We Finally Buy a Boat! - 42 Year Old Tartan 37 That Needs WORK

Boat buying is a long process and choosing the right boat involves a lot of time and research. We were lucky enough to find this old sailboat, a 1981 Tartan 37 that's in need of some work but can be sailed away today.
With our goal of eventually becoming full-time liveaboards, this old sailboat should suit us perfectly as a cruising couple. We're looking forward to refitting the boat piece by piece, but also can't wait to see what she is all about as we cruise the Chesapeake Bay for the next couple of years.
LIKE and SUBSCRIBE if you want to follow along with us on our sailing journey and mini REFIT projects soon to come.
Enjoy.

[@leonardogaytan3219]

Enjoy , good boat.

[@jimfox4145]

Best of luck.

[@ministryofsailing]

Always love that boat!!!

[@rjturk]

As a Tartan owner, you’ll love her!

[@blacksheep933]

good stuff!

[@Anonymous_____User]

I’m so happy for the both of you. I just turned 42 and I retired and I’m thinking now about buying my second boat and just seeing your love for each other. Just makes me hopeful that I might find somebody to in the future that loves to sail with me, much aloha to you both, and love from va

[@nanoceramics2747]

Congratulations!! enjoy every moment the challenging times will lead to magical days.

[@pelewaieveisreal6449]

SO EXCITING! Look forward to seeing your adventures!

[@user-yr4qm7cf1o]

Get Orly more involved the shoots. Let us know what you are feeling about the sailing conditions and what you are having for meals. Tell us the sailing set up for your scenes; up wind/down wind, which sails are up, motoring or not or both motor and sails, etc. You guys are very likeable, so you should do well on this You Tube venture.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Appreciate the feedback! She's a little camera shy but is getting more used to it, especially with all of the support we're getting from you guys. We'll work on it and try to bring you closer to the experience!

[@sailingrambunctious]

hey guys, Daryle here... just stumbled across your channel. Congrats on owning a Tartan. I also am a proud T37 owner, (hull #305, "Rambunctious" - just a few production numbers away from yours!) Would like to compare notes, your interior is almost an exact duplicate to mine. i can provide my email if you would to reach out.... I am in the middle of replacing all of the 12vac and 12v dc wiring from 1981, and would love to see some pics of your electric panel. Let me Know....

[@thegreatescape2022]

Hey Daryle, that would be cool! Shoot us a message with your email and we can chat. Our wiring is original too and could use some cleaning up/replacing

[@craigblakeley4731]

And let the adventure begin 😎⛵ Great first video guys.

[@Nordener720]

you are doing just fine keep shooting and have fun.

[@larswetterstrom7209]

INice and a lot of "feeling good". The old sweet couple selling was the key to a good start.

[@CheersWarren]

Good choice for first boat , be sure to check centerboard cable and hose connection . Sink you boat if it fails. I’m sure you know same boat a Soulanis, sadly probably a loss in last hurricane . Here’s an idea I had to copy my old friend in UK , keep turning left …. Work you way around into every creek in the C bay ( he did around England). Cheers Warren

[@thegreatescape2022]

Hey Warren, we saw that about Soulianis, it hurt us and it wasn't even our boat! We also try to check that hose connection at the CB often and we'll probably get into replacing the hose and control line before we head out into the ocean in a couple of years

[@tonypurkiss6022]

Liked and subscribed. Along for the ride. Cheers from Newcastle Australia

[@lucho4x]

Nice!!! 4 years ago we buy hull 294, fix it and sailed her 4000 miles to Perú, now in Paracas Bay, perfect cheap, beautiful, solid, classic and very seaworthy boat!! Enjoy!!!!

[@thegreatescape2022]

They're beautiful boats!

[@ralph6115]

Nice! Stumbled upon this but will follow your channel!👍

[@maryswift6014]

Congratulations 👏 good video, looking forward to your second one😛

[@matthewmiller551]

Finally watching this. You're welcome. 😂😂

[@gfimadcat]

Small tip/request: see if you can get the volume level between the music and the speaking bit a bit closer together, I had to turn up my volume to clearly hear you speak, and when the first bit of music kicked in I nearly hit the ceiling because it was pretty loud. Congrats on getting the Tartan though, they're absolutely brilliant boats :D

[@thegreatescape2022]

Appreciate the feedback, without it, we wouldn't know it was an issue! A few others have said the same thing so we will definitely pay more attention to the audio levels when we're editing 😊

[@gfimadcat]

@@thegreatescape2022 yeah it was a little jarring, other than that the editing's all good :D

[@tricochi]

Awesome video guys. Looking forward to many more. Best of luck. Cheers!

