Acorn to Arabella - Journey of a Wooden Boat - Episode 63: Welding the Bronze Floors

The end of the current metal work which comes with fabricating the bronze floors we are installing in Arabella is finally nearing its end. These structural members tie the frames to the centerline and whether they be wood or metal, are one of the most important parts of the build. We have put a lot of time and effort into fabricating these and are really excited to get to installing them in their home.

The most complicated of these floor timbers are the ones in the stern that are going to be supporting the engine beds. The engine sits level with propeller shaft and therefore needs to be supported at that height (about 2 feet/ .6 m up from the keel timber) which meant for some tall and strong floor construction there. As the engine provides propulsion for the vessel, that force needs to be transferred into the hull as opposed to moving the engine. To transfer that energy, it is crucial to make sure the engine is securely connected to multiple frames (otherwise these could crack under the force). This is why the engine sits on engine beds that are connected to the frames via the floor timbers and connects 4 frame pairs together.

These were a lot of fun to figure out and make but we are very much looking forward to installing these and getting back to some woodworking. A little bit more and we’ll be on to planking soon!

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Acorn to Arabella is a boat building project taking place in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve and Alix started as amateur boat builders building their own 38′ wooden boat in their backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and beyond—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project will continue well past launch, when they will travel and learn to cruise aboard the boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.

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