camping we post our big full-size flag. Just... it still flies around the region. Yes. She's... she's still flying. And flies in Portland too. So... So and then the state bought it... the ferries in the 50s. And turns out they stopped making money. Started running in the red. Yeah. So. Yeah. So can you give me a brief history of why it's a Black Ball and with a white circle and red in the middle? Well so that's from the Coho. Right. And so the Coho was the last Black Ball ship that's flying. And so they licensed the flag but they added the white circle. And why did they choose that? Well because it was part of the whole ferry system. Okay. And when the Coho started, the Coho started right after... But the original Black Ball flag, which was a red flag with a black ball only, no white circle, was also researched as um, like some kind of a maritime victory award for ships. You know when they when they won a battle or did something good like cannon-neering or something, you know grenade throwing, they would be awarded the flags and they would fly the flag. So it's one of them. I don't recall exactly which one. And the original Black Ball ships that sailed from Brooklyn to uh, England and mainland Europe and back, um, had a Black Ball flag that was a swallowtail flag. So it wasn't a rectangle, it was swallowtail and a giant black ball on the main sail. And they were the first company... Rad. Like pirates. It does look like the hurricane warning flags too. People often catch us about that which is typically a square black in the center of the red. But in some regions it's a round circle just like Puget Sound Navigation's Black Ball flag. Just a couple specific places. They were the first shipping company to leave on a scheduled date. So they were... in the mid 1800s a ship would leave when it was full. Ass in seat. We're leaving at this time. That's right. And the Black Ball said "We're leaving on this date, empty or full." So they changed the industry then. Yeah. So when we were kids we used to get to ride in the wheelhouse every once in a while. Oh yeah. Or if we were with our Grandpa downtown and you'd see all these, you know, basically old men at the time in the 60s, right? On the... on the waterfront. He'd walk up to half of them because they all knew who each were. You know, they worked in shipping or the shipyards together. Yeah. Did he know Iver Haglund? Yes. They lived near one another up in West... up in West Seattle at Alki. Yeah so he absolutely knew Iver Haglund. We also have a relative who was a bank robber. So you know, they... they ran... Keep clam. Keep clam. One of his brothers... One of his brothers was a bank robber. Spent his lifetime in prison. Was on Alcatraz. That's awesome. Twice. So you know... Captains of Industry and... not. Yeah. Pioneers. Pioneers. Please introduce yourself again. My name's Doug McMahon. I'm from Portland, Oregon. And I'm Chris McMahon, Doug's brother. And where do you live? Uh, Des Moines, Washington. Right up here just across the way. Originally from Portland though. We're both from Portland. So nice to meet you. Thank you so much. [End of Interview Segment] Steph: Yeah. But that is... that is... that is very cool. And I think like the... the boat itself is really cool too, right? I remember we talked about the boat once a while ago. Jeff: Yeah. Well there's the... there's the Kalakala and then there's the Coho. The Kalakala is like this really wild uh, streamlined early streamlining Art Deco looking um... I don't know why I say Art Deco I don't really know what that means. Uh, ferry. And then um, and that's that thing's like I think it's just sitting there... maybe it already got broken up. Uh, but it was derelict for a long time. And then the Coho is still operating, which we'll get to. I'm gonna talk this through in a little bit. All right so. Steph: Okay. Jeff: Puget Sound Ferries. So Puget Sound is surrounds Seattle. It's like between Seattle and Victoria British Columbia and there's island after island after island. It's probably my second favorite watery place that I've been to um, after the St. Lawrence River because there's just so much going on. Um, I like islands and inlets and... Steph: It is beautiful. Jeff: Yep. So uh, this presented a big challenge for getting around back in the day. Uh, because if you wanted to get out to one of these islands cause there's timber out there or other resources or because you wanted to live out there, um, yeah you had to take a boat. And the shortest distance between two points on land on the quote mainland was sometimes a boat, not or by water, not necessarily over land. So uh, there were ferries that that got established. And the... there's like three big eras of ferries um, in in the Puget Sound. The first is the "Mosquito Fleet" era which was like 1850s to the 1920s. And it's when people really nailed down and commercialized the... the ferry as transportation infrastructure and the waterways are now how people get around, right? Um, and it helped develop the region. So um, like before the 1880s or so uh, it was all about steamboats. And the... the first steamships that got there cause you had to go basically either come from Asia or go around uh, the tip of South America back in the day before the Panama Canal to get to this place. So the Hudson Bay Company sent the SS Beaver in the 1830s which showed how uh, steam power... Steph: Beaver... Jeff: Yeah yeah... Steph: [Laughs] Thank god for the Canadians. All right. Jeff: The Hudson's Bay Company sent the SS Beaver like around the horn uh, even better... Steph: [Laughs] Jeff: In the 1830s. So uh, all of a sudden like you've got a steamboat that's like cruising around Puget Sound and it works out. Um, and the... the Americans, I think the Canadian... I don't know a lot about the Canadian history of the West Coast but the American history of the West Coast uh, was like, you know okay... 1849, 49ers... uh, the West like opened up in a... the West Coast opened up in a big way because of the Gold Rush. Um, but then timber became a huge deal. Probably more money made in timber than in uh, gold at that point. But the first American steamboat was the SS Fairy. Okay? Begins scheduled service in the 1850s and it linked uh, Olympia and Seattle. And roads were hammered. It was just mud, you know, nothing was paved. Uh, you definitely wanted to be on a... on a steamer. Maybe a sidewheeler like, you know, old-timey sidewheelers on the... on the Mississippi. Um, but it was really the only way that mail and your goods and s... goods and