[@borderfox2]

Well done great video great boat looking forward to your next upload already best wishes from Ireland :)

[@petethecatable]

Welcome to the Tartan Group. I have owned # 373 (Deep fin keel version) of my Tartan 37 for 30 years and sail her along both coasts of North and Central America. I am confident you will find this S&S design one of the best sailing vessels ever produced. I trust you have already discovered the T37 Association web site and all the help that is there. You have a group of very experienced sailors there who have extensively cruised and diligently maintained their boats over many years. Seems like your boat is a very well maintained example and you are lucky to get one of those. I would recommend starting right away to service the engine. If you have the old Westerbeke, I would suggest going through the cooling system right now, to familiarize yourself with it and service it. The Westerbeke can be a fine engine but the cooling system requires maintenance. If you haul it you need to learn about servicing the centerboard pennant. Good Luck. Ray Durkee "Velera"

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks Ray, it's great to have so many loving and knowledgeable owners out there. Thanks for the heads up on the cooling system, we're going to be checking it out more thoroughly at the start of this season. Having sailed on an S&S design for a long time before this (Tartan 30), I knew we had to find another! Cheers!

[@itking7360]

Looks good! count me in to watch along

[@thegreatescape2022]

Glad to have you along for the ride!

[@jaredames729]

I built tartans for years on blaze neimith rd in a huge hanger in grand river ohio they are all hand built very well built good buy😊

[@thegreatescape2022]

We love them! They're hard to beat. You didn't happen to be building them in '80-'81 did you 😉

[@chrisjohnson7419]

Congrats on the new boat! We have a 1979 Tartan 37 (Hull 160) on the Chesapeake down near Deltaville, VA. It’s always fun to see others with the same boat. I’m still learning a lot about ours, but I’m happy to compare notes if anything comes up.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks! Appreciate that! Same for us too, if you have any questions or anything about the boat, let us know and we'll see if we can incorporate it into an episode. If you're out cruising and end up on the Choptank, let us know, we can try and meet up!

[@irishharmon]

Great video I enjoyed it. One thing for headphone uses keep the voice and music level at the same volume. Other than that Nice one guys.

[@murphmurph2124]

Murph from Luray va. Met Saylor there pleasant fella, Glad to see you undersail have fun! 😊

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks Murph! It was great talking boats with you!

[@johnblythe1612]

Nice first vid. kids I did this via term chartering my new out island 41 and sailed from 1971 until 1986 when thing got a little dicey in st. thomas. But my wife and I got 10 life times of sailing compared to the average boat owner! ENJOYENJOY ENJOY.🙂🙃😂😁

[@thegreatescape2022]

That's awesome! 15 years is a long time, glad you're along for the ride!

[@graemeday4195]

Well done. I like to find new sailing channels with a few subscribers, so that I can see how you grow into your new life and the adventures you will have.

[@stevens8987]

Great work I wish you fair winds and following seas

[@ralphholiman7401]

I'm looking forward to your adventure. I enjoy your kind of sailing channel a lot more than the people that decide they want to write a check for a million-dollar catamaran, to go vacation for a year.

[@jan-eriklarsson]

Congrat to a great sturdy boat and to a good beginning on a youtube channel. 👍The best wishes from an old swedish sailor

[@colinboniface194]

Great video... Just continue to be yourselves and your youtube journey will be fine and successful...

[@aqueenslander]

Enjoyed the video but had to keep fingers on the volume control to cycle between voice and background music. Turn down to lower music then turn up to hear narration. Not criticising but hopefully offering some advice about "loudness" of background music. Congratulations on your purchase....looks like a sturdy boat. Do you plan to live aboard and go travelling the world or just use at weekends and holidays?

