This week, we’re still anchored in Terence Bay, Nova Scotia…and the ban on the outdoors is still in effect. Never in a million years did we ever expect to be wishing for rain in order to go rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. Despite our disappointment, we decide to make the best of it. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was a highly recommended attraction, so we spent a day exploring their exhibits. We started with a tour of the CSS Acadia, which was launched in 1913 as a hydrographic survey vessel, and retired in 1969—the last steam-powered Canadian service vessel still afloat. Everything on deck is massive—much bigger than anything on Arabella. After a tour of the CSS Acadia, we had to pop in and check out the kid’s boat building workshop. In the museum, we learned so much about Joshua Slocum, the first person to single-hand a sailboat solo around the world, and other sailing legends. Seeing an array of wooden sailboats—some built in as early as 1890—inspires Steve’s vision for another potential build in the future…maybe? But first, we need to finish building the one we’re currently living on… Without the temptation to go climbing, it’s a little easier to find the motivation to get boat projects done. One of the small tasks I’ve been wanting to do is put a small ceiling in behind the workbench, to prevent objects from falling behind it and into the bilge. I picked up two 1/4” sheets of red oak plywood from the local hardware store to get the job done. Measure once. Measure twice. Mark it up. Then cut… Once I get the ceiling nice and snug behind the workbench, I seal the planking, house frames, and plywood with TotalBoat’s Danish Teak Sealer, which is more of an oil than a varnish. The red oak doesn’t check all of our boxes—and we hate covering up the beautiful frames and planking—so I’ll likely find a better solution in the future. For now, though, this gets the job done. Now that boat work is out of the way, it’s time to go play on our paddleboards. A local fisherman gave us some information about a “secret” beach that is only accessible by small boat, so we decide to go check it out. The water in the cove was crystal clear, with the vibrant colors of kelp, seaweed, and small colorful stones providing plenty of optical stimulation. We had the whole beach to ourselves. The consensus is that we love Nova Scotia…but we need to keep moving to where we can get back into the woods. Blow Me Down cliff isn’t gonna climb itself next summer, and we need to get to training ;-) -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

If you can remember, back when I started this project, I was working full-time as a route setter at a local rock climbing gym. I largely set climbing aside while I built Arabella, but my goal has always been to sail Arabella to remote places where the climbing is steep and wild. Nova Scotia is not that place…but Blow Me Down—a 2,000’+ cliff face in Devil’s Bay on the south coast of Newfoundland—is. And that’s what we’re training for, starting now. I start with a mock trad lead, just getting used to having the weight of my gear on my hips and moving on the wall, and then we start blasting around to as many local crags as we can. Then, a special visitor arrives: Aaron. You remember Aaron. He was 9 years old when he started “interning” at Acorn to Arabella. He joined just on our very first motor out of Mattapoisett Harbor after launch. And now he’s here to adventure and explore from the decks of the boat he helped build. Aaron and his mom are also rock climbers, so we bring them out to Shannon Island for some oceanside climbing. Aaron sinks his teeth into a new project—climbing a route named, ‘There will be blood’, and Akiva curls up and gets comfy in his very own cave. Their visit goes by too fast, and soon we were talking about when their next trip might be—snowboarding in Newfoundland this winter? We bid Aaron adieu… …and within 24-hours, Nova Scotia closed the outdoors due to wildfire risk. No more climbing. No hiking or trail running or mountain biking. No anything in the woods. So, now what? Looks like it might be time to mosey onward towards the Bras D’or Lakes and, ultimately, Newfoundland. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, I move the boat and drop anchor in Terence Bay—which is surrounded by some of Nova Scotia’s best climbing areas. But Robin is still making her way back to Canada with the truck and all of our climbing gear. My rock climbing stoke will have to wait just a few more days… To get into Terence Bay, I had to navigate a narrow channel on the high end of a rising tide—otherwise we would strike bottom on some rough sounding rocks. It was disconcerting to be able to see bottom in the most shallow sections of the cut, but I made it through without seeing anything less than 4’ under our keel. Terence Bay is another beautiful anchorage. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Everything in Nova Scotia has been beautiful. Quiet, well-protected, and filled with little islands for Akiva to explore. While I wait for Robin, I dig into our Nova Scotia rock climbing guidebook and find the best and most convenient crags around. There is some bouldering and trad climbing pretty much right at the anchorage, and I decide to go scout out the climbing so we know just where to go as soon as Robin gets back. I also take the opportunity to tackle some plumbing projects on board: getting our shower installed. To do this, I needed to run hot water to the shower, hook the shower pan into the gray water tank, and seal the shower pan. Our pressurized solar shower has been fine, but with cooler weather on the horizon, having a hot shower will be a nice treat! I wrestle the plumbing together, and viola! We have a shower! Robin returns, and we waste no time—we head out to explore Sorrow’s End, a small and scenic rock climbing crag about a mile away from our anchorage. Despite some interesting navigational instructions, we find the crag…and are humbled by our fitness. We have some training to do… -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

You can still contribute to the fight against cancer at https://profile.pmc.org/bf0201 This week, we map out our passage from Shelburne to Lunenburg, NS, making sure to follow a route safely offshore enough to avoid the many shoals and exposed rocks on the south coast of Nova Scotia. After a quick read through the Nova Scotia cruising guidebook, Steve and Robin set sail around 7pm for an overnight sail. Steve keeps a watch on the sails from his bunk while Robin is on watch. It’s slow sailing, but that makes for a very comfortable sleep. The red lights we installed in the galley make operating at night a lot easier on the eyes. Having the new light wind sail—which we’ve been calling a “Code 0”—was a godsend on this passage. With winds only around 8-10 kts. (for the most part), we were able to move at a decent pace. We arrived in Lunenburg just in time to see the Bluenose II sailing through the harbor in all its glory! The Bluenose was a famous schooner for fishing and racing, but was ultimately sold and wrecked when it ran aground off the coast of Haiti in 1946. The Bluenose II, built in 1963, is a replica of the original Bluenose schooner. She has sailed the world, but mostly runs charters out of Lunenburg harbor. It was our honor to be invited out for a sail on Bluenose II. We were blown away by the magnitude of everything on board. Everything was so much bigger and grander—including the size of their crew! We strongly encourage anyone with the opportunity to sail on one of these old schooners to get out there and sail. A few other highlights from our time in Lunenburg included a long hike over to Mahone Bay, where we stumbled upon a network of Faerie Trails, as well as a visit to the local hotspot, the Knot. At this point, Robin had to head back to Massachusetts to shuttle her truck back up to Nova Scotia, and I decided to head out on my first single-handing adventure. The weather was favorable with 10-15 kt. winds off the land. A run from Lunenburg to Cub Basin felt like a palatable and low-risk first solo sail. And it was! After a few sail plan changes, I found the perfect balance for Arabella, and we had an uneventful run from Lunenburg to Cub Basin. After we safely dropped the anchor, Akiva and I enjoyed the peace and serenity of Cub Basin…and I dipped into the Nova Scotia rock climbing guidebook and set out to check out the routes on the rocky islands all around us. Now, I just have to wait (impatiently) for Robin to return with our climbing gear! -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, we’re taking Arabella international—we’re sailing from Provincetown, MA to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. But, before we go too far, we need to calibrate our NEW Pelagic autopilot. After our autopilot broke a few hours into our last multi-day offshore passage (leaving us to hand steer for three straight days and nights), Robin and I are both pretty intent on making sure the autopilot is up and running for our passage to Canada. We head out of Provincetown and into open water where we can calibrate our autopilot, and then it’s on! We set sail, including raising our new light wind sail, which we just picked up from Doyle Sails. Boy, does she sail beautifully. With 8 knots of wind, we cruised along at a