people got from town to town on the Puget Sound. So that was like early steamboats pre-1880s. And then in the 1880s uh, it really started to take off. So as the area developed, the... the something happened called the Mos... the Swarm, right? So the swarm of the Mosquito Fleet. Hundreds of small um, independent privately owned steamships pl... basically started creating a dense network and they were all competing with each other. Cause like all you needed was a boat with a steam engine and you could get going. Um, and there were some some famous boats during this time. Fleet... Mosquito Fleet boats. And this was not like, you know, so-and-so owned the Mosquito Fleet, it was just like "Hey there's a swarm of boats out there we're gonna call them and they're all small so we're gonna call them the Mosquito Fleet." Uh, and this is where the names get names get more lame. The SS Flyer, the SS Bailey Gatzert. Steph: Okay. I like SS Fairy. Direct. Jeff: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, and and then there's this huge opportunity and this dude named Charles Peabody who we heard about. We heard from his descendants uh, and we heard about the Black Ball uh, right? From his descendants just a minute ago. Charles Peabody. He shows up with this... this family history of the uh, Transatlantic Fleet where they innovated and um... this is something you're pretty psyched about which is like "Oh okay we're gonna have scheduled service instead of just waiting until we've got a full load and then we'll go. We're gonna leave at noon." Steph: Mm-hm. Yeah. Well I just think it's interesting like I... I remember we talked about this pr... I guess you said maybe with Rob a while ago. I find it fascinating the idea that you would get on a boat and then just wait for enough people to get on the boat to have to leave. That's... I could see how that would be disruptive to your day. Jeff: Yeah. Steph: Maybe hopefully those peop... they didn't have watches. But um, but they uh... but then yeah I guess I would appreciate the fact that you had some general idea of when it might leave. But I can see how the risk would be uh, you had to travel empty some so maybe you just had to... more reliable. It was a leap of faith, right? They were like, "If we make it more reliable then people will use it more." Right? Jeff: Yeah. And scheduled service for trains was probably a thing but, you know, when you've got this big boat you definitely don't want to... you don't want to go empty. And so I can see the commercial interest in like a full boat being there but also like then you're leaving out a lot of people who were like "I don't want to sit around and wait for this." Um, anyway. I don't know. Charles Peabody. Uh, so he... he's a descendant of the people that started the Black Ball Fleet way back in the early early 1800s. He shows up out there and starts buying up the swarm. Um, he creates the Puget Sound Navigation Company, PSNC, in 1898. And then just starts buying up competing Mosquito Fleet companies. Like he bought up the White Collar Line. Steph: Mmm. Jeff: Don't know why it's called White Collar Line. Um, going to guess it was fancy. Uh, and eventually becomes the... the biggest operator. Steph: You said fancy? Jeff: Fancy. Steph: Okay. Jeff: And then what Peabody did, based... based on this research is he figured out that the automobile was gonna be a threat, okay? To... to the ferry fleet because now you've got cars. People buy cars, they want the roads to get better so that they can drive their cars. The roads do get better so more people get cars to drive on those roads. So then he figures out that this is a threat and starts converting his ferries to carry cars. And the rest of the Mosquito Fleet, many of whom he'd bought up in the first place, but the rest of the Mosquito Fleet that hadn't been acquired by the Puget Sound Navigation Company... they're not... they're not as like strategic as he is. They don't start converting their boats to carry cars... he does. So they die off. No more. Right? So now he's got a monopoly. And uh, he officially at... at this point adopts the Black Ball Line as its name. Um, and the flag that we heard about, the red and black ball uh, flag in the in the late 20s. Um, coincidentally also around the time of Prohibition and tons and tons of smuggling of da booze from Canada into the US. I am not... I'm not accusing the Black Ball Line of being involved in smuggling um, but it was going on. And uh, there was succession also in the family. Alexander takes over um, from his dad uh, and uh, they really nail down... And then ah this is where... so then they launch the Kalakala. K-A-L-A-K-A-L-A. Kalakala in 1935. This is the streamlined Art Deco ferry that uh, that we we talked about last time and our friends Rob and Jen and Byron uh, actually went out and checked out um, while it was still floating. And it's just like really cool. Looks like um, you know uh, like early streamlined locomotives and trains. That kind of thing with like really neat windows and and that sort of thing. Um, but that becomes the international symbol of the fleet. Everybody's super psyched about it. Um, so that was like 20s, 30s. And then World War II hits. And um, labor organizing really took off around World War II. Uh, and the ferry workers started unionizing and uh, probably pushing back on on pay and working conditions and hours and stuff. And this monopoly uh, had, you know... being a monopoly is great unless there's a strike. And then your... you know your workers strike and your boats aren't running and people are like "Well [bleep], I gotta get around." So now maybe they figure out that they don't have to take the ferry. Take their car on the ferry, take their truck on the ferry and they um... they go elsewhere and that starts to... to put pressure on the ferry. But also like if you've got to raise wages, um, now your... your margins are lower. Blah blah blah. So um, ultimately uh, the... you know the... there was a... a wartime um, freeze in wages and operations but the... the unions um, really pushed for better wages which put a bunch of strain on the... on the company. And the... the only way that... that the Peabodys could make this all work was uh, with a big fare increase. So they um... pushed for a 30% fare increase to cover their costs. Um, and the... they had... it had gotten to the point where they were being regulated at this point because it was, you know, privately operated transportation infrastructure that everybody relied on. Um, so they were