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks for the feedback! We'll keep that in mind as we keep editing. A few others have mentioned the same so we'll work on the audio 😊

[@oldshad65]

Quality boat! Hope you talk yourselves into doing the things that need doing sooner rather than later. Gotta get a boat dog too. Enjoy it. I’m old and jealous.

[@sailingeden9866]

Have you watched, "Sailing Soulianis"? They did a lot of sailing on a Tartan 37.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Yes! They're actually a big reason why we chose this boat, or at least why we became interested in it. That and since I grew up sailing on a Tartan 30, I knew they're good boats. We still follow Soulianis and their trimaran adventures. -Saylor

[@martingarner484]

Great video, I look forward to your future videos

[@lesstoddard6779]

Can’t wait to watch you chase your dreams! Keep at it, you’ll slay all the dragons and get there. Everyone watching is cheering for you!

[@svseaquest9328]

always cool to see East Coast sailing. Look forward to many more vids guys ...thanks for sharing

[@jeffbazor5286]

Great video guys! I have literally watched hundreds maybe over a thousand hours of sailing videos over the past 8 years and your first video is on par with many of the top sailing channels out there. Surely one or both of you have had video editing experience prior to this episode. I hope that in future episodes you can give us a little background on yourselves, and what your future plans are. Your off to an awesome start👍✌️

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! No video editing experience here, just a lot of googling and a little bit of creativity as we go. Glad you enjoyed it, there's more to come!

[@CheersWarren]

Check previous into video

[@murraysmith2103]

For a ‘first episode’ this was great work! Lovely boat, looking forward to seeing how you go. Have fun, enjoy the journey!

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you so much! I means a lot to read that. We were still trying to figure out the camera and getting used to filming so it is such a compliment to read your comment!

[@csranch2000]

Good job on the video. I wish you would go into your background a little and also did you have problems finding insurance on the boat. Do you have previous sailing experience. Very nice editing. Will be watching you for sure.

[@SVLibertas]

Great video😊 I have sailed the Chesapeake for 20 years, a couple of words of wisdom; Respect the bay! It can blow like the Southern Ocean and remember there are 2 kinds of Chesapeake sailors; those who have never run aground and those who will! Enjoy

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! Funny that you mention running aground... We used to be the "have never run aground" people. More on that in a few episodes

[@stephenrrose]

Doesn't that mean for those that haven't run aground, just haven't sailed long enough??? asking for a friend ;-)

[@southernpaths2986]

Every now & then YT recommends a really good channel… count me as one of the first 100 subs!

[@mikefox1332]

Good start. Looking forward to a boat tour and a bio. I'd wish you luck but, my intuition is you don't need it. WTH, good luck!!

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! We're planning on a boat tour soon, once we get to know the ins and outs of her a little better. Stay tuned!

[@49otterhound]

Just stumbled across your channel and subbed. Tartans your nice boats she should serve you well. Best of luck guys!

[@winstongray9818]

Hi guys what a great first video you depicted what you want viewers to see you are do great, a fantastic boat just keep enjoying yourselves, stay safe, I'm looking forward to more episodes 🤙🏾

[@Footballislife1900]

Here we go!!! Can’t wait for the adventure

[@alanroberts7863]

I'm totally onboard with you guys and looking forward to your journey. A friend from across the big oceans - Alan, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, AUSTRALIA ! 🌏🏖

[@thegreatescape2022]

Wow! Thank you so much 😊

[@ceenjay8576]

Good job guys on getting the boat! Man... my wife and I have been looking at tartan 37s for 4 years. Not yet ready to pull the trigger but we're close. Watching you guys closely for ideas and inspiration. Thank you ✌️🙏

[@GypsyTinker2012]

Nice job, you two. Keep at it.

[@DD-xx8wh]

this is great!! can't wait to learn, see and visit all about the Chesapeake Bay ....thanks for taking us along, let the adventure begin!!

[@timgreen4137]

Beautiful boat. I'm sure that you'll have years of enjoyment with her. A person could spend a year just exploring the Chesapeake, and not see it all.

[@thegreatescape2022]

The Chesapeake really is such a gem, it's hard to chose where to drop anchor!

[@sailingabroad6528]

That's awesome guys I just splashed mine 2 weeks ago it needs a little bit more work before I start cruising congratulations I'm so happy for you guys I hope our paths cross soon I'm on the west coast of Florida almost ready to start cruising.

