Acorn to Arabella - Journey of a Wooden Boat - Episode 31: Final Thickness

[@PlanetMojo]

The router incident made me grimace. I had a similar incident on a very large carved door I was making. When you have 100+ hours into something, you need to come up with a creative fix quick. Keep up the good work guys! 🙂

[@AcornToArabella]

Yeah, no fun when that happens!

[@michaeldean-jackson8242]

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. You are resurrecting a bygone age and the romanticism that it carried. Great stuff and lovely videos. Thank-you. Best wishes

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@mastheadmike]

Patience is a virtue. Keep on keeping on. This is among the most honest of boat building channels! Dealing with the dead time and maintaining dedication through the doldrums is tough. I’ll be tuning in for everything.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! Being stalled due to the weather is certainly challenging!

[@MarkWladika]

"They don't need any help" - Lou Sauzedde that must have made you guys feel proud!

[@AcornToArabella]

It was a very nice off the cuff compliment. We really enjoyed chatting with Lou and he told us if we ever get stuck to give him a holler and he would help us out. Super nice guy!

[@kslinthesand]

Good work guys, thanks for taking us along.

[@peromo9397]

You shouldn't worry about the router dropping guys. It's akin to the Indian carpet weavers who deliberately include and imperfection!? It's the human element of 'Endeavor'. The little imperfections are what will make the boat so 'unique' and and tell both of your story's! I have a great respect for your resilience and passion to achieve a goal and dream. May you both die happy and content at what you 'have' will achieve. And if I may venture a prediction; I reckon your wonderful, awe inspiring story will live on beyond both of you in your boat. That is a great 'Legacy' leave behind that has 'Heritage'. You are both amazing individuals who demonstrate the best of humanity. All power to your elbows lads... all power to your elbows; and may your story live on!. MozZ ;)

[@AcornToArabella]

Thank you for the too kind comment! We do really hope that our journey provides some inspiration for others as so many others journeys have inspired us. Arabella better outlive us! I hope she is still girdling the world 100 years from now, we are doing our best to make sure she lasts at least that long.

[@insAneTunA]

Nice that you can use the tools and that the weather is working for you guys.

[@AcornToArabella]

Yes it is! The weather breaking and the tools/equipment being loaned to us is making a huge difference!

[@jasoningalsbe3615]

Just want to say, I enjoy all your videos. Even the ones from this winter! Looking forward to seeing the progress! Thank you!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! We are super psyched to make some big progress this summer, can't wait to see her backbone stood up!

[@buynsell365]

Excellent Job Guys !!! Forward progress is all that counts.

[@AcornToArabella]

It's usually forward even when it feels backward. haha Looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish this summer!

[@KerryBenton]

Looking great... can't wait to see it take shape this summer! Can't hurt to get a nice vote of confidence from Lou either, I reckon!

[@AcornToArabella]

Confidence has never been a trait I lack, hahaha But it was great to meet Lou and it is nice to know if we ever get stuck he has offered his assistance and we are sure he would be very able to get us unstuck if we need it!

[@dozer1642]

When Lou says you need any help, your doing pretty good.

[@AcornToArabella]

He has been a shipwright for longer than Alix or I have been alive!

[@dozer1642]

*dont.

[@raybignell]

The keel timber is huge. Wood work on a grand scale. Looking good too.

[@AcornToArabella]

Everything about this boat is huge! Wait until we start bolting the bow and stern assemblies together!

[@63256325N]

Good luck and thanks for the video.

[@gakjarr]

Always look forward to your videos, guys. Thanks for taking the time to make them.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying them!

[@karitane]

Best technical vlog boat build on-line. Love watching your channel and look forward to each episode. I can honestly see your Patreon support increasing every fortnight.....so good guys.....keep'en it real!!!!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! The channel and support is certainly growing which is so amazing to us! We can now focus on the build and the videos and less on finding the funds to keep going which makes a world of difference!

[@jerryhoops4043]

Thanks for taking us on this journey. This build is an example of continuous learning with it challenges (learning opportunities) and persistence. With spring comes the signal to begin the next segment of the journey. You have the right combination of theory, demonstration, and progress in your videos. Great production . . . keep up the good work, and we are looking forward to seeing the progress over the next nine months. You go guys!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! We will keep on trucking and are psyched to really make some progress on the build itself!

[@petenash7994]

Good Luck Guys and waiting to watch the Summer's progress. Great that a few guys are dropping by and lending a hand.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! We have had quite a few helpers, it's been awesome to have them!