regulated and the state said "Nope." So like, you know, a public utility commission has to negotiate rate increases with their state regulator. So same thing happened here. Um, and Peabody says "Give us 30% more." State says "Nope." And Peabody says "All right, F you." They shut it all down. They shut it all down. And that stranded uh, like all the commuters. And people were super pissed at them for shutting it down. Um, which then turned it into a political moment. And uh, the... you know people, businesses said "Take over this... this as an essential utility." And that's when uh, Washington State purchased all this stuff from... all the ferries and the whole system from the uh, the Peabodys. From the Black Ball Line. And that created the Washington State Ferry System. And as you heard in the... in the um, interview, uh, was running... ended up running at a loss. I don't know if it still does, it may as... as a lot of public transit infrastructure does. Um, but the state bought out the Black Ball Line in... in 51. And um, they bought it out for 4.9 million dollars which in like "today dollars" is still not even that much I don't think for, you know, 16 ships, 20 terminals uh, which is what it was at the time. Um, but anyway they buy it out and start operating on... in June of 51. And uh, the state said "Hey we're just gonna do this until we build all the bridges everywhere." Uh, which didn't really happen. Um, and the Washington State Ferry uh, system just change... they basically uh, did away with the Black Ball livery. Which is like the Boaty way of saying how you paint [bleep]. Um, what colors. Um, so they went from orange to green. Uh, but the... the company, Captain Peabody, Alexander, um, and his family retained the route... the international route between... between Seattle and Victoria. And that is the MV Coho which still runs uh, and it's still the Black Ball Ferry Line. And it um... basically gives you a through line from like the original Transatlantic Fleet that did scheduled service for the first time ever um, and, you know... you're on board or not we're leaving at noon. Through line from like the early early 1800s all the way through to today. The Black Ball line has been continuously running or the Black Ball uh... the... Black Ball family or I'm sorry the Black Ball line has been continuously running cause the Coho is still going. Was launched in 59 but it uh... it's still the um... it's still a major private auto ferry line in the region. And international. So goes back and forth to Canada. Which is what you did when you went to the Hot Springs as well. Steph: Um, yeah. I love that. I love that it's still running. I didn't realize that. Jeff: Yeah. The Coho. I... I was out there for work years ago and I thought about taking um, taking the ferry up to Victoria. There's a high speed... and I don't think it's the Coho. There's a high speed ferry that runs also. Um, it may even go further than Victoria but uh, cause I was like "Oh man it'd be pretty cool to do a day trip to just like take the ferry from Seattle up through the Sound to, you know, wherever. Like get off get a... get some poutine and then come back." Although it's the West Coast I don't know if poutine... I don't know if poutine made it out there or maybe they call it something else. I love ferries. Steph: I do too. And I... I've actually been to that part of the world only one time, but I was... I went to a wedding on Vashon Island. And then um, so yeah I was to... completely taken with how watery and boaty it was and we totally took a ferry there and it was amazing and I loved it. And yes, I agree. Ferries are fun and um, that's some... that's some very cool history. I like it. Jeff: Yeah. Well we're gonna... we're gonna wrap up now. Um, because uh... I just got a call and a text from my wife and she... Steph: Yeah. Jeff: She and Mary Jane... so Missy and Mary Jane got rear-ended. I think Toby too. Got rear-ended on the highway. And uh, they don't need a ride but just in case they do I want to wrap it up. Everybody's okay. Nobody got hurt. Steph: Yeah. Sounds good. Good. Good. Jeff: Yeah. Um, but couple things. One, I am currently wearing a Boaty Show hat. And uh, the hot admin, the lovely Melissa, set up a freaking e-commerce website so that you listeners if you would like can buy a Boaty Show hat and we will ship it to you. We don't really make any money on this. It's... it's all uh, basically break-even. Um, but that can be found at thebodyshow.com/merch. M-E-R-C-H. Merch. Thebodyshow.com/merch. They're... I'm very excited because I've got a big head and we have an extra large hat. Which means that if you usually put like the... the little snappy back thing on like the last two nubbins, the snap back on the last two nubbins... on the XL Boaty Show hat you get... you get to at least on my head you get five nubbins. You can snap five hat nubbins. And it... and it doesn't look like you're cramming a tiny hat on top of your big head. So that's exciting. Uh, there's... there's Heather Grey, Dark Grey, and Navy Blue. And uh, would love it if you guys ordered some um, because uh... it's... it's a cool hat. It's got the boat tractor on it. Steph: Mm-hm. It's the holiday season. Time to go buy some merch for your friends and families. Everybody needs a Boaty Show hat. Jeff: Yeah. Also these were made by Bolt Printing who who we talked uh, about on the show once upon a time. Uh, they're really cool people and... Steph: You love them. Jeff: I do. I do. And they made a video of the hats getting made that I'll I'll try and repost. Um, and the other thing is that my book is out. So is the audiobook. So You Teach The Machines: AI on Your Terms is available on everywhere you get your audiobooks. Uh, Audible, Amazon, Apple, and then like 35 others. So if you don't mind listening to my voice, uh, I read the book and people are finding it really helpful. And uh, you can support the show and us doing this silly stuff by buying hats and checking out the book. We are gonna wrap it up. Steph: And next time we get to do Photo of the Week. Jeff: Oh yes! Yes. We're bringing back Photo of the Week next time. Um, there have been a bunch of submissions while we've been on our hiatus and uh, we can't wait. So like next week will probably mostly be Photo of the Week discussions. Jeff & Steph: [Singing together] Yo ho ho, that's it for the Boaty Show. Pack the cooler, grab the lines, let's go go go. Yo ho ho... Jeff: That's it for the Boaty Show. Boom we are out. Say bye-bye Stephanie. Steph: Bye-bye Stephanie.  