comfortable 4-5 knots. Calibrating the autopilot, however, posed a bit more of a challenge. Turns out, the speaker in our VHF radio and the steel propane tank tucked away in a locker below the unit was interfering with the gyroscope in the autopilot, causing it to veer off course. We moved these disruptors, and it was smooth sailing from there on out. Well, smooth sailing in pea soup thick fog! We were a bit spooked to hear the roaring engine of fishing boats all around us, without ever actually seeing a fishing boat! Thank goodness for all the tech we have. This passage brought to you by radar and AIS! Fortunately, on our last day, the fog finally lifted and we picked up some solid wind! Thanks to a ripping current along the southwest shore of Nova Scotia, our speed was nothing too spectacular…but oh man, that was some good sailing! We sailed all the way to the Roseway River, where we dropped sail and motored into the channel that would take us to Shelburne. A quick phone call to Canadian Customs, and we got our clearance number in a matter of minutes. We had arrived! And just in time for the Dock Days fireworks display! In Shelburne, we explored the Dory Museum, and participated in some fun Dock Days events and celebrations, like the farmer’s market, antique car show, and the Festival of Lights! Canada has been a lovely stop so far. Join us next week, as we sail to and explore Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site! -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, we're getting our homebuilt wooden boat ready for her first international passage. Sure, it’s just to Canada, but to us, it’s a big deal! First up is finishing work on the bowsprit. I needed to get the bow out of our bronze bow roller before we could reinstall it. Thank goodness for clamps and our onboard workbench! Getting the bow out was the easy part, but then I had to install it while bouncing around under the bowsprit in our tender! Next, we needed to re-waterproof the spot where the mast goes into our forepeak. I scraped off the Flex Tape residue, sanded it, and shellacked it. Then I snugged up the shims holding the main mast in place and wrapped them in a piece of old sailcloth. This serves two purposes: it prevents the shims from poking through the Flex Tape, and it keeps the Flex Tape from adhering directly to the mast. I also finished the rigging for our new light-wind sail, which we picked up from Doyle Sails. Some might call it a "code zero." Whatever you want to call it, it's going to make a big difference for us when the winds are light. More sailing, the better! One last piece of rigging: a halyard to hoist our quarantine and international flags, now that we're looking at crossing some international boundaries! With our final to-dos checked off the list, it was time to head from Marion, through the Cape Cod Canal, to Provincetown to meet up with Josh and Erin from the Schooner Hindu! We had a beautiful and uneventful day motoring across Cape Cod Bay. We arrived in Provincetown just in time for the 4th of July parade and fireworks show. We had a front-row seat from the wave attenuator in the harbor (and Akiva enjoyed it, too, since he got to run free on the floating dock). Finally, one last trip back to Granby to collect everything Arabella will need for the winter, which we plan to spend somewhere surprising: Newfoundland! If you've been following, you know that we've been dreaming of sailing to Newfoundland for a long time now. We are ready to get back to mountain biking, climbing, skiing, ice climbing, and all the outdoor activities we love, and Newfoundland has it all! It’s time to secure our anchors (we learned that lesson the hard way!). So, we tucked our 45# Mantus in the anchor locker and then triple-secured our 65# Mantus. Some people have suggested keeping both anchors on deck for long passages, but we like to have the option to drop an anchor quickly if we need to! -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

It’s Arabella Demolition Day, folks! This week, I’m dismantling our on-deck nav station and engine control panel, and rebuilding one big station to house all of our gadgets and gizmos: the chart plotter, wind reader, VHF radio, engine controls, and our new Pelagic autopilot…which we hope will be our LAST autopilot for a while. While I was building Arabella, a few people recommended that I put the engine control panel in the nav station under our dodger, but I was unsure how much the nav station was going to block our view while steering, and wanted to keep it as small as possible. Now that we have a few thousand miles under the keel, I can see that a wider nav station wouldn’t impede our visibility at all…and