[@dm55]

Looking forward to it. Thanx

[@bradleyisgladley]

I’m legitimately excited for you. Well done!

[@shaneosullivan5851]

Watching the show from Cork in the south of Ireland, great show very professional

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! It seems we are amassing quite the following on your side of the pond!

[@iancleary1872]

Australia Bloody good stuff. Very very interesting

[@jordanlewis3790]

Please show more of the process of cutting the wood to shape. This is what made me like this channel. Me and a lot of people love to watch the process and craftsmanship you do and i feel like there has been a lot less of that in these recent videos :( and a little longer videos would be nice after having to wait 2 weeks

[@wayphun72]

I couldn't agree more...thanks for saying that!

[@timhyatt9185]

as he said, they've been dealing with the weather....now that it's warmer, i expect we'll see tons of woodworking ....

[@hanvyj2]

Did you watch the end of the video? Should get what you want anyway!

[@msanchez7317]

Definitely. I was thinking the same exact thing when, about two minutes through this video, when Stephen slapped the keel timber and said "here it is!" Hopefully this was just a SNAFU on filming, perhaps some footage was lost. For the creators, Alix and Stephen, I think a lot of your audience would prefer a 20-minute video with well-shot and finished "creation" footage or montage over a ~10-minute video that skips a bit of the process. At least, that's why I so enjoy your content. Not going anywhere soon, just thought this was worth a share.

[@soangry]

It's literally the exact same thing he did in the previous keel video. just running that router in pass after pass after pass.

[@Garethwellock]

It’s going to be a good summer then! Keep up the good work.

[@alittletexasingeorgia]

I wish I had your energy and patience and fortitude. Keep it up and cant wait to see the final video on the water.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! It's going to be a while so you get to work on your patience =)

[@MidnightAmratha]

Great to hear the upcoming projects, gives a sense of following along right besides you two as you pluck away on all the different parts. Best of luck with the upcoming season.

[@AcornToArabella]

Y'all are pretty much right alongside, just 2 weeks behind =)

[@skipig]

GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!

[@shade37777]

Looking forward to seeing more. Great Job Guys!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@jacobosgood3513]

Anybody else enjoy watching the ghost sliding the miter jig while Steve was adzing the timber?

[@michaelquestion103]

Between your snow and cold and my snow and cold I had to take a brief hiatus from the channel but now that spring has arrived to the northern hemisphere, back up to date. Looking forward to the summer explosion of work....

[@AcornToArabella]

It is shaping up to be a explosion! The ballast keel is faired and painted and we are working on fitting the deadwood!

[@grigorbrowning]

Here's to a long and productive summer!

[@AcornToArabella]

here here!

[@silasmarner7586]

Great cameo from Lou!

[@davidwilliams6016]

Love your router method. I have done the exact thing on a much smaller scale though. The mind of man truly is an amazing thing! Keep building!

[@AcornToArabella]

I had always done it on a small scale as well. It was hours to surface that giant timber!

[@Thorbrook]

I can't wait to see the next one. I found you guys by complete and total accident. But u haft to say it is awsome for u guys to take the time to film and let countless other go along for the ride. Thanks again. Spring is Sprung. Like that alot

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! The videos do take a lot of work but so far it's been work worth doing and seems like it will stay that way =)

[@grahameke3533]

Excited for you guys! Awesome!

[@OfficialBluePhoenix]

We miss you Lou!

[@RossWilliamsDC]

Love it. You guys are inspirational. Great work.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

Spring has sprung here too and stoked for you guys and looking forward to a great summer of boat building... Andy UK

[@TheLoxxxton]

FrenchAM100 couldn't agree more the other Andy UK

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! We are stoked as well!

[@RivertownWoodcraft]

Yes! Ready for more awesome work videos!

[@DougW]

Looking forward to seeing your progress. It would be nice to see the whole conversation with Lou.

[@AcornToArabella]

There was so much going on and he showed up out of the crowd that we only caught a minute of it and the footage is not that great. Lou is a super nice guy though, only had good things to say and offered his aid should we ever need it, which is a nice ace to have up our sleeves =)

[@Tomhohenadel]

Steve, wonderful description of what you two are up to. A very exciting time to come as well. You are making good progress, despite what the weather has been? Can’t wait to see her take shape

[@AcornToArabella]

This summer is going to be very exciting! We are super excited to see her take shape as well. We were not as productive as we would have liked on the boat itself this winter, but we got a ton of other things taken care of and did a lot to make sure the summer would be clear and free and all boat building for the most part. We also just kicked back and relaxed a little, we have been going full bore between jobs and boat and life for over two years now. The winter was also a good time to charge the batteries for the work load ahead this summer.