We're back! Steph and Jeff are in Houseboat Studios to bring you the best Old Boat Ad EVER: You, your girl, and your !  Jeff tells his story of a day spent boat hitchhiking through the 1000 Islands, we do Boat NAME Of The Week, and more! See The Boaty Show LIVE Saturday August 2nd during Chris Peirce's concert in Thousand Island Park, NY. Get tickets at rivertakemehome.org. Thanks for listening! 

We're back! Live from Steph's houseboat! A Whaler, a tall ship, and a Square Beaver walk into a bar to compete for Boat Of The Week, we talk upcoming events, and mildewed mermaids. It's not the best Boaty Show ever but not the worst. Thanks for listening! 

You didn't ask for it so here it is: Hold Please: A Yacht Rockumentary! Your first-ever anthology of every original note of The Boaty Show music by Jay Nash (www.jaynash.com). Go down below for an exclusive look under the hatch. Scandal! Dirty bilges! Leaky sea cocks! This squinty-eyed gaze into the throbbing musical engine compartment of The Boaty Show is for the saltiest, most seaworthy listeners ONLY. Sex! Drugs! Yacht Rock 'n Roll! 

We're back in Vermont this time for an update on the electric boat industry from Industry Correspondent Jen. We review the Kady Krogan Manatee, a custom fantail launch, and Donzi 18 that should be renamed SCRATCH 'N DENT. You'll be surprised at the winner. No really. Get in touch at www.theboatyshow.com and thanks for listening!

A tin Starcraft, electric hydrofoil and floating houseboat? Boat Of The Week is all over the chart! We discuss your listener corrections and contributions, backwards steering and throttles. Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, and thanks for listening! 

Check out the full unedited show we made amidst Jay's Facebook Live streaming concert. This includes the opening segment in addition to a few behind-the-scenes tidbits during the Boat Of The Week and Old Boat Ad segments.  Thanks for bearing with us, we're a bit behind on our recording schedule with lots of good life stuff going on!  Thanks for listening! 

A musical rendition of Capt David's Spring Checklist? You got it. Be nice, Steph went out on a limb and sang about engine mounts. Encyclopedia John sends us a really cool 1969 Chris Craft Cavalier for Boat Of The Week, including the original catalog copy for your Old Boat Ad.  We had to wrap up and get to a meeting, so this one is short. Thanks for listening! Email theboatyshow@gmail.com, back the Kickstarter if you want an album of original music https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theboatyshow/the-boaty-show-album/  

Recorded at Jay Nash's studio in Vermont! Outtake from our video live stream with Jay on his Facebook page and the Boaty Show youtube plus Get your boat ready for Spring, Summer resolutions (like New Years but better), listener questions and corrections, a startling new recipe, and the Brooklyn Whaler concept boat. Help us fund five original yacht rock songs: the Boaty Show Yacht Rock Album Kickstarter is live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theboatyshow/the-boaty-show-album/ Email us theboatyshow@gmail.com and thanks for listening!

Jeff loses steering and has to limp back to port (literally), Steph relates her experiences with houseboat steering, we review a Grand Banks, Donzi Not-A-Sweet 16, Porsche lookalike runabout, and an abandoned project runabout for Boat Of The Week. Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, thanks for listening!

Straight outta Ohio! Steph brings us Heather and Matt Sullivan while visiting the gateway to the Midwest. Boat Of The Week is a giant swarthy on the outside glam on the inside renovated tugboat, we continue drooling over Novas and get steamed up over another magnificent vintage ad.  Email us your boaty thoughts at theboatyshow@gmail.com. Check out Matt's music live around Columbus Ohio as Matt Sullivan and His Friends, streaming as Black River Gypsies or Tin Hearts. Thanks for listening!

MJ calls in from New Orleans during Mardi Gras with a Love / Boat question: how do you teach your bae, boo, shorty, your main squeeze to drive a boat?  Steph answers, Jeff pretends he didn't hear the question. Boat Of The Week brings it: mini picklefork speedboat, 70's Wetbike, Jersey Speed Skiff, and a Nova 24 duke it out. Our Old Boat Ad gets RACY all this and more! Email us theboatyshow@gmail.com. Thanks for listening :-)

Boaty Show Mixologist Marc returns to consult on the "Icehole" cocktail. Steph nails description of the Boat Of The Week contestants - two frozen tour boats locked in their own ice holes in Canada. Old Boat Ad returns with our favorite of all time the 1970 Boston Whaler Menemsha including railings "perfect for casual leaning and gripping." Love / Boat rears its ugly head as Jeff is counseled on being a jerk about weight distribution under way.  Email us your own Boat Of The Week, Old Boat Ad, or advice about love and boats at theboatytshow@gmail.com! Thanks for listening! 

A day late and a box of chocolates short.... our first listener call-in show! Is your love life on the rocks? Did your admiral go ashore with another first mate? This Thursday-after-Valentines Day The Boaty Show casts you a line. Listen in on real relationship / boaty advice from two severely underqualified podcast hosts.  But first a special all-dredger Boat Of The Week from the San Francisco Bay Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Sausalito, CA!  No actual relationships were harmed in the making of this episode.  Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com and let us know what you think!

Steph and Jeff welcome Captain Nervous to the show! Captain Nervous shares cautionary tales to help you stay safe while boating.  New music from Jay Nash plays in our newest segment: Old Boat Ads, we review a wildly divergent slate of submissions for Boat Of The Week: a BMW hydrofoil, a low-buck houseboat, and a 90's Donzi Medalion. Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, subscribe to the show on your podcast app, follow on social media @theboatyshow.  Thanks for listening!

Gone to California to make a Boaty Show! Steph and Jeff are joined by JK and Jeremy. We run down a bunch of old business: listener corrections, more on lobster boat racing, JK's expert description of the Jones Act, carvel planking. A completely unfair Boat Of The Week may very well result in a new boat, and This Week In Curling delves into tribology, the study of rubbing.  This week on the boaty show you can't make this stuff up!  Thank you very much for listening, email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow on social media @theboatyshow. 

Steph and Jeff review a classic Mastercraft waterski boat, Rasputin's wierd monoski air boat, and a souped up racing lobster boat named RIP SNORTER for Boat Of The Week. Steph presents This Week In Curling, and in our new segment Old Boaty Book Jeff shares the Martha's Vinyard No Man's Land boat design. A cat-ketch double ender written up in a neat book called Good Boats while Steph shares a meditation from her favorite book Pleasure Boating on the similarities between propellers and sails.  This week in boaty history, we learn about the oldest message in a bottle ever found - 136 years!  You can thank us later for skipping our first review of a TV show.  Email us your thoughts, questions, and Boat Of The Week submissions at theboatyshow@gmail.com, Thanks for listening!

