Beyond the Boat

About Beyond the Boat

Beyond the Boat shares the stories of the people and communities who keep wooden boats alive — through ownership, seamanship, craftsmanship, education, operations, and stewardship — and how those paths invite others into a living tradition. These are not just stories about boats. They are stories about responsibility: the choice to care for something that must be worked, maintained, taught, and passed along. Each episode explores how wooden boats continue to matter because people choose to carry them forward — and, in doing so, make room for others to step in. Hosted by Leroy Lewis, the podcast centers on lived experience. Some guests are owners. Others are captains, shipwrights, educators, yard workers, volunteers, or operators. What they share is not a title, but a relationship — one that connects craft, seamanship, memory, and community. Together, these voices reveal a world where meaning lives not just in the boat, but beyond it — offering listeners a way to imagine where they might belong. Support & Independence Beyond the Boat is listener-supported, following a public-media model. Support is voluntary, quiet, and never required to listen. Listeners may choose to support the show as: Supporters — contributing occasionally Members — offering ongoing monthly support Stewards — individuals or institutions providing deeper, sustaining support aligned with the mission There are no paywalls, no exclusive content, and no calls to action inside episodes. Note: "Stewards" are "Members" who will be periodically acknowledged for their support. Acknowledgments, when offered, appear only outside the storytelling. Support helps cover production costs and ensures these stories remain independent and freely available.

Publisher

Leroy Lewis

Category

history · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Oct 2025

Latest episode

5 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Sept 2026

   EP#16 - More Than the Work — Greg Gustafson and Malibu

   What does a century-old wooden boat ask of the person who cares for her—and what does she give back? Greg Gustafson has spent years caring for Malibu, a nearly century-old wooden yacht whose story has included restoration, constant maintenance, and even the extraordinary challenge of bringing her back after she sank. But this conversation isn’t really about the mechanics of maintaining an old wooden boat. It’s about what happens when years of work become something more. Greg talks about the r...

2. 

   6 Jun 2026

   EP# 15 - Living with Summer Wind

   In this episode of Beyond the Boat, I sit down with Dave Schoeggl, longtime owner and steward of Summer Wind, formerly E. Lester Jones, a 1940 wooden vessel built by Astoria Marine Construction for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Dave grew up around wooden boats on Lake Washington and has spent a lifetime on the water. For more than three decades, he and his wife Tammy have cared for Summer Wind, transforming a rugged government survey vessel into a family home, cruising boat, and endurin...

3. 

   22 May 2026

   EP# 14 - Slowing Down Aboard the David B

   In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy talks with Christine and Jeffrey Smith of the David B, a nearly century-old wooden vessel carrying guests through Southeast Alaska. Their story begins with a boat they believe may have chosen them: a weathered vessel with an original Washington Iron Works engine, hidden craftsmanship, and enough promise to inspire years of restoration. Today, the David B is more than a charter boat. She is a home, a workplace, a companion, and the center of a communit...

4. 

   5 Apr 2026

   EP# 13 - Becoming One of the Hands

   There’s a moment when a boat stops being just an object—and starts becoming something more. In this conversation, Tucker Piontek, lead instructor at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, reflects on how that shift happens. His path into the world of boats wasn’t direct. It moved through design, fabrication, and composites before a project on the schooner Adventuress changed how he saw the work—and his place in it. What begins as a story about learning a trade becomes something de...

5. 

   21 Mar 2026

   EP# 12 - The Fifth Member of the Family

   In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy Lewis talks with writer Lisa Nickel, who grew up aboard a 42-foot wooden tugboat in Tacoma, Washington. What began as a family boat soon became something much deeper — a place of work, adventure, pride, and belonging. Lisa shares what it was like to grow up as part of a working tugboat family: learning lines and dock duties, helping with meals during overnight tows, hauling out each summer for paint and repairs, and joining the close-knit commun...

6. 

   1 Mar 2026

   EP# 11 - Not Just Preserving Boats — Preserving Pathways: Aaron LaPointe and Historic Maritime

   Aaron LaPointe grew up around the water—but it was wooden workboats that pulled him in for good. Now he’s the Executive Director of the Historic Maritime Foundation, stewarding a growing fleet of historic vessels and building a hands-on pathway for young people and career-changers to enter the maritime trades. In this conversation, Aaron and host Leroy Lewis talk about the quiet honor of workboat careers, why the “historic” side of tugboating is disappearing even as modern tugging booms, and ...

7. 

   23 Feb 2026

   EP# 10 - A Poem That Sails: Captains, Crews, and the Work Beyond the Boat

   In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy Lewis talks with Jamie Trost—Senior Captain, manager, and co-owner of the Traverse Tall Ship Company—about what it really means to operate traditional sailing ships in the modern world. Jamie has served on an extraordinary range of vessels—including the Lady Washington—and he describes the unseen reality behind a “simple” day sail: hiring and training crews, balancing maintenance triage with public programs, reading weather like a second language, and...

8. 