we’ve had a few electrical issues with the control panel due to exposure and corrosion. It’s time to move this thing… I’m also going to take the opportunity to swap my 10” and 12” chart plotters, bringing the 12” plotter up on deck. Step one: dismantle the engine control panel. Step two: deep dive into the engine room to find the electrical connections, which are somewhat “prepped” to be sliced, diced, and re-wired into the new nav station. Step three: Dismantle the existing on-deck nav station. Step four: Build the new nav station, starting with jointing and planing the edge of a few cherry boards. I opted to use TotalBoat’s TotalBond instead of a heavier-duty epoxy, since this isn’t structural. I also opted to do my woodworking in a wood shop instead of on our workbench—huge thank you to Michael for letting me use your shop! I had to be careful cutting the box joints. I had some margin for error on the panel that wouldn’t be visible on deck, but needed to nail my cuts on the other panel. With the shape of the box starting to come together, it was time to map out which gadgets and gizmos were going to go where, and start figuring out the best way to run wires to our various marine devices. Once done, it was time to test my wiring—would the engine fire up? Bingo! First try. Love when that happens! The new nav station looks great, I’m really happy with how it came out. Then, to circle back to some of the boat work I started last week, Robin and I went through and tightened up all of the new deadeye lacings on the shrouds up by the main mast. I went and tightened up the jib, as well, getting things ready for me to rig our new light wind sail from Doyle Sails. Tune in again next week, as Arabella gets on the move again… *** Big thanks to all who donated to Ben’s ride in the Pan Mass Challenge raising funds for cancer research. If you would still like to contribute go to http://profile.pmc.org/bf0201 Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

A calm morning in Marion Harbor makes for the perfect day to deal with the rot I found in Arabella’s bowsprit while we were back in Miami. What I thought was just a small spot of rot turned out to be a bit bigger than I had imagined—an indication that this rot was probably built into the bowsprit during construction. After all, when we selected which spruce stock to use for the main mast, the booms, the gaffs, and the bowsprit, the best quality wood was used for the mast, and the lowest quality wood was used for the bowsprit. There must have been a small rotten spot that we didn’t notice in the spruce we used for the bowsprit. Fortunately, the bowsprit is a laminate, which means the glue lines act as rot stops. This undoubtedly prevented the rot from spreading into the boards above and below it. I couldn’t get to the spruce in our storage container back in Granby, but I could get to a piece of hundred-year-old Douglas fir from Victoria’s main mast, which I’m completely comfortable gluing into the bowsprit. With the graving piece in place—glued in with TotalBoat Thixo Flex—I got to work with my hand planer. It’s not easy to hand plane while standing in a dinghy, but I eventually got the job done. While waiting for the weather to cooperate with the rest of the bowsprit work, I decided to tackle another boat project: tightening the rig. When we launched, we used a fairly elastic dyneema for the deadeye lacings. This unfortunately didn’t keep our rig very tight, and we keep having to snug up, and snug up, and snug up loose stays. Now, I’m planning on switching out our deadeye lacings for new lacings made from heat-set dyneema, which has 1% stretch compared to 4% in our original dyneema. I’ll also be able to splice the heat-set dyneema, which I wasn’t able to do with our last deadeye lacings. I start by installing the lacings on each stay. Then the fun part: splicing and snugging it all up. If you’ve ever wondered how to splice dyneema, there are plenty of resources online—including this video—to walk you through the process. You just need a splicing tool and a little bit of patience. Tightening up the rig opens the door for us to get our new light wind sail installed. The sail—which is similar to a Code Zero—is much larger than our jib, and will allow us to make way when the winds are less than 10 kts. Along with a new sail comes new lines, so off to Rigging Only we go. Dan has been hooking us up with quality line for years, and we fully trust his recommendations. But back to the bowsprit for a few more fixes…it’s time to install oak cheeks to reduce crushing the soft spruce under the washers. While I was back in Granby, I grabbed a hole saw to help with this part of the project. Tune