We're in person! Jeff journeys North to do boat pose at River Yoga, battery maintenance and a show in Steph's living room. We spin up on propeller performance data shared by a listener, two freighters and a Bertram Baron 20 go head to head in Boat Of The Week, Jeff fumbles the Jones Act, we get hooked on the hottest trend to land in acquatic fashion, stories of Canadian canal adventures, Missy goes corn nuts, all on this week's Boaty Show!  Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com especially if you know what the heck the Jones Act is.  Follow @theboatyshow on instagram, facebook, and YouTube. Thanks so much for listening!

Our hearts go out to our fellow citizens in Los Angeles. God bless you. Steph briefs us on Canadian Super Scooper firefighting amphibious planes dumping tons of seawater on the fires, we run down a dozen LA Fire Boats from the last one hundred and twenty years, big-hair-don't-care on the curling ice, artificial intelligence and marine radar, an unbelievable Chris Craft 32 Runabout for Boat Of The Week, Jeff digs into his Yacht Rock aversion for the Yacht Rock Dockumentary all on this week's Boaty Show! email your Boat Of The Week submission to theboatyshow@gmail.com, check out pictures from the show on Instagram and Facebook @theboatyshow. Thanks for listening! 

Happy New Year! Steph is on the mic!  We both went to Quebec over the break, but to different places. I reminisce about a 2022 trip down the Richeleau River that drains Lake Champlain... to the NORTH. Steph briefs us on the Boundary Waters Treaty and the International Joint Commission.  Steph reviews Yacht Rock: a Dockumentary and I blow her mind with the Williams 28 Bass Boat for Boat Of The Week! Send your Boat Of The Week nominations to theboatyshow@gmail.com, subscribe to the podcast, check us out on all social media @theboatyshow and thanks for listening!

Like three kings, rather two queens and a king we bring you gifts this Christmas Day!  Steph, Missy, and Jeff take your listener corrections, sing boaty Christmas carols, float through the earl history of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, and wrap up a massive Boat Of The Week like a present just for you!  Our second boaty kiddie ride, a Vanquish, metal flake midlife crisis, hot little wooden boat roadster, mysterious commercial fishing vessel, Chris Craft flybridge cruiser, and a polished aluminum tumblehome double cockpit runabout go toerail to toerail for the coveted win.  Recorded live in the bed of a pickup truck, check out @theboatyshow on YouTube to see us make the Christmas ham. Hope you have a restorative and pleasant Holiday season.  Thanks for listening!  

This week we record live in a Whaler!  Missy co-hosts while Steph is out of town helping a friend. We recap on a big part of what makes boating special - clean water. Missy weighs in on The Oil Exclusion and the US Environmental Protection Agency's Leaking Underground Storage Tank (yes, L.U.S.T) program.  Jeff seeks forgiveness for dissing Whalers, and a nice little Boat Of The Week with the very first boat kiddie ride entry!  Keep in touch, thanks for listening, you're the best!  T-shirts, temporary tatoos, stickers and more at https://www.stickermule.com/theboatyshow. Follow on social media,  YouTube @theboatyshow

We need clean water for boats! Get wise on water pollution and the Gowanus Canal toxic waste cleanup from a Superfund expert who wishes to remain anonymous.  We learn how our rivers, lakes, streams, and bays in the US went from industrial dumping grounds and sewars to the beautiful places we boat today, and how the worst of the polluted sites from hundreds of years ago got cleaned up through public private collaboration.  Like the easter egg after the outro? Check out Mac Glocky on YouTube, brilliant.  New merch available at https://www.stickermule.com/theboatyshow check us out on YouTube @theboatyshow.  Thanks for listening! 

This is a good one. From the Gowanus Canal to Rockaway beaches, Jamaica Bay to Red Hook, Stephan von Muehlen takes us along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront.  Stephan has lived, worked, and loved the hidden littoral spaces of New York City for over twenty years.  Learn about a waterborne art and activist community that plays hard and works harder to keep Brooklyn grounded and show people that they don't have to go to the Hamptons to enjoy the water.  We're joined by Stephan's wife and our longtime friend Anna who shares her own view and experiences from a life on the water.  Stephan believes in making stuff in Brooklyn, where he leads a company that builds pour-over coffee machines a block away from the Gowanus Canal. Check out Stephan's company www.poursteady.com and enjoy the show! Thanks so much for listening, look for video of the episode on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheBoatyShow.

Steph is alive! We're joined by Younger Demographic Liasons MJ and Hannah. Hanna spots a boat food truck, MJ and Steph plot a hot dog boat empire, Bearing Buddies get on the mic, we officially announce a special musical project.  A drool-worthy Boat Of The Week docks for the second week in a row. Happy Thanksgiving if you're in the States! All that and more on this week's Boaty Show. Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow the podcast and @theboatyshow on instagram/facebook/youtube. Thank you so much for listening, we're grateful for YOU. 

Steph is BACK! Rejoice! A massive Boat Of The Week - thank you Ryan, Patrick, Captain David, Anne! Jeff wants to know what's up with entry level boats, or the lack thereof?  We go deep on sight-unseen internet hookups... of trailers on the boat you just bought and now have to get home.  Younger Demographic Liason crew MJ, Malia, Alexa, and more tackle the big issue of the day: seasickness and more.  YouTube videos of the Brooklin Boat Yard episodes are up now @theboatyshow on YouTube.  email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com with your BOTW, questions, and get well missives for Steph. Follow on Instagram and Facebook @theboatyshow. Thank you so much for listening!