   12 Feb 2026

   EP# - 9, More Than a Charter: Stewardship, Alaska, and the Long Way Around

   In 1931, an elegant 87-foot motor yacht was designed by Callis and built in San Pedro, California as Holiday for William Morris Jr. of the William Morris Talent Agency. She cruised the West Coast from Mexico to Alaska and hosted dockside gatherings filled with actors, musicians, and cultural figures of the era—her teak decks and mahogany salon reflecting a time when craftsmanship meant pride in artistry. Over the decades, that same yacht lived many lives. Purchased by a Seattle family, comman...

9. 

   14 Jan 2026

   EP# 8 - A 1917 Wooden Ferry in a Modern Transit System

   In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy talks with John W. Clauson, Executive Director of Kitsap Transit, about an unlikely centerpiece in a modern public transit fleet: M/V Carlisle II, a 1917 wooden ferry still serving the Port Orchard–Bremerton run. John shares how Kitsap Transit first partnered with a private ferry operator across Sinclair Inlet, why Carlisle II became the one vessel worth keeping when the system acquired the operation, and what it means to steward a wooden boat that’s ...

10. 

    2 Jan 2026

    EP #7 - Old Court, Quiet River: A Shipwright on Ireland’s South Coast

    Brian Harte lives on Ireland’s south coast, in the fishing village of Glandore just northeast of Skibbereen, where boatbuilding has followed the river inland for generations. A shipwright since 1998, Brian talks about learning from master craftspeople, now mostly retired, the slow satisfaction of timber work, and what it feels like to bring a weathered wood back to life—hand-planed, sanded, and varnished to a mirror finish. He reflects on the shrinking number of traditional wooden-boat builde...

11. 

    14 Dec 2025

    EP #6 - Larry Benson & Thelonious: A Life in Wooden Boats

    At 89, Larry Benson has lived a full life alongside wooden boats—from a childhood on a 1920s bridge-deck cruiser in wartime Bremerton to his current years aboard Thelonious, a 1953 Ed Monk Sr. design. In this episode, Larry shares how an old family boat reappeared at Expo 86, how a “casual” look at a Stevens picnic boat pulled him back into boating, and how he eventually found—and fell in love with—Thelonious. Along the way, we talk Classic Yacht Association history, Volunteer work on the Vir...

12. 

    18 Nov 2025

    EP #5 - Tracing 85 Years Afloat: Jim & Margie Paynton and Their 1940 Chris-Craft

    In this episode of Beyond the Boat, Leroy Lewis sits down with Jim and Margie Paynton to follow the 85-year life of their 1940, 42-foot Chris-Craft double-cabin enclosed-bridge cruiser. One of just 31 hulls built, the boat is still in its original configuration and still running on her original gas engines—now in the care of only her fifth owners. Jim and Margie share how they tracked down the families of all four previous owners, from Great Lakes cruisers with meticulous logbooks to an inven...

13. 

    7 Nov 2025

    Ep #4 - Blaise Holly: From the Fishing Grounds to the Yard—What Wooden Boats Give Back

    In this episode, we’re joined by Blaise Holly, a commercial fisherman turned shipwright, now the owner of Haven Boatworks in Port Townsend, Washington. Blaise grew up back east, studied literature at Middlebury, and detoured through Mystic Seaport to help build the topsail schooner Amistad before spending years fishing salmon and halibut aboard the 48-foot FV Alaska. For the past 19 years, he’s been at Haven, first on the tools, then leading the crew — and since 2022, he’s owned the yar...

14. 

    20 Oct 2025

    Ep # 3 - The Myths and Realities of Wooden Boat Ownership

    In this episode of Beyond the Boat, host Leroy Lewis speaks with Todd Powell about the complexities of owning, buying, and selling wooden boats. They explore the myths surrounding wooden boat ownership, the changing attitudes of buyers, and the unique challenges faced by sellers in the current market. Todd shares his extensive experience in the boating world, discussing memorable trips, the importance of community, and the role of brokers in navigating the wooden boat market. The conversation...

15. 

    13 Oct 2025

    Beyond the Boat, Ep-2, David Miller - Sea Nymph II

    David Miller—longtime steward of Sea Nymph II, a 1946 Monk Senior 46-footer—joins Beyond the Boat to trace a Puget Sound classic’s lineage and life. We cover the Coast Guard roots behind the name, decades with the Wilhelm family (including escorting the USS Missouri), and the careful restorations: mahogany cabinetry, Port Orford cedar planking, and period-true upgrades. David shares the learning curve of early dockings, the hunt for covered moorage, and favorite stops from Clam Bay to Fossil ...

16. 

    6 Oct 2025

    Beyond the Boat, Ep 1 - Jeff Lind, 18 ft Reinell runabout

    Jeff shares the story of his family’s 1935, 18-foot Reinell runabout—its history, their adventures aboard, and the famous guests who once joined the previous owners on guided fishing trips. Beyond the Boat is an independent, listener-supported project. Support sustains the listening, but it doesn’t steer the stories. You can help keep the show alive, as a one time Supporter, as a continuous Member, or Steward, at: www.buymeacoffee.com/beyondtheboat Note: "Stewards" are "Members" who w...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.