in next week to see the finished bowsprit, and the rest of the work we got done in preparation for our sail up to Nova Scotia. -------------------------- Donate to Ben's PMC ride: https://egifts.pmc.org/PMC/BF0201 -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, we’re setting out for a 4-day offshore run from Norfolk, VA back to Mattapoisett, MA—where we launched Arabella almost two years ago to the date! Our good friend George joined us for the passage. We learned an expensive lesson about securing our anchor before heading offshore, so I took the time to carefully secure our 65# Mantus—it’s the only anchor we have left after losing the 45# on our run from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. The first day of our passage was spent mostly under motor. We decided against raising too much sail because a gale was predicted to blow through later that evening, and we didn’t want to get caught in 35 knots of wind with too much sail up. We came up with a plan of attack for the blow, and settled into our watch schedule. Around 10:30pm, the winds began to switch, and I yelled for Robin and George to come help me reduce sail. Robin and George got the jib put away, and George helped me reef the mizzen…but not before the auto helm got overpowered, and the rudder feedback sensor shattered into a million pieces. Hello again, hand steering… After the storm passed and the winds settled down a bit, we unpacked the experience of being out in a gale. 35 knots was the highest we saw, and Arabella handled it well. It was a great “first storm” for us to experience. But the second storm wasn’t far behind us—thunderstorms met us off the coast of New Jersey, and we got hit with hail and high winds one last time on this journey. The winds switched again, and we ended up running downwind past the south coast of Long Island. I rigged the jib on the whisker pole, and we ran wing in wind for a full day, perfectly balanced. It was almost like we had a working autopilot! Plus, it was finally calm enough to do some trawling…and to cook a good meal! Seeing the clay cliffs of Block Island was a welcomed sign that we were close to home again. We sailed right into Mattapoisett after 4 days at sea. Home again, home again, jiggity jig… -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

Work on the dodger may be done, but before we can leave Okracoke, we need to install our new Garmin GMI20. The last one died halfway through our passage from Miami to Beaufort, and we had a replacement unit sent to the Okracoke post office. Despite our best efforts to get the original unit working again (and after many calls with Garmin’s support team), we determined it a lost cause. Fortunately, the new unit fired right up and worked like a charm right out of the gates. There was one other last task we had to tackle before leaving Okracoke: decorating the dodger with stickers from our travels. We’ve been picking up stickers everywhere we’ve stopped with the hope of “stickering up” the underside of the dodger, which is well-protected from rain and the sun’s harmful UV rays. It was great to take a walk down memory lane and relive—if just for a moment—the memories we’ve made along our journey so far. With all of our electronics firing—and the dodger newly decorated—we’re ready to head out of Okracoke…and we have a plan. We waited for a calm day, so if we do runaround on another surprise shoal, we won’t have any sort of sea state to deal with. We also pulled up the ferry schedule with the intention of following one through the tricky, turn-y channel…but that plan backfired as the ferry screamed ahead of us and we quickly fell too far behind to actually follow its maneuvers. Safely into Pamlico Sound, we found more wind than what was forecasted and decided to raise the sails. The next day, we found more rain than what was forecasted, and put our foul weather gear on for the first time since our journey south. The next day brought more rain, but we only had about 20 miles to cover—including a few bridges and a lock—to get into Norfolk, VA, where we plan to wait for a weather window to make the passage back north. In Norfolk, we find perhaps our last taste of southern hospitality at the local marina, where access to hot showers, laundry, and a dinghy dock is convenient, affordable, and so very welcomed. And now, we wait for our good friend George to join us for the multi-day offshore passage to Mattapoisett, where we launched Arabella just about two years ago. Talk about bringing things full circle… -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, Arabella makes her way to Ocracoke Island, at the south end of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Robin