Hi Friends! Final episode from our first visit to Brooklin Boat Yard: a tour of the winter storage sheds where so many cool boats gather for their long winter's nap. John and Sarah Maxwell take us through a collection of saling and motor yachts big and small, old and new. We go through two big barns, you'll hear the gravel floor crunching under our feet as John tells us the story of classic sailing yachts and restored lobster boats. We climb aboard two stunning fifty foot motor yachts, including SYNTAX, launched by BBY just this past summer.  Steph will rejoin soon, in the meantime hope you enjoy this format!  Thank you so much for listening!

Wonder what a well-run boat yard is like? Go on this audio tour of what it takes to design, build, and service the coolest sail and powerboats you can imagine.  John Maxwell leads us on a journey through every corner of employee-owned Brooklin Boat Yard: the rigging deck, slipway, varnish shop, repair carpentry, paint, small boat storage, restoration sheds, and the five story new-build shop where master designers and craftsmen create stunningly beautiful custom one-off yachts to ninety feet and beyond.  

A wonderful conversation about life through rowing with Havilah Hawkins: schooner captain, boat designer and builder, youth sailing educator, master shipwright, and zen bottom paint scraper extraordinaire.  Second in our multi-part series from Brooklin Boat Yard in Brooklin, Maine.  This conversation happened spontaneously in the midst of John Maxwell's amazing tour.  We came around the stern of a shapely classic daysailer in the shop and Havilah was kind enough to pause his work and chat. Thank you for listening! 

Brooklin Boat Yard's John Maxwell introduces us to the world of sailing yachts and the amazing team of designers, builders, movers, riggers, and mechanics who create and keep BBY's peerless fleet sailing and motoring.  Listen after the outro for a snipped of Part Two.  Learn how outdoor education makes for boat matchmaking, Brooklin's origins under famed designer/builder Joel White and it's current employee-owned culture of excellence. Follow @theboatyshow on social media, email theboatyshow@gmail.com.  Thanks for listening!

500 miles in an open 24 foot center console two years in a row? In 2022 Jeff and his son traveled the coast of New Jersey, into New York Harbor, up the Hudson, through the New York State Barge Canal System to Lake Ontario, across an inland sea to the Saint Lawrence River.  In 2023, they started at the intersection of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers and went through Lake Champlain into Quebec, up the Saint Lawrence to Montreal, through the massive commercial locks to the Thousand Islands.  Epic adventures, and way more accessible than you think.  Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube @theboatyshow, leave a comment on Spotify. Thanks for listening! 

Winterization, decommissioning, blah blah whatever you call it we run down all the fall maintenance.  All the oils, self-healing theories, schmutz removal and everybody's favorite: care for the weakest link in boating, the friggin battery. A gorgeous Cigarette 20 pocket speedboat competes with the finest example of a picnic boat yet to cross our headphones for Boat Of The Week.  Chock full of practical information, it's the most Normal Boaty Show ever!  Don't get used to it.  Email theboatyshow@gmail.com, and thanks for listening!

Jeff shares maritime history from Iceland from settlement up through the Cod Wars.  Steph reviews her experience aboard the Foot Ferry (Pedestrian Ferry System) in New York City. Two restored Starcraft, a Hinkley Picnic Boat, an electric catamaran, and a gorgeous Limestone 24 all compete for Boat Of The Week!  Email your BOTW submissions to theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow the show and comment on Spotify, check us out on social media @theboatyshow on all platforms.  Thanks so much for listening!

Þorsteinn Bragi Jónínuson, Marine Engineer with Rafnar Marine in Reykjavik, Iceland takes us on a sea trial of the Rafnar 1100 in her home waters. The most capable high speed small boat we've ever been on.  In all seriousness, this boat is a revelation.  Invented and designed in Iceland to safely navigate the North Atlantic, she can handle any other water and is now built in Greece, Turkey, the UK, and the US.  She safely crossed the North Atlantic in 6 meter / twenty foot waves! Listen for the full story, send us your questions, tell us what you think: comment on Spotify, email theboatyshow@gmail.com, Instagram/Facebook @theboatyshow. New show every week, thanks to Þorsteinn and thanks for listening! 

Back at the boat yenta game with Patrick and Blake who each do a "Why Chart"TM (callback to Walker's Pie Chart of what's important in a boat). Before Boat Of The Week, Steph goes dating game on the results, major surgical engine swap between a Limestone and a Hiliner, propeller selection advice, we all agree bucket seats on boats are no bueno, we review the Formula Junior, Amphibious RIB, and an out-of-nowhere Mako center console for BOTW.  Please leave a review, follow on Spotify or Apple podcasts, and  check out @theboatyshow on InstaBookTube.  Submit your BOTW contestants at theboatyshow@gmail.com. New show every Wednesday, Thanks so much for listening!   Other candidate titles: Ghosted By The Chimneysweep Lousy With Limestones Fight That Granddaughter

Labor Day resolutions are in order as we move on from summer and get our lives back together.  The mermaid bumper helps deliver bad news about major dock maintenance, powerful new analytic methods help answer the important question "what do I want out of a boat", dock chains and mooring whips, and a special contestant for Boat Of The Week. Please donate to Jeff's MS Ride for his best friend!. New show every Wednesday, thank you so much for listening, we truly appreciate it!  Follow the podcast, leave a review, email your BOTW submissions to theboatyshow@gmail.com, and check us out on out Insta/Facebook/YouTube at @theboatyshow.  Thanks! The Hinckley 42 Daysailor:  https://www.yachtingmagazine.com/hinckley-42-daysailer/    

Newest Younger Demographic Liasons Celina and Jack make the case for growing up behind the wheel of a boat.  These two are best friends and might as well been birthed in a Boston Whaler.  Recorded Saturday of Labor Day weekend, you can hear nostalgia creeping in for this summer and summers past.  Thanks so much for listening! Reach out via email theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on instagram, facebook, and youtube @theboatyshow.  New show every Wednesday! Stay boaty...

