Renaud Ferté is a third-year engineering student in the Arts et Métiers Grande Ecole Program. For his first-year work placement, Renaud decided to take part in the renovation of a British ship built in 1910, Tally Ho, which had been abandoned in Oregon before finding an owner in 2017.
Renaud, a DIY enthusiast, watches videos on marine carpentry (i.e., wooden boat building). on YouTube during his second year of preparatory classes in Rueil Malmaison. He stumbleduponthe YouTube channel "Sampson Boat Co," which now has 260,000 subscribers (but only had a few thousand at the time) and is run by Leo Sampson Goolden, a young Englishman who undertook the reconstruction of an abandoned boat he bought for a symbolic dollar, the Tally Ho.
Tally Ho is a boat dating back to 1910 that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, then the Pacific, ran aground on the Polynesian atolls, and ended its life in the 1970s as a fishing boat before being abandoned on land.
The goal of the renovation: to participate in the 2027 edition of the Fastnet, a regatta that the Tally Ho won in 1927!
Renaud was immediately impressed by the project and the renovation work undertaken by Leo Sampson Goolden. Shortly after joining the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers the following year, in September 2018, an idea began to form in Renaud's mind: to take advantage of his first-year work placement to participate in the renovation of Tally Ho! With the approval of the campus management, Renaud left for the United States on June 21, 2019. This was followed by six weeks of immersion in Sequim, a town in Washington State where the construction site is located, alongside other volunteers from the United States, England, and Ireland.
"I'm very proud to have crossed the screen. I was watching the videos and suddenly I found myself on the construction site!"
On site, Renaud is provided with accommodation and meals and works at a steady pace. His main tasks are to help assemble the bow and frames, in particular by machining hundreds of wooden wedges and pegs, in accordance with traditional techniques. The final installation of the bow (which includes tarring, wedging, and bolting) marks the end of his stay.
For him, this project is perfectly in line with the training he received at Arts et Métiers is part of his discovery of the world of production and even industry: "You can't think of it as DIY; you have to know how to use the right resources at the right time. There are also issues around productivity and workplace safety." Once on the construction site, he had the opportunity to put into practice not only his project management, management, and English classes, but also his practical work in mechanical connectors, cutting, metrology, and welding!
His experience with student associations also made a difference: Renaud was president of the Student Workshop on the Aix campus and, in this role, was responsible for the safety of the school's decoration projects for the three campus galas. This experience allowed him to feel comfortable and confident in his abilities once on the job site.
Even though it was Renaud's first time traveling abroad alone for such a long period, he only has positive things to say about it!
It was pure joy! I was immersed in an environment of enthusiasts, and I had only one desire: to share their passion!
In addition to strengthening his project management and carpentry skills, this internship was an opportunity for Renaud to immerse himself in American culture (he even took Ultimate classes every Tuesday evening!), travel around Sequim (Crescent Lake, Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rainforest) and as far as California (Yosemite and San Francisco), and to interact with volunteers from other countries!
What's next? Renaud is currently pursuing a double degree with the University of Quebec in Rimouski. He is interested in battery recycling and is looking to do his research project with a company in this field in Quebec. He continues to be interested in the naval field and hopes to one day have his own boat!