[@waljahras9813]

Great series of videos fellas. Eagerly awaiting more. Watching from Brazil

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@petert3355]

The best off hand complement I have ever heard. "So are you gonna give them any help? They don't need any help!" Coming from a guy who knows what he is doing, that has gotta cause a grin. Once again guys, Great job as always. One question though, the bit of checking in the keel timber, how is or was that going to get dealt with?

[@AcornToArabella]

The big check will go face down to the ballast keel and deadwood. Once it is painted (today/tomorrow) we will fill the checks with dolfinite bedding compound. That will keep any critters at bay, will help keep the checks from drying more and once in the water the timber will "take up" to it's maximum size and the checks will swell shut. When they do they will force the dolfinite out and it will get added to the rest of the bedding compound between the keels. If we put something hard in there to fill it and the timber swells it will act like a wedge and split the timber worse than it already is.

[@petert3355]

Thanks guys. Kinda makes it hard to envision the final result. The timber being a "living" thing with taking up water from the surrounds etc. One of the joys of working in wood I guess.

[@ellenschweitzer7467]

All the best for your Project ! Peace and Love from the SV Moana ( 43 ft. Longkeel ). Ouistreham ,France

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@LadyDewBuild]

Glad to see spring has sprung there! Enjoy your videos a lot and wish I could produce videos this well. Spring sprung about a month ago here so I have a bit of a head start on the building season. Good luck in the coming season and thatns for the great videos!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! The videos are a ton of work, hands down the most demanding aspect of the entire project. Alix works crazy hard on them! Best of luck during your building season as well!

[@ruperthartop7202]

Fantastic. Keep going guys

[@markpalmer5311]

Congrats on the progress. Really enjoying your videos.

[@Lanxe]

Haha awesome you caught up with Lou... That guy is awesome

[@thefreemill1361]

I agree. It was fun to see my two favorite youtube boat builders in one screen.

[@AcornToArabella]

It was great to meet him! We had a real nice chat and he said if we ever get stuck he would be happy to share some knowledge/ come help get us unstuck. Super nice guy!

[@viceskyre]

You're doing awesome. Keep up the good work/

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@Kidzrunfree]

Looks good! Hope to see this bad boy in New Zealand someday 👍

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! It's high on the hit list but on the other side of the globe, we will get there one day though!

[@joebrown1382]

Sounds like some good stuff coming. Really looking forward to that.

[@AcornToArabella]

We are psyched! Some really fine things are going to occur this summer! =)

[@lightaces]

The most probable reason the bit fell on you is saw dust. When saw dust gets packed into the collet, it can force the collet to open up just a titch (we're talking a few thousandths here). You just need to periodically blow the dust out of the collet, and make sure the collet and the taper in the router are clean before you put in a bit. I've had this happen enough (and ruin enough guitars!!!!) that I am just in the habit of periodically grabbing an air gun and blowing all the dust out of the collet.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks for the tip! A 1/8" groove in a giant keel timber is not the end of the world but that would surly trash a guitar blank!

[@waughthogwaugh3078]

Great! Keep at it boyz. Will be watching you make huge progress while we go through the winter wet here in NZ. Mega like!

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! It is true, your seasons are opposite to ours. Hope we can provide some sunshine during your dreary days =)

[@jacklav1]

You guys are awesome. I would so love to see you visit Leo at Tally Ho or the other way around. Hope things go well for you and you enjoy the spring.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! We would like that as well and have actually been in contact with Leo, Doug from SV Seeker and a few others about trying to get together. It sounds like Leo is super busy so I think we would have to go see him. It's too bad we are all so far apart!

[@jacklav1]

Well once you all have your boats in the water you can meet up in Antigua. Who will be first, second and third and whose boats will be the best, the second best and the third best? Its a cheeky question but I have to ask.