[@svgreatescapes]

Great video and great name. We’ve been sailing “great escapes” for The last few years out of Rhode Island. We will be watching your journey. I’d like to learn more about the Chesapeake.

[@hectorsarraga2475]

Congrats on your new boat! She is a beauty! We also bought a Tartan 37 this month she is a 1976; the original hull #1. Looking forward to follow your adventures…

[@thegreatescape2022]

That's awesome! Having hull 1 has to be a cool feeling!

[@hectorsarraga2475]

We love the boat, still working on her to get her sea worthy.we are in Vero Beach Florida so looking to see y’all when we come down the ICW

[@merlin9244]

I am happy to see you happy. 😊 Greetings from Germany, Armin (the Kayaker who dreams of sailing)

[@billyisenhour2600]

Awesome 1st video praying for blessings. Greetings from Goochland Virginia.

[@joeboonen7421]

So cool guys, love the joy and excitement on your faces. Jealous much haha. Looking forward to more vids.

[@Chris-NZ]

Great video , I’m sure your subscriber base will grow accordingly. Being retired I have time to watch a lot of sailing, boat restoration and boat building channels and you two have what it takes to be successful I can see that already. 6000 + views on your first video who can argue with that ! Wish you every success ✅

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you!! This means a lot, we're hopeful to see where we end up!

[@jerryparks9838]

Great video for 1st one I agree with post below 100% . I'm a steady viewer all ready. So please get going and have fun. And stay safe. Jerry

[@pamcarlin5613]

Looking forward to the journey. Camera work is a bit jerky/shaky so I would suggest working on that to improve your product.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you for the tips! We have upgraded some of our camera equipment to make more quality videos. It's funny watching back on some footage I didn't realize just how shaky the camera can be while filming and walking or sailing. It will definitely take practice haha! Thanks for watching 😊 -Orly

[@sailingcouple6912]

Congrats guys. Looking forward to watching your adventures and your channel grow!

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! Happy you're here with us!

[@shades1959]

Great job guys - you’re sailing and living the life. Travel Safe.

[@spacebassli]

Good luck guys! I’ve subscribed to your channel.

[@TheCorsair]

Great! Glad I stumbled on your channel. Give us a shout if you sail over to Herring Bay this summer.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Glad you enjoyed it! We were just talking about Herring Bay a few weeks ago. We have it on our list for a little extended weekend getaway, we'll be sure to get in touch!

[@TheCorsair]

@@thegreatescape2022 Great!

[@tinman09ful]

Great video! Thanks for sharing your new adventure! I'm wondering how much sailing experience you all had before setting out and taking that first step of moving the boat from Hampton to Cambridge?

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks! I (Saylor) have been sailing since I was born, but mainly just in rivers along the Chesapeake. Orly has a few years of experience sailing with me in a little 17' dinghy. Picking a fair weather window was key for the first trip!

[@davidallen9526]

Really enjoyed watching your video. Cant wait to see more. Thanks for having us alongside. Hello from your new subscriber in St.Louis Missouri

[@davidnichols147]

Awesome! We all know Tartan has an excellent reputation for quality and as a SS design she will perform well. Best to both on your new venture and hope to see you both on the water.

[@thegreatescape2022]

SS knew how to make beautiful, well performing boats for sure. If you see us on the water, come say hi!

[@stephenrrose]

Great video and I'm on board as a Subscriber! Looking forward to seeing more videos !!! Congratulations on the Tartan!

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! We love her

[@Nerd3927]

Looks in very good condition. Before ripping stuff out, I would advice to sail her and see what you actually need. As long as it is safe, If it didn't break in 42 years, it will do a few more :) Great first video! Love the way you relate to the previous owner and the boat. Hope you will enjoy it just as much, and do not run off to buy a fancy catamaran in 3 years time with the 1.8M subscribers you will have by then.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Good advice and we totally agree! She's a fantastic vessel

[@judywebb8358]

Loved the video! You look like a great fit for your Tartan 37! Enjoy your ventures!