and I have been looking forward to visiting the Outer Banks, and maybe exploring long-abandoned Portsmouth Island. With winds expected to pipe up, we deployed a conservative sail plan for our passage to Ocracoke. Once we were a few miles from Silver Lake harbor, the seas picked up. Navigating a few tricky, skinny sections of channel, Arabella started to hit bottom at the trough of every wave. Thinking quickly, I threw out the jib to heel the boat and slightly reduce our draft. It worked, and we quickly found deeper water…but not for long. We ran up on a sandbar in Nine Foot Shoal channel. Not wanting to get tossed into shallower waters, Robin ran up and dropped the anchor. Fortunately, once the anchor bit, Arabella slipped into deeper water. We decided to spend the night anchored out and wait for the wind and seas to calm down before picking our way into the harbor. In the morning, a local navigated out the channel past us, giving us a better idea of how to safely pick our way through the tricky channel. We made it safely into Silver Lake, dropped the hook, and took a big exhalation. Then we went exploring: Cape Hatteras, Springer Point, Hammock Hills, the public garden, and—of course—the shops around town. We decided to stay put in Ocracoke for a few days while I did some work on the dodger. I needed to reshape her, paint her, and run the solar panel and Starlink cables. This will make our dodger setup slicker (and slimmer) than ever. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

If you’re struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/acorn for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy with a licensed professional specific to your needs. After our offshore run, I promised Robin that I would wait for her in Beaufort so she could see the wild horses on Carrot Island, explore the shops in downtown Beaufort, and visit the Outer Banks before our run back North. While waiting, I tackle some boat maintenance projects, namely fixing our leaky deck. But more on that later… Beaufort was an interesting place to anchor. Because of the wind and tides, the boats in the anchorage all sit differently. We came pretty close to playing bumper boats with our neighbor. But I enjoyed a surprise wooden boat show by the harbor, and a pretty impressive farmer’s market! The Beaufort experience was really a 10 out of 10! Beaufort was also a great place for me to tackle some boat work. First task: fixing our leaky boat deck. We’ve been getting some drips in the forepeak, and I think it all boils down to an issue with the way we pitched and waterproofed the deck in the first place. Basically, I think the pitch didn’t make it deep enough into the grooves between our deck planks, which created a pocket of air. As we’ve migrated to warmer weather, my thought is that the air warmed up, ultimately expanding and causing the pitch to bubble, rupture…and leak. Pitch is an interesting substance. It’s mostly solid at room temperature, and liquifies when heated (though, even in its liquid state, it’s still 1,000x more viscous than water). I spent a few long, tedious days just hammering the pitch as deep as I could, identifying where more pitch was needed to fill the gaps. And then the rain came. And the forepeak stayed dry. What can I say: good deck work works ;-) Next up on the to-do list is fixing our windlass. We lost a set screw, and fortunately the local hardware store had just the key stock we needed for the job (and I had just the vice to finish the job). Now it’s time to go play. Robin wanted to go explore Beaufort’s downtown area, which is filled with shops and coffee…two of her favorite things. But, along the way, we found where the wooden boats get built…and we had to pop in to check it out. After exploring the town (and procuring coffee, of course), we set sail for Okracoke Island…and a beautiful sail it was. Join us next week in the Outer Banks, and stay tuned for our passage back to Massachusetts. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, the journey resumes on day three of our offshore sailing passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Along for the journey was my old college buddy, Dave, and my new friend, Jesse, who we met in Key Biscayne. On day 2 of our passage, we brought a Mahi up to the side of the boat…and lost it at the last second. On day 3, we don’t make that same mistake. This time, when the line goes tight, we stay patient. We bring the Mahi up to the side of the boat, gaff him, slice off a little sashimi, and talk about all the delicious lunches, dinners, and, uh, breakfasts(?) we’ll make from this Mahi. Even Akiva wants a piece! On the evening of our 3rd day, the wind