[@AcornToArabella]

At over 70' I think Doug will have the fastest, Leo would probably take second and we would take third having the shortest waterline. Doug's would be the best new steel boat, Leo's the best restoration and ours the best new wooden construction. =)

[@984francis]

You all must work so with the time spent on Arabella, do you have time for any kind of a love life or is Arabella the sole object of your affections? To be candid, from my experience I'd take Arabella😊

[@AcornToArabella]

We are two single guys, no kids and no significant others is how we can apply all our extra time, money and energy for Arabella. Once she launches we hope to find some significant others =)

[@SVSeeker]

Well done.

[@jayktmk1]

Ha! I just saw myself in the video! That tent sale is how I found out about this channel

[@AcornToArabella]

Cool!

[@badtelecastercg3347]

rock on

[@SailingYachtZora]

Awesome stuff lads. My visit is coming on fast! Keep it up

[@AcornToArabella]

It is it is!

[@ronaldwarren5220]

Sweet!

[@geoffhalstead1811]

You will be thinking of that groove for years, I know I've done similar. It's a bummer as you wake up during the night screaming! Only pulling your leg a little, I think🤔🤗

[@AcornToArabella]

Not worried in the least.

[@SouthParkJeff]

When ever dude... i'm along for the ride... if it takes three weeks to do a vid, well so be it... FYI i do have other things to do so it's kinda like checking in when you do post.. i'm excited for you guys.. NOW GET YOUR F'N ASSES TO F'N WORK SLACKERS... Spring is in the air...

[@AcornToArabella]

LOL Good to know, we are doing our best to bust hump and get some progress made!

[@Tonyhelles]

keep up the good work, love to see your spirit for this projekt :) btw, greetings from Sweden.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! You have a lovely country by the way, I have spent a little time there and in Norway and am looking forward to cruising your waters with Arabella some day!

[@KavishS95]

Can't wait for your videos!! keep up the great work! :)

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks!

[@fantumn1]

A router bit can sometimes jump or slide in the collet if it was bottomed out in there. make sure to back them back out 1/8" or so, something about the vibration or something can do that it's touching the bottom of the bore, don't remember exactly what does it

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks for the tip! I am positive it was not bottomed out in the collet, so not sure what caused it. Another person speculated that saw dust got jammed in there enough to force the collet open a few thousands of a inch and let the bit slip. It's the first and only time it has ever happened to me.

[@marcryvon]

Hi Guys ! Nice to see you're back ! May I add my 2cents ? For the 1/8" groove, could you fill it with molten lead once installed on your keel ? 2nd : to straighten the bow, you could lay your beam directly on the humid soil, divot face down for a couple days/weeks, nature could do it's magic again... Kudos mes amis !

[@AcornToArabella]

The lead would not stick to the timber and would need to be screwed in place. A dutchman (filler strip of wood) or a extra coat or two of bottom paint should do the trick. Big beams can move in unpredictable ways, it could straighten it could warp in a different way. Jacking out the 1/4" bow will be easy once we have the ballast keel and deadwoods attached.

[@marcryvon]

Logical. Tks.

[@waterboy181]

The copper preservative you used may have an effect with dissimilar metals. You should prepare some test samples using various fasteners including galvanized and stainless. I bet you will see some alarming galvanic action which you had not accounted for in your previous experiment.

[@AcornToArabella]

That is why we are using bronze and copper fasteners! The copper in the preservative and the copper in the antifouling paint would reek havoc on non bronze/copper fasteners for sure!

[@badgoy8439]

1/4 inch valley in the keel timber- looks like this piece is firewood, better start over again :^ )

[@AcornToArabella]

It's time to just scrap the project. Between the small imperfections in the casting and the groove in the keel timber the boat will sink on launch day. LOL The tiny groove is really no biggie, just kinda a bummer.

[@badgoy8439]

lol looks like it's coming along great, im excited to see her on the water

[@teglho]

Glad you guys finally got the first 'oops' on this project out of the way! It surely won't be the last 'argh' moment in this project.

[@nobbyo8080]

Guys this is really interesting to watch but any chance of numbering the vids so it is clear which follows which? It's very confusing at the moment.

[@AcornToArabella]

We did and then KZbin kept flagging the videos as not suitable for advertisers, a friend suggested we pull the numbers from the title and when we did we stopped getting flagged. We will have to figure something out. If you go here kzbin.info/door/AiDWnTP0WB1xCp6uuUo0VAvideos they are all in order, newest at the top, oldest at the bottom. Hope that helps!

[@flynnimber]

@@AcornToArabella Sweet, thanks😊

[@orcasea59]

So cool to see Lou dropping by. Yeah, you don't need his help, but how cool would it be if he could drop by for a day and share some of those decades of experience...?