[@stephroseblade4336]

Great video, I love following people’s journeys through life on the water; looking forward to your adventures

[@williamhalling7744]

Awesome video, especially for #1. Very interesting. I have seen Sea Gypsy many times. I kept my vessel at Ft. Monroe Va. Prior to selling her last year. Safe travels and looking forward to your journey.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! She's a fantastic vessel and has had very caring owners. We're proud to call her ours

[@rfdinesen4027]

Great video. Congratulations. I too have been sailing/boating on the Chesapeake for most of my life and it is a wonderful place to keep exploring and get lots of experience in a lot of conditions.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you! There is so much beauty in the Chesapeake. As a novice sailor, I feel very fortunate to learn how to sail here. Thank you for watching. -Orly

[@nigeltizard8574]

Nice video guy,s . My dad was a sailor , my brother is a sailor and I,m a keen you tube sailor ! My dream is for investments to pay off and buy the landrover of the sea , a garcia exploration 45 so I can bounce around in the ice , 4 of us rode our motorbikes across the chesapeake bridge and tunnels in 2014 . 8 weeks riding 20,000 km . Trip of a life time . I,ve subscribed and I live in Cambridge NewZealand about 1 hour from Tauranga marina . Looking forward to your next video . Cheers

[@thegreatescape2022]

That sounds incredible, Nigel! Wishing you all the best in your sailing endeavors 😊 thank you for staying tuned!

[@andyelkin339]

Hi guys. Great boat. I looked at her about a year ago, but couldn’t work out the details adequately. You’ve got a good boat. I now own #122 in Ontario Canada. We share that, and the cruising plans. Looking forward to seeing more sailing and projects. If you’d like to connect outside of KZbin, just reply to this comment and I’ll get in touch. Cheers.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Hey Andy, that's awesome! Shoot us an email or message if you want and we can compare notes!

[@StemtoSternSailing]

This looks promising. I'll tagg along until you turn into a wannabe tv show or a ebagging KZbin channel. The honesty and reality level you put into this episode was great. Loved it. Stay safe and don't run aground to often. Regards from Norway See you next time you upload. I'll hit the subscribe button so that your channel name pops up on the list of channels i follow on my KZbin channel paige. Im a small channel but every little bit of exposure helps.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Appreciate it! Maybe if we make the trek across the pond we'll get up to Norway, it looks absolutely beautiful up there

[@StemtoSternSailing]

@@thegreatescape2022 you will be welcome..... if you read the informasjon text om my channel you'll see how much there is to explore. Bring wet gear! Have a nice day

[@ministryofsailing]

Look us up… we are on the bay and I have a spinnaker for that boat I can give you.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Not too far from us! We really appreciate the offer but we JUST bought one from Bacon's a few months ago... Do you guys offer any in person training? Before we set off into the ocean, we'd like as much safety training as we can. We are definitely going to check out your videos

[@sailingeden9866]

Did you pull the boat out and inspect the hull?

[@thegreatescape2022]

Unfortunately no, but we were made aware of a few problem areas to fix by the previous owners. We haul out in the next episode or two and get to see the bottom for the first time

[@MrRedeoarknot]

👍

[@iainlyall6475]

are you kids even old enough to sail a biggish boat? :-)) stick with it and maybe i'll stick around :-)) good luck.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Hahaha! Took a lot to convince mom and dad 😉 Thank you! - Orly

[@DDixon3121]

I need to correct myself: Ron's first Tartan was an 85 model and was powered by a 50 Hp Westebeke. His second Tartan was an '82 model and was powered by a 40 HP Yanmar. Here's the link to the video I made to sell the boat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGnFoWaGesdjgZI

[@jasonmacneil2256]

The biggest issue with camera work that I see is lack of stability. You don't want to be jerky or up and down with your movements because some people can't watch the video then😊

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thanks for the feedback! We have a new gimbaled camera to help with that 😊

[@jasonmacneil2256]

@@thegreatescape2022 Awesome! I think you guys will do great!!

[@robhoward724]

So happy for you guys congratulations she looks stunning fair winds and following seas on your new adventure

[@zerosurvivor]

Totally agree with @jeffbazor5286, you guys did an amazing job with your first video. I really cant wait to follow your journey and see your channel grow. Thank you for letting us follow your adventures.

[@thegreatescape2022]

Thank you, and glad to have you along for the ride!