dies off a bit in the afternoon, and we flip the motor on for a while. We even get visited by a flying fish who not-so-fortuitously landed on deck in the middle of the night. Dave explains the anatomy of a flying fish, and how their body allows them to “fly” for as much as 40’ at a time. And what’s better…they make great Mahi bait! The wind piped back up and clocked around behind us, so we ran wing-on-wing downwind for a while. And after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, we finally get to yell: LAND HO! Also after 5 days and 4 nights of offshore sailing in the Gulf Stream, the boat needs a few repairs. Fortunately, nothing crazy, but—while the friction tape fix on the rudder feedback sensor held up fine enough—it does need a proper fix. We also lost the adjustment screw that controls the height of the tiller. The biggest loss from our passage was our 45# stainless steel Mantus anchor, despite my best efforts to prevent this. An expensive mistake… During this passage, we also had our scariest on-deck experience yet. During the middle of the night, we woke up to Jesse hollering that the autopilot wasn’t working, and the sails were backwinded, the boat was out of control, and all hell was breaking loose. We took control of the tiller, but still couldn’t command control of the boat. Next, we tried to released the preventers in order to allow the sails to jibe, but an improperly tied knot made it impossible. Thinking quickly, I let the jib fly to de-power the boat a bit, and scandalized the main sail…which set off a string of events that ultimately allowed us to get the sails down and regain control of Arabella. All that on my 40th birthday! I’ll definitely be more careful about making sure our lines are properly tied off to the cleats onboard (or I’ll add a jam cleat and a fairlead in front of all cleats on deck—we shall see). Another lesson learned on this passage: I need a light wind sail. I’ve been in touch with Robbie Doyle of Doyle Sails to figure out the right design for Arabella. I really want to be able to make miles in light winds, and it looks like a Genoa (or a ballon jib, per Atkin’s plans) would allow us to do just that. Tune in next week, as I dive into boat repairs while awaiting Robin’s return. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, we’re getting ready for a 600-mile offshore passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. Before we set sail, I took the chance to get some boat work done: scrubbing and oiling the decks, smoothing out the battens so they don’t get stuck in the lazy jacks when we hoist sail, configuring a system to keep our Dyneema lines from slipping on our booms, installing tie-downs for our portholes, and adding an easy access point to our lazarette. High on the priority list is tightening up our rig before setting sail for a 600-mile offshore passage from Miami, FL to Beaufort, NC. To do this, I dig into my rock climbing gear for a Petzl Gri-Gri and a few slings, and rig an efficient system that gets the job done. Robin had to head back to Massachusetts for some family commitments, so I pulled together a crew of two guys to join me on the offshore passage: Jesse, a liveaboard we met in Key Biscayne, and my old college friend, Dave. Once in the Gulf Stream, Arabella settled into a cruising speed of around 8 knots, dipping the toe rails regularly as she plowed through 4-6’ seas. The only technical glitch along the passage was a broken connection to the rudder feedback sensor, which I was able to fix almost immediately. When the seas settled down a bit, Dave put out a trolling line with the hopes of catching a Mahi Mahi…and the mission was successful, until we lost the fish at the boat. Bummer! Should have used the gaff… Join us for the rest of the offshore passage next week, and don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel to see more. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week, we start with a visit from the one and only Sam Holmes—a real, actual sailor! Sam regales us with tales of suffering and single handing his sailboat, and gives us some advice for the passages in our future. If you’re not already following him, make sure to check him out out at @Sam Holmes Sailing. The real meat and potatoes of the episode, though, will be calibrating the autopilot, getting our navigation electronics working correctly again, and rewiring our ePropulsion electric dinghy motor to get rid of the connector that keeps leaving us stranded. Calibrating the autopilot was a piece of cake. Rewiring the electric engine? Not so much. But more on that later… I had a crazy idea while a few of Robin’s friends were in town: I wanted to drop the anchor while