Ride along with our field correspondents on the X-Shore electric speedboat and learn about the first electric autonomous freighter Yara Birkeland.  Byron, Jen, and Rob journey to Lake Champlain for a sea trial of the Eelex 8000 from Swedish boat builder X-Shore.  Byron shares his design work on the exterior of the Yara Birkeland which replaces 40,000 diesel truck trips a year in Norway.  SO COOL!  Thank you for listening, we love you but like in a good friend way jeez calm down. Please connect on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube @theboatyshow, email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com and listen to new shows every Wednesday!  Also, interested in electrification of transport? We highly recommend The inEVitable podcast hosted by Ed Loh and Jonny Lieberman.  Learn about civic planning, design, user experience, economics AND all the engineering and performance goodies. 

You have a long Labor Day Road trip so we made you a two hour episode! First up, Steph and Jeff get philosophical, "tumblehome" is defined by a listener in a sophisticated Boat Of The Week contest, the secret to winning said contest is revealed. Next Jeff chats with Scott Smith, former Canadian stock outboard boat racing champion, two stroke motor wizard, fountain of boaty knowledge, and River Rat extraordinairre. Enjoy! We love you for listening! New show every Wednesday. Email us at theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow on Instagram and Facebook @theboatyshow. Thanks so much for listening!

Presley hosts us at the remarkable Thousand Islands Boat Museum in Gananoque, Ontario.  Go check it out!  Very grateful to her and the entire team for inviting us to record aboard WASHINGTONIAN, a beautiful John Trumpy-designed yacht, tied up in the HUGE boathouse sheltering an entirely in-water exhibit.  Presley's extensive knowledge of the boats in the collection as well as local history means you're in for a treat.  We discuss and pick a Boat Of The Week from the floating collection around us, and have our first fight.  Email is back up - get in touch at theboatyshow@gmail.com, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @theboatyshow, new episode every Wednesday, thanks so much for listening!

It's the most wonderful time of the year: 1000 Islands Scavenger Hunt!  Oh what a day what a glorious day. We recap from Steph's houseboat joined by Jay, Julia, and the Hot Admin. More on the 1981 Cobalt (hint: she's a runner) including first impressions of driving this 24 degree deep vee 80's smoke show in some sloppy conditions. After a brief intermission due to the dock breaking a shackle on a mooring chain Boat Of The Week returns from a one week hiatus  Email is still down so please reach out via Instagram @theboatyshow, new show every Wednesday. Thanks so much for listening.    

This episode was brought to you straight outta the 80's recorded live sitting in a baby blue upholstered 1981 Cobalt 18DV with the Mercruiser 485 224 cubic inch straight four making 185 hp and a ton of torque. Younger Demographic Liason Toby joins to shed light on the mysteries of the youths, we discuss the Cobalt's extensive cigarette lighter, ashtray, and cupholder amenities, and Steph processes her boating mayhem of the past week. Our Gmail account got shut down for spamming (??) so BOTW remains on hiatus until we figure out Plan B so please bear with us. Check out theboatyshow.com, new episode every Wednesday thanks for listening! Cobalt!  

It's dock 'o clock as we listen to big block powerboats zoom past while answering your question "what boat should i buy for my kid?" Relatedly, Jeff discusses his favorite boat (hint: it's not a Donzi). We read everyone's favorite Cargo The Boardgame shipwreck disaster cards and try to pretend like we're good people.  Steph shares plans for a houseboat cruise, Jeff shares plans for the latest addition to the fleet.  Big news about Boat Of The Week, sometimes we run out of gas, and much more on this week's The Boaty Show!  Thanks so much for listening. 

So a podcast host walks onto a barge yacht... We got the band back together - Julia and Rich host us on their amazing floating house. Hiliners attract a lot of our attention, a bunch of listener corrections set the record straight, and Admiral's Choice will surprise and delight!  New episode every Wednesday, check out pictures in the show notes on www.theboatyshow.com. Thanks for listening!

This episode of The Boaty Show was recorded in front of a live studio audience.  Well, about 14 minutes of it.  HUGE Thanks to The Contenders Jay Nash and Josh Day for sharing their concert and performing the Boat Of The Week song.  Thanks to everyone who came out and had a good time.  The rest of the episode is a day-after debrief at friends Christy and Gray's on Round Island, their awesome Shamrock Walk Through 20, sponsons, and a bat.  New show every Wednesday! Email your Boat Of The Week submission, question, announcement, or sponsorship inquiry to theboatyshow@gmail.com Check out other episodes, show notes, and pictures of BOTW candidates at www.theboatyshow,com. Video of the live event! https://youtu.be/I2BMMvHDT80 BMW TYDE electric hydrofoil (Kimberly) Sea Isle NJ Tiki Bar Barge (Meredith and Dawn) 1970 Century Cheetah 16

Port Dunsel Yacht Club hosts The Boaty Show!  Pictures, links in episode notes at www.theboatyshow.com.  Peak geek week as we delve deep into metallurgy, marine gas, propeller design, two stroke vs four stroke motors, and metal machining.  Steph drops chemistry knowledge, Jeff nearly strokes out from laughing, Kim gives a lesson on the Cow Tunnels of Tennis Island (dead ass), and Patrick is field-promoted from Rear Admiral For The Day to Honorary Co-Host.  We hit Boat Of The Week hard with five submissions, including from our youngest ever.  All that and more on this week's Boaty Show!  Listen every Wednesday, email your BOTW submission and recommendations for an editing intern to theboatyshow@gmail.com. Thanks so much for listening, following, sharing with a friend!   Notes: Boston Whaler Menemsha: Link to Lankford Bay Marina for E-Tec rebuilds https://www.lankfordbaymarina.com Bad fuel filth muck: Bombardier SeaDoo Switch mini jet pontoon boat Chris Craft XK-19 Grumman Canoe Chris Craft Sportsman Kawasaki Super Chicken Porsche Speedboat Montauk 17 

