Your search results
June 13, 2025
Acorn To Arabella – Page 5
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 116: Steve Launches His First Boat
This round we re-stock the lumber pile with some glorious white oak, ash and some hickory. Steve designs, builds and launches a quick and dirty pram for fishing adventures on the local brook and Arabella gets some more oak planks added to her hull. It's a...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 117: We Ran Out of Dry Oak, Now What?
In this episode we install some more oak planks, remove the stairs to the second floor so we can keep planking and run out of dry oak for planking stock. Don't worry though, there are many ways to keep moving forward while the recently milled oak cures. ...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 118: Steaming Frames and Lining Off
We get all steamed up and tweak some steam bent white oak frames so they lay more fair with the planking. Measurements are taken off the hull and the shape/location of the cedar planks get determined. It's a whole bunch of hot oak and middle school mathe...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 119: Getting Ready for a Big Change
This round we tackle the remainder of the planking rabbet, make and hang some cedar and start prepping framing stock. It won't be long until the molds come out and the remaining 14 frames get bent in! Thanks for watching and following our crazy journey! ...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Bonus Content: Where’s Alix?
For all those wondering where Alix has been and when he is coming back here are some answers for you! Spoiler alert: He is alive and well and enjoying some well deserved R+R with Keira.
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 120: Taking Out the Molds
We've all been waiting to see this one. Arabella's molds finally get removed and we can see from stem to stern with nothing in the way! Big thanks to everyone who has donated or otherwise contributed to the project. We would not be sharing this video se...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 121: Bending In the Last Frames
Now that the molds are out we can bend in the remaining 14 frames and finish framing Arabella! Big thanks to everyone who is following and supporting our crazy journey! Without you we would not be able to produce these weekly videos. Hope you enjoy thi...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 122: Moving Up to the Deck
In this episode we fasten all the recently bent frames and Arabella becomes 100% framed! After that big milestone we launch into the deck structure which is a whole new set of challenges and fun. Thanks for following the journey! We could not be makin...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 123: Building the Clamp
In this installment we make progress on the big planer set-up and we launch into building the sheer clamp. The sheer clamp is the first piece of the deck structure as well as the first piece of the visible interior. Time to step up our game and make it lo...
Acorn to Arabella – Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 124: Varnish and a Visit to Rosalind
In this episode we varnish the white oak clamp and start working on cleaning up Victoria's hackmatack knees. The knees were likely harvested from the roots of a hackmatack tree growing in a bog in the North East sometime around 1925. It's amazing to be a...
Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 125 – Installing the Clamp
Welcome back! This episode Steve gets the sheer clamp bolted together and fastened to the steam bent frames of Arabella. The clamp is the first piece of deck framing and the beginning of the visible timbers inside Arabella. Joe gives us a hand and we ge...
Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat – Episode 126 – Building The Breasthooks, Working Solo
With the sheer clamp bolted into place the next piece of the deck puzzle is the breasthooks. The breashooks join the clamp with the stem and stern posts and provide a lot of structural stability. In this episode we take a look at Victoria's breasthooks an...
Acorn to Arabella – Episode 127 – Bolting Breasthooks, Starting the Shelf, & Ben Moves to MA
With some help from Bob Emser @TheArtofBoatBuilding we get the breasthooks bolted into place and launch into the black locust beam shelf. Black locust is known for it's rot resistance and durability, exactly the qualities one wants for a deck structure. ...
Fitting The Shelf, Picking Out Deck Beams – Ep. 128 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Bob and Steve finish fitting the black locust beam shelf into Arabella. This involves some pattern making and a whole slew of hooked scarfs to be cut. While Bob does the final few fits on the shelf, Steve launches into finding the strong (king) deck bea...
Fitting the Main Deck Beams – Ep. 129 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Deck beam construction has begun! In this episode we make great strides towards a framed deck in Arabella. The black locust shelves get varnished and prepped for fastening. Steve spends a rainy day making longer rivets and a bunch of deck beams get cut ...
Deciding the Hatch and House Locations – Ep. 130 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
With some help from Thad and Satchel we decide on exactly where the openings for the fore hatch, house, and cockpit should go. With no experience sailing, it was great to have two very different and accomplished sailors give their input on how best to lay...
Fitting the Sampson Post – Ep. 131 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Steve gets back to work on the deck structure as well as fitting the sampson post. This post which lies at the bow of the vessel needs to be very strong and stick straight up out of the deck. Steve uses a couple of tricks as well as welding another bronz...
