- So this story has a few chapters.
There's that sad moment when we sold our van Ody.
There's that intense moment
when we wrote a 30 thousand word eBook.
I'll never forget the incredible moment
when you guys showed up and purchased Live Creatively.
And then, thanks to all of your support,
there's the moment when we finally bought
a beautiful bluewater sailboat.
Wow, this is pretty crazy.
We just got this boat and we are officially boat owners.
Which is something I didn't know if it was gonna happen
because it was a very long process
to figure out which boat we wanted,
if we had the money and all this stuff.
Let's rewind to January of 2020,
when we began the process of buying a bluewater sailboat.
My brother David took lead on researching boat types
since he grew up sailing competitively.
(comical music)
- Hey Gnard, this is David.
Hey Robert, my name's David.
Hey Jason, my name's David.
Hey Stewart, my name's David.
Hey Rachel.
Hey Tammie.
This is David.
I'm calling about your 1992 Tartan.
I'm inquiring about the Rasmus you have.
Your Hallberg Rassy.
37 foot Irwin.
Hallberg Rassy 35.
37 foot Irwin.
Hallberg Rassy.
About the Hallberg Rassy.
The 1988?
Okay, cool, yeah.
I was wondering, are you still showing that
this time of year?
(clock ticking)
Wow, that's awesome.
I did not expect that.
He said we can,
he's like, I do sea trials in January.
- [Dana] Wow.
- He's like, you just gotta wait to put in the water
the right day. - Woo!
- Yay!
- Woo!
(cheerful music)
- I'm here we've got some pretty exciting news.
I think this might be the boat for us.
Yeah, so I was hoping to see what is a time frame
we could move forward for a sea trial and survey?
- [Dana] Sea trial: often conducted
before the purchase of a boat
to test run all systems including engine,
sails, and gear, in order to determine any defects
prior to purchasing the boat.
Like test driving a car,
the sea trial puts the boat in a real life environment
to see how well it handles.
(lift beeping)
- All right.
We just finished up our sea trial.
Put the sails up, checked the engine
and I feel like this could be our boat.
There were no deal breakers
which is pretty much the whole point of the sea trial,
is to figure out if like, something fatal
is wrong with the boat that would require a ton of money
and it seems like there is a lot of stuff wrong
with this boat but it's 50 years old,
so that's kinda just what happens with like, old things.
And yeah, it'll be fun to fix up.
- We just got our survey for the boat
so fingers crossed, there's nothing catastrophic
because I really wanna get this one.
Number one, exhaust water leak at the transom
must be repaired.
Okay, we need that.
Two, loose motor mounts must be tightened.
Doesn't seem too bad.
Three, loose engine v-belt must be replaced.
Do you know how to replace an engine v-belt?
- [Lou] I do.
- Ooh.
Okay, chainplates and stays
should be removed for inspection.
Active water leaks into the vessel from above
in decks or house must be corrected.
Water leaking into port salon overhead lights
must be corrected.
All deck perforations should be sealed.
Loose steering mounting block pivots.
Kinked fresh water line.
To replace and inspect all fire extinguishers.
Attend to the following maintenance situations,
install oil material, change all fluids,
descale all, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I mean, it's not ideal
but it's also, it's a 48 year old boat, so,
it's not like the inspection,
I was expecting it to come back
and be like, everything's great!
You guys can set sail tomorrow.
What else do you think need? - Yeah, and it's like these,
like just these four are a good deal of work.
- Yeah.
- Like this is like, redo everything on the deck.
(laughing)
- Plans have changed once again.
That boat's not our boat
and I think we're going back to the drawing board.
I can't believe.
It's like every time we talk
our whole life gets turned over again.
- [Lou] It's exhausting.
- I'm so tired.
I just, like, I mean,
we have to find the right one.
This is like the most important thing for us.
Like, take our time and pick the right boat
because we're gonna be dealing with the problems on it
for a really long time and we want it to be,
like, the right one.
So it's like.
So there are 20,160 sailboats
for sale on Yachtworld.com.
But we want a boat that's between 30 to 40 feet,
which leaves us with 8,158 boats.
It needs to be located in the US.
Our price range for listings
is between 25 to 45 thousand dollars.
And we're looking on the East Coast, preferably.
So already we've narrowed our search pool by 98.2%.
Now let's make sure the boat
is theoretically capable of sailing around the world.
And we'd like two distinct cabins.
Plus a full keel.
And finally, the boat needs to be bluewater rated.
So from 20,160 we're left with 4 sailboats.
All 4 options are the exact same model.
- Hallberg Rassy 35.
Hallberg Rassy.
About the Hallberg Rassy.
Your Hallberg Rassy.
- [Dana] Let me introduce the Hallberg Rassy Rasmus 35.