We record riverfront with boats coming and going, meet a bonafide marine biologist, interview a ferry boat captain, nearly capsize Boat Of The Week, review our boat spotting finds from the week, and much more!  Pictures and links in show notes below. New show every Wednesday, email your BOTW to theboatyshow@gmail.com,  Come see The Contenders live 7/13 in Thousand Island Park, NY. Special Boaty Show surprise! Please get your tickets in advance at this link, it goes a long way to supporting the music series this is part of: https://www.universe.com/events/the-contenders-jay-nash-josh-day-at-the-thousand-island-park-tabernacle-tickets-2MCJNB   Donate to The Great Loop Challenge - a team breaking the record of the Great Loop in an open center console to raise $1M for pediatric cancer research:  https://nationalpcf.org/the-great-loop-challenge-2024/   A Century Resorter  The Rumery's Torpedo BAT https://vessel.iyba.pro/yacht-for-sale/40000208/?id=81853&vessel=2793365  

Kick off Summer 2024 on the deck of Steph's houseboat! Two boat reviews - Regulator and Ski Nautique.  Osprey, ducks, caspian terns interrrupt discussion of wake boat propeller innovation and Steph's Amish boat canvas maker neighbor. We meander into old business with San Francisco Bay open water swimming and getting passed by a one-legged cyclist. A truly innovative Boat Of The Week segment surprises all with a contender we've never seen before but hope to see again. New show every Wednesday! Email your Boat Of The Week to theboatyshow@gmail.com, like, leave a review, and follow @theboatyshow on facebook and instagram.  Thanks for listening! Mary Mattingly's work from Paul S:  Swale: https://marymattingly.com/blogs/portfolio/swale-2016-ongoing. Waterpod: https://marymattingly.com/blogs/portfolio/2009-waterpod A random red Donzi 22 with a 454 (Capt. David's NH Craigslist ad expired) https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1989-donzi-22-classic-9000798/ Float Of The Week from Patrick M https://www.costco.com/california-boat-company-inflatable-water-lounge%2C-11.5%27.product.4000237700.html  

Steph and Jeff break down five floaty toys, three boat reviews, two mink stories, and one geeked out discussion of thermoclines. George Clooney and Sophia Loren join our imaginations from Lake Como, boats made in Idaho have heaters who knew, and we're psyched that this'll be our last remote recording for a while.  Listen every Wednesday and sometimes other days, email us your high score in Balls and your boat of the week submissions at theboatyshow@gmail.com, Thanks so much for listening! Boat Of The Week links: https://stancraftboats.com/inventory/2013-360-rivelle/ https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlysatisfying/s/3Yh8rjyTl1 https://vessel.yachtbroker.org/pdf2/export.php?id=80985&key=d8f017722f0cd268115defe6e212a594745f4f06&vessel=2810816&browser=true https://www.instagram.com/reel/C76558-odiZ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==  

We catch up with Audrey Boerson of Black Sheep Racing in the Netherlands after her amazing competition at the 138th annual Holland Beker Regatta.  She won silver in the OPEN WEIGHT women's single as a lightweight limited to 135lbs.  She competed four times in one day and nearly won the lightweight single before she abruptly exited her boat.  Next up? World Cup III in Poland UPDATE - Audrey goes straight to the final Saturday 6/15 after winning her heat! US Rowing does NOT support sculling athletes like Audrey and her teammates at Black Sheep Racing. Please make a donation to support her and her teamates international travel and competition: https://www.gofundme.com/f/2024-summer-racing?qid=c2e384a5e24be8e9e858f8cef6aae30d Next Race - World Cup III in Poland:  https://worldrowing.com/event/2024-world-rowing-cup-iii/ The Holland Beker Regatta: https://hollandbeker.nl/regatta/ On August 14, 1886, a group of sporting gentlemen gathered in the Amsterdam with the purpose of establishing the “Committee for the Championships of the Netherlands for gentlemen amateurs in single scull outriggers”. The word “amateur” differentiated men who were paid to row or steer the boat and gentlemen who rowed for pleasure. The Committee allowed those from the gentlemen amateur group to participate in the annual regatta in the men's single scull. On September 25, 1886, the first regatta took place. Until 1912 the regatta was known as the International Dutch Open Single Sculling Championships. The regatta maintained wide international renown. In 1931 the regatta was moved from the river Amstel to the temporary race course in Sloten, near Amsterdam, until it found its present site at the brand new Bosbaan in 1937. During the eighties, the Holland Beker experienced competition from a growing number of international regattas, which made it difficult to attract the top international rowers. After some German victories, several Dutch victories were celebrated in the late eighties and early nineties. There is a gap in the regatta's history in the years 2001 and 2002. Only after the refurbishment of the Bosbaan race course in 2003 did the Holland Beker Regatta Association start anew. The organisation now includes the Royal Maas Yacht Club Rotterdam – replacing the Royal Netherlands Yacht Club as the organising group in 1994-, the Amsterdam Student Rowing Club Skøll and the Royal Dutch Rowing Association. In 2004 the name of the regatta changed back to the Koninklijke Holland Beker. As Holland's most renowned international regatta, the Koninklijke Holland Beker has hosted the World Rowing Cup III in 2019. Top rowers from countries around the world have travelled to Rotterdam to compete, which made the event a great success.

Steph reports live from the houseboat in a thunderstorm as a mama merganzer catches a fish for her babies, and we review an honest to pete narrowboat cookbook. It's better than it sounds. Jeff recaps a trip to Sarasota FL and a sea life tour of the bay complete with mermaids. Or manatees.  Five boats of the week contend for the title, two sweep us off our feet.  Post-outro shout out to Christine at the Old Salty Dog on City Island in Saraasota F. L. A! Email your boat of the week nomination, questions, and eel recipes to theboatyshow@gmail.com.  Follow along on Insta and Facebook @theboatyshow. New show every Wednesday, stay floaty!