This is Dale. He’s 86 and lives in Mineral Wells, Texas.

Since 1987, he has been building a 62 foot steel boat in his front yard. By hand. Hours from the ocean.

Watch the video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dek9MmjTk3s/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&cplk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

We’re three English lads, Benjie, Will and me, who were working in Texas. Our friend Kiah was in Mineral Wells for work when he spotted the boat. He sent me a video and told me to go and meet Dale straight away.

We tried calling, but couldn’t get through. So we drove an hour and a half from Fort Worth and turned up unannounced. Benjie knocked on the door and spoke to Dale’s wife. Dale was still putting his socks on.

The second he started talking about the boat, you could see it. He’s as passionate now as he was 40 years ago. He even climbed the ladder to show us the deck. He hadn’t been up there in years.

The boat is about 75% finished. But Dale can’t keep building at his age. And there’s a steep hill between the boat and the road. Getting a steel boat down it will take heavy machinery and a lot of help.

His dream is to see her on the water.

What the money is for

Stage one is $50,000 to start getting Dale’s boat finished and on the water. That covers finishing work, heavy machinery to get her down the hill, and transport to launch. We’re confirming the full plan and costs with Dale’s family. We’ll update this page and the goal once we have quotes.

Dale will be the beneficiary, so the money goes straight to him. None of it comes to us.

If you can’t give, please share. If you run a boatyard, haulage firm or crane hire near Mineral Wells and can help, get in touch.