Leading Swedish yacht designer Olle Enderlein
drafted up the blueprints for this gorgeous boat in 1966.
The Rasmus 35 introduced a number of key features
ahead of its time.
It was the first sailing yacht
to include a windscreen,
which helped keep the center cockpit well protected
from wind and water.
Plus, it's got two distinct cabins,
a sturdy full keel, and enough space for the fuel,
waste, and water tanks required for long term cruising.
If our old van Ody could transform into a boat,
I'd like to imagine that
this is the kind of boat he'd become.
The Rasmus 35 was built to last,
but all the sturdiness makes it kind of slow as well,
which is perfect for us,
because the journey is the destination.
Okay, so we're on our way to actually the first boat
that we saw, but now it's the three of us
and we're going to look at it again
because unfortunately, the survey came back
on the Annapolis boat, which we were super pumped on.
Turns out it has so much work to do.
There is like water leaking in
basically in so many places that we'd have to fix.
And I'm not gonna be able to say all the technical terms
but when we looked at the survey
it seems like a ton of work and a ton of money
and a ton of time.
So now, we're kinda like maybe we should go
with a more expensive boat
that already has more of the work done already.
So that's where we are.
Back to the drawing board and we're heading
to go look at this boat.
So, just to clarify,
the boat we originally surveyed might be a good option
for someone who has a ton of time to fix it all up,
and experience replacing rigging and chainplates,
or someone who only wants a boat
for casual trips close to shore.
But because we're planning to sail offshore,
we realized that the boat at the top of our budget
might actually be more affordable long term
since it's in much better condition.
So I don't know.
We're gonna try to figure it out the best we can.
But hopefully, this is our boat!
This is our boat.
It was very good meeting.
Now we just have to, fingers crossed,
hope that they'll let us not get it
for like the sticker price.
- [David] Yeah.
- Give us a deal.
- [David] I think this is.
- I think this is it!
- I think we got it.
- Think that's our boat.
Like for real, I haven't felt that truly.
Even though we'd already had a deposit
on a different boat.
That this time it feels like,
I think this one really is for us.
It just feels so much better taken care of
and so loved and it was really wonderful
getting to talk to the owner.
And it just like,
I know that people think it's silly
but like it just has really good vibes.
Like, you can tell when something's been loved
and this boat really was
and I feel like we could give it a good home.
David's in there right now negotiating with the broker.
We felt like it was weird to have three people go in
to talk to him so we just sent Dave in.
So fingers crossed, they are willing
to like kind of work with us with our budget.
It's like not ideal, but.
I'm proud of you.
What?
- I'm emotional.
(laughing)
- [Dana] What a relief.
- It'll be awesome.
(adventurous music)
(phone ringing)
- That's not exactly what we're expecting
but, hey would I be able to call you back
after I talk with the rest of the group?
(fingers tapping)
- Have to think about that.
I don't know, it's like how we can make that work
in our budget.
What do you think?
- [Lou] I don't know.
It doesn't look good.
That's like, not what I was expecting.
- [Dana] Yeah, I mean, it's like fair.
I mean, I think his boat is worth 40 grand.
Like he's put so much heart into that boat.
And it's like, that's like upgrades that I think
that like, maybe one day we would be capable of.
But like, we don't know how to fix rigging right now.
We don't know how to like.
I mean we could like figure it all out
but, it's like, he took all the hoses off the bathroom
and put new ones in.
He like cleaned out the whole engine.
He like brought this boat back to life.
And it's like, we aren't talented enough
to do that quite yet and definitely not like, quickly.
Or cheaply, like.
- [Lou] Yeah, what did,
How much money has the eBook earned so far?
- So the story of the boat purchase
begins with the writing of our eBook, Live Creatively
starting in July of 2019
back when we were still living in our van Ody.
So I just set our alarm and tomorrow
is gonna be the first day that we are gonna hopefully,
consecutively wake up at 5:00 a.m.
We're thinking we're gonna do it for 30 days
as like a push for me to finish writing this eBook.
It's been something like weighing on my soul.
I really wanna write it, I have so much to say.
But things just keep getting in the way
and our day ends and it's like I'm too tired
to write or I don't know,
I don't want a screen in my face right before I go to bed.
And so I feel like if we wake up early
I can have this quiet time in the morning
just to write, maybe, hopefully an hour a day.
I'm not exactly sure how the whole morning routine
is gonna go.
(crickets chirping)
Well, I can tell you now how it's going to go.
5:00 a.m. hit us like a train that first morning,
but eventually we shook it off and got to work,
making a nice cup of tea to kickstart the day.
The real challenge in writing the eBook
was to distill five years of learning
into eight simple chapters.
I wanted to chronicle our creative journey.