Mast Blocking and A New Tool – Episode 132 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
They say "Do something you love, and you'll never work another day of your life", but when a tool doesn't do what it should and the task list for the day has a few boxes left unchecked, it really feels like work. Despite that, Steve soldiers on and nearly ...
Fitting the Deck Carlines and Diesel Engine – Ep 133 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
The time has come! We've all been waiting for the moment that big beautiful blue Nanni Diesel engine gets dropped into Arabella. She's been sitting patiently on the sidelines for a while now but the moment to see how she fits is upon us. Steve and Casey ...
Alix is Back! – Episode 134 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
As we said, "Alix will be back in the fall", it is now fall and Alix is back! We talk a bit about the our summer and our plans for the project and then get right to work. We start working on cleaning up and varnishing the deck beams as well as restoring s...
Restoring Victoria’s Knees – Episode 135 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Part way through the build of Arabella, we were told about a boat we should look at in Mattapoisett, MA. Although we didn't need another boat to restore we decided to go take a look and see what she had for parts. Ultimately we fell in love, she was a wr...
Patience Is a Useful Skill – Episode 136 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Boatbuilding can be a slow and tedious (yet rewarding!) process. As with many things in life, patience is a useful skill. In this episode, we work on making up more short beams out of the scrap locust we have. This involves sorting through what we have, ...
Designing the Power Plant – Episode 137 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
As we continue working on Arabella, we look ahead at starting to figure out the power plant. We got a beautiful new engine from Nanni Diesel last year and now we are back with Brook Streit from Kraft Power to talk about some of the intricacies of getting ...
A Glimpse of Past and Future! – Episode 138 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
We all need a break from big projects and this time it's Steve's turn! As Alix stays back to look after Arabella and the boathouse to continue work on fitting and installing some knees and short beams. Steve and his partner head off on an adventure out we...
Installing the midship lodging knees – Episode 139 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Alix continues work on Arabella with making and installing the lodging knees at midship. These, along with the rigidity of the housetop, will help keep the deck structure from racking. We also get to see the end of Steve and Robin's vacation adventure as ...
Carlin Joints and Lodging Knees – Episode 140 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
There is a lot of time consuming but rewarding work in boat building. Cutting carlin joints to instal short beams is a good task to show how much time some of the jobs can take. Each side of Arabella's cabin had 11 short beams to be installed (after havin...
White Oak Rootstock Knees – Episode 141 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Last year, at about this time of year as well, some blood, sweat and maybe tears were shed in retrieving some large White Oak rootstock from the woods and painstakingly carving out some knees from them. This was a miserable yet rewarding experience that i...
Starting to fair the deck structure – Episode 142 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Now that we have installed the short beams around the deckhouse opening, it's time to start fairing that out. These beams have all been milled a bit oversized for this purpose. This means we start by fairing the ends of the short beams down to the carlin...
Making and Fitting Lodging Knees – Episode 143 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
Knees and blocking are what keep the deck of the boat from racking or moving in unwanted ways. Ours are made from the stumps we dug out of the ground around this time last year. It's amazing to see the final product from those rough pieces or material to...
Installing the Lodging Knees – Episode 144 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
We are nearing the end of the knees! It's amazing the difference that can be seen as these all start to go in. Not only to the rigidity of the structure but also at how the space seems so much different inside. Knees keep the hull from wracking while sai...
Framing Work in the Stern – Episode 145 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
We working on wrapping up the last of the deck framing before we can get to a house top mockup. While Alix continues with fairing around the house top opening, Steve works on getting more short beams and knees installed in the stern. There are two more k...
The Aft Hatch – Episode 146 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
The deck framing is almost complete on Arabella. In this episode, Steve wraps up all the framing in the aft section by making a couple more deck beams and then framing in the hatch. This hatch will provide some storage but also some ventilation to the eng...
Half Laps and Mast Blocking – Episode 147 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
We are on the last steps of putting together the sill for the house top and the blocking for the mizzen mast. Alix needs to cut the half laps in the corners of the sill to get them to fit just right. Once that is done, we can paint them and screw them in...
Deckhouse mockup – Episode 148 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
We have found several moments during the build of Arabella that are just incredibly satisfying. Getting the lead keel poured, getting the backbone assembled, standing up the molds, steaming in frames, getting the first planks on... etc. And now there is ...
Cockpit Mockup – Episode 149 – Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat
There are a lot of exciting things coming together at the moment. Steve installed the rest of the tie rods, Alix finished the sill for the deckhouse to sit on and we made a mockup of the cockpit! One task completely finished, one setting us up for the de...