[@AcornToArabella]

He seems very willing to do so. We hear he is a magician when it comes to hanging planks so we might try to get him up here to help us hang the first couple when the time comes.

[@johnmason6443]

Nice one!

[@onceANexile]

Wow!

[@patrickhotra9241]

I've run into the problem with a router bit that moves after it's been tightened down. There is a small radius where the bit meets the shank, and if the bit is bottomed out against the collet, the collet may be tightened against this radius, and a good jar could cause it to move. I make sure that there is a small gap between the cutting bit and the collet so that the collet is tightened only against the shank. Best of luck on your build, I look forward to each video.

[@AcornToArabella]

That makes sense. Since it was such a reach for the router the shank was not buried to the collet. But maybe I had it too far out? It only moved that one time so who knows.

[@Steve-zx7jz]

Looking forward

[@ThatGuyOverThere122]

I cant wait love your videos :D

[@zacharias_b]

wohooo new episode!

[@bertski60]

recent vids not boring in the least. to rush through it and just show the most interesting parts would be a dis-service to your project. but it will be nice to see some more of your project take shape. another dandy episode so thnx a heap.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! Glad you have been enjoying them and we agree, for us it's about showing the the whole journey as best we can. Very much looking forward to seeing her take shape this summer!

[@MrPotatochips4]

Yeah, friends out in lala land think I should be more productive during the winter, an I'm like, Dude, first I gotta *survive* the winter, gettin' anything else done is gravy! An the comments y'all got on the lead pour, okfine. Crocuses came out today.

[@AcornToArabella]

Our spring bulbs are just a couple inches high right now. We are supposed to hit 80*F this week though so things will grow super fast now! Dealing with the snow and the few weeks of bitter bitter cold really slowed things down. Lost probably a weeks worth of work time to dealing with frozen and burst water pipes, not to mention being out for 18 hours straight plowing. Winter can be a bugger sometimes!

[@Sam-kp2ly]

Don't be too down on the recent content guys - I've been super into it!

[@AcornToArabella]

Great to hear! I guess we just assume most are here to see Arabella get built and we have not done as much in that regard lately as we would have liked.

[@ookeeooo3746]

Love it

[@andrewkeir2282]

There seems to be a large split in the keel timber. Will you be doing anything about that? Epoxy maybe? But I know you guys don't like that stuff. ( My uncle was one of the first boat builders in Australia to really get into the epoxy impregnation of timber and plywood in building boats. He In those days safety gear was not really a big issue and now he is really sensitive to the stuff. He was building racing sailing dinghies and some of his boats sailed in the Olympics. I wish I had some of his skills

[@AcornToArabella]

It's not as bad as it looks and will be mated to the lead and deadwood so it will be covered forever. As soon as Arabella has been in the water for a couple months the timber will take up and that check will close right up. If we put anything hard in it now when it swells the hard object will be like a wedge and will split the timber right down the middle. Before we bed it we will put soft bedding compound in there to fill the check and keep the creepy crawlies out, when the timber takes up the bedding compound will squeeze out and get added to the rest of the bedding compound between the keels and deadwood.

[@tylerm124]

I love you videos. Yall seem to always have/need help. How can I go about coming up there for a few days this summer to learn a bit and lend a helping hand.

[@AcornToArabella]

Thanks! Just shoot us a email [e-mail] and we can sort out the details. Victoria is available for guest housing if you are not a local with a place to stay.

[@enginerd1985]

Aha! I had wondered what caused that deeper line in the keel bottom.

[@superformOG]

OMG a Lou cameo!

[@AcornToArabella]

It was great to finally meet the legend! Super nice guy!

[@alexnagle575]

Enjoyed the subtle FU to the lead keel armchair environmentalists.

[@dozer1642]

BUT THE LEAD WILL KILL YOU! Says every bleeding heart snowflake that has never built anything with their own hands or even remotely understands how to.

[@AcornToArabella]

Our only point was if you are very concerned with our lead pour in regards to environmental impact we hope you are enraged into a foamy furry over scrap yards on bare soil next to a rivers and canals! Nothing against the scrap yards at all, we are sure they are inspected and regulated, but by comparison our keel pour is microscopic. There are a bunch of metal yards like that all around here all operating the same way so it's not like Sullivans is a fluke.

[@alexnagle575]

My point was rather that they addressed this thoroughly themselves as a response to questions, and then pointed out (seemingly tongue-in-cheek) that scrap yards are way worse...