How we learned about photography, how to edit videos,
how to meditate, how to balance self care and work.
Well, we're still figuring out that last one.
But before we started this YouTube channel
we had no idea how to do any of that,
so I wanted to write a book that explains
some of the lessons we've learned,
in case other people are also struggling
with these same issues.
This book is everything I wish I had known five years ago.
(driving country music)
(keys clicking)
(water splashing)
(driving country music)
(sighing)
September 3rd, 2019.
Presale is going live.
(exciting music)
Wildweroam.com.
Please work, please work, please work.
Hey!
- [Lou] Wow, look at that.
- Wow.
What!
Somebody already bought it.
- [Both] It's not even live yet!
- Well, it's alive, but we didn't say til three o'clock.
Adee Linda Verde, you are our first sale!
And they bought the bundle!
Woo!
Oh my God, it's happening.
I feel like I should write this person an email.
- [Lou] You should.
- Oh my gosh I'm going to.
We already got three more orders
so now we have four orders, all bundles.
These are our friends.
These are our people, Lou.
Oh my gosh.
Alison, Anna, Chandler, Adee, thanks for showing up for us.
(excitedly cheering)
- 42.
43.
- We are at 80 orders.
Which is mindblowing because it's only been up
for like almost two hours.
- We are at 94 orders.
(laughing)
94!
- I know, and everybody likes the Ody stickers.
My brain is exploding with excitement.
Do you think we're gonna get a boat?
I don't know.
- That's a long way away.
- No, boats are expensive but, fingers crossed,
over the next few months it comes together
and Live Creatively can fund the next part of this.
- [Lou] 104!
- [Dana] 105!
- [Lou] 105!
116.
- 154.
Oh my gosh, 208.
210!
290.
What?
469.
That's crazy!
Lou, that's so many orders!
- [Lou] Yeah.
- Oh my gosh, what a relief.
Holy cannoli.
Oh my gosh.
That's so many.
Lou, that's so many.
- [Lou] 469.
- Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
(laughing)
Oh my gosh - Whoa.
- That's like a proper book advance.
- [Lou] Yeah.
Isn't that amazing, Dana?
- Oh.
It's really nice.
597.
Whoa, 808.
We are getting to that 1,000.
Wow, that's really cool babe.
And it's been a week.
So our first week of sales, 800 orders.
(gentle music)
After the adrenaline rush of the first week,
the orders continued to trickle in
over the course of the fall and winter.
Whoa, I love it!
Some weeks we got a lot,
and other weeks we got a couple,
but eventually 1912 people and counting
showed up and supported us.
For the preorders, we sent out 2,848 Ody stickers,
and 1,424 handwritten thank you notes.
Seeing those 1400 envelopes heading to the post office
is a feeling I'll never forget.
I'm so grateful to each and every one of you
for watching these videos and joining us on our journey.
It's a lot!
Oh, it makes me so happy.
Well these are all our orders.
Thank you guys very much for your help.
- Oh, no problem!
- Couldn't have done it without them.
That was crazy.
I don't know about hand written thank you notes.
That was very fun but also four days of writing.
- [Lou] You okay?
- Yeah, I'm okay.
Just like, a lot of emotion publishing this book
and I don't know why.
Just, I'm not like sad.
I just feel like it's been a really big thing
to get this together for the last like five months.
So the Live Creatively eBook brought in $37,900.
Which is so hard for me to wrap my mind around.
I'm just so grateful for all your support
and also for this privilege,
to be able to put this money directly into buying a boat.
Our journey began years ago, long before COVID-19,
but looking back I'm just so aware
of how lucky we really are, for all of your support,
and for the position we're in.
In light of recent events,
we've decided to donate all June 2020 eBook profit
to the following organizations.
Give Directly and Equal Justice Initiative.
I'll put information about them in our description box
if you wanna learn more.
Okay, let's FaceTime Lou in.
We are about to wire the money for this boat.
Come on, answer the phone.
Oh, you're there!
- [Lou] Hello.
- Guess what!
We got the information,
we are going to wire the money for the boat.
Tada!
We just bought a boat.
- [David] What?
(laughing)
- Ah, that's so weird.
Oh my God.
How crazy is that.
- [Lou] Wow.
- Guys, we own a boat now.
It's really happening.
Wow, this is pretty crazy,
we just got this boat.
And we are officially boat owners.
(triumphant music)
So this is our Hallberg Rassy 35.
Built in 1976, she's five years older than our van Ody was,
and quite a bit bigger as well.
There's a full tour video coming soon,
so I'm going to end this story here.
Thank you for watching, and a special thank you
to all our beautiful patrons for supporting us.
We couldn't have done this without you.
Stickers and patches are in the mail,
so hopefully they've arrived safe and sound.
See you next week!
(triumphant music)