[@deej19142]

Two thumbs up!

[@waterboy181]

Deric Kettel si

[@thomasarussellsr]

Thanks for the update. Are you not worried that the warp in the keel timber will bend the lead?

[@AcornToArabella]

Naw, the lead is way too thick and hard for that. If it was pure soft lead maybe but ours has a significant amount of antimony in it, it's quite hard for lead.

[@svchineeljunk-riggedschoon4038]

You should save the copper to cast you own lightning conductor

[@philh3178]

Given that this is going to take several years and with you not being able to get much done in the winter, would it make sense to take a step back and build an insulated building you could heat with a woodstove so you could build year round?

[@AcornToArabella]

Future winters won't be such a headache. We can bring things inside the shop with the wood stove to paint/work and can even bring things into the house (joys of bachelor life there is no one to object) but this winter the keels were just too big to bring inside!

[@bryanjohnson2619]

I know what you mean about a long winter. Not able to get much done on my boat build either. I thought you would mention your upcoming open house. I believe it is next weekend? Can you post some details? I would love to attend.

[@AcornToArabella]

Hi Bryan, we would love to have you there! You are correct on the date. It is May 5th from 12-7pm. We have a card with all the information on the front page of our website. www.acorntoarabella.com or you can email us directly at [e-mail]

[@tamkid09]

Love the extractor. What one is that? I’m assuming the top dollar one. H class

[@AcornToArabella]

Festool CT26 It's not the biggest one they make by any means but it's big enough to clean up the shop and more importantly it has a HEPA filter and will safely trap lead dust from working on the ballast keel.

[@Sciolist]

When was it that you guys did 24k subscribers video 😉

[@AcornToArabella]

About a month and a half ago. The channel is growing fast!

[@wilhobbs207]

Soon.....

[@marvinkitfox3386]

that crack at 6:19 , 6:53 sure looks like a canyon to my inexperienced eye... Obviously you guys are aware of it and okay with it, but I sure would have concerns about having a crack or split that deep!

[@AcornToArabella]

It's not as bad as it seems and the side with the check will go against the ballast keel and deadwood. Once Arabella has been in the water for a few months the keel timber will "take up" and the check will close right up.

[@leeboggs269]

Does the keel timber have a bad check in it?

[@cawfeedawg]

LOU!!!

[@minibuilder1512]

Is that keel red oak or live ? Also at this point if you are doing Carvel planking? , I don't see why you shouldn't have a rough hull together by winter.

[@CorwynGC]

Keel is white oak. Please no red oak in a boat.

[@minibuilder1512]

Yes thats what i was thinking/getting to. But white oak is terrific !.

[@AcornToArabella]

It is white oak, everything we have cut for the framing is white oak. Red and black oak are ring porous so they are not as rot resistant. Red and black oak soak up preservative and glue better than white though. Yes, Carvel planking, hoping to be starting to plank this fall/winter.

[@AJ-ku7nm]

I can’t believe in years gone by ship builders would worry to much about 1/8 inch.

[@CorwynGC]

The problem isn't being off by 1/8", but having a 1/8" hole that water can get in. I am sure they will get it fixed, but there is a reason that those mating surfaces need to be tight.

[@AcornToArabella]

CorwynGC is correct. Arabella could not care less if her keel timber was off by 1/8 or even 1/2". So long as she is smooth, fair and well put together all will be fine. Water ingress is the bigger issue. Since it's so shallow we are hoping a little extra paint in the groove will bring the gap to a 1/6" or so and the bedding compound should be able to handle that little gap, especially if it's the only one. If the paint does not seem to do it we will have to make it deeper (gasp) and install a dutchman but I would rather leave it be as is.

[@sprintphoto]

What did Lou have to say about your build?

[@AcornToArabella]

Not much. Psyched to see us tackling it and offered his services if we ever need them. I feel pretty good about getting the backbone stood up but once the molds are up and we are about to steam the frames and launch into planking we think we will have Lou come up and a few others we have met come visit to make sure all is well and in order before we timber her out and start planking.

[@Grove332]

THICC

[@Argosh]

Great to hear you've finally been able to scratch that working itch some! And on the topic of itches: I really hopy you take care with the black locust, it is such a shit show working with that :/

[@AcornToArabella]

We will, we have heard very mixed reviews on the reactions so hopefully we fall into the not bothered by it group!