under sail for the first time. I de-powered the boat by dropping a few of the bigger sails, leaving us to sail in under just the jib. Robin dropped the anchor just right, and loaded up the tender to test out the new battery connections…which, sadly, only worked for that one ride. Turns out the best way to repair the connection on an ePropulsion motor is to buy a gas outboard ;-) Our old friend George arrives with a brand new, reliable, but loud and smelly Honda. Dinghy motor issued, solved. And just in time to host another group of Robin’s friends. Together, we explored Boca Chita Key, and Elliot Key…some of the cleanest, clearest waters we’ve seen since the Dry Tortugas! Back to the ePropulsion electric motor…after trying to figure out what went wrong, Steve realizes that the data wires are too short for the connectors. We’re not giving up on the eProp, but getting the electric motor back online is going to require more time than we have at the moment, so we’re going to put a pin in that (pun intended). Thank you to everyone who sent ideas and advice for our ePropsulsion electric motor repairs, and the autopilot installation. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

You know what they say: “BOAT” stands for “Break Out Another Thousand.” While we were anchored in the Dry Tortugas, I got our Spectra watermaker back online. This week, back in Key West, we’re troubleshooting an issue with the feed pump pressure switch, which cuts the watermaker pump in and out depending on the pressure. Unfortunately, the replacement piece is expensive—and it won’t get here anytime soon. In the meantime, I can bypass the switch, as long as I keep a tight eye on the pressure. Boats, man—it’s always something! In between troubleshooting the watermaker and getting ready to sail north for the summer, Robin and I found time to enjoy a sunset cruise aboard the Schooner Hindu. Schooner Hindu is a lovingly restored and historically significant 1925 gaff-rigged schooner with a rich maritime history. It sails out of Provincetown, MA in the summer, and Key West in the winter. Captain Josh sailed us right past Arabella, giving us a unique perspective on our own gaff-rigged wooden sailboat! But, back to boat maintenance… Installing the rudder feedback sensor presented a new challenge. It’s incredible how much I needed to deconstruct just to get that installed properly. Now, mounting the bracket for the auto helm. The bracket is made of anodized aluminum, which gets mounted to a stainless bracket with stainless steel boats. That means I need to isolate and protect the bracket from corrosion. I chose to use Tef-Gel, which is a corrosion eliminator. The other important consideration is that, if we were to lose the bolts, there’s a good chance we would also lose the auto helm. As a backup, I drilled small holes into each bolt, where I can thread a ring through to prevent the bolts from working their way out. Now that the above-deck electronics for the auto helm are hooked up, it’s time to go down below and get the system wired and set up down there. The Garmin Reactor 40 needs to be mounted near the center of the boat. This device gives us information about how the boat is moving in space and time. Now, the auto helm came with a 40 amp breaker—but that didn’t fit into our breaker panel. After speaking with a marine electrician, I feel confident that a 20 amp breaker will do the trick just fine. With this final piece in place, we’re ready to test the auto helm under sail! Unfortunately…more technical difficulties. Somehow, installing the auto helm threw off the header sensor and wind reader. Fortunately, our marine electrician friend, Bob, might be able to help… In the meantime, I took the chance to work on a small project: building a screen drop board to use when it’s hot and buggy. Our acrylic drop board is great, but it doesn’t help much with ventilation—and it’s getting HOT down here in the Keys. I drafted up a shopping list and hit the bricks for a walk to the hardware store, and fun, low-stress, no-surprises project for a change! -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

This week’s video resumes in the Dry Tortugas, where we’re stuck on finding a solution for installing our auto helm. But that can wait…first, fishing! Our bait attracted a few good-sized Nurse Sharks and Goliath Groupers, putting on quite the show for Akiva! The Nurse Sharks are gentle, but they’re still a bit disconcerting to see right under the boat. Another “must do” activity on the Dry Tortugas is visiting Fort Jefferson, which—after a week in the park—we still hadn’t done. We put shoes on for the first time in days, and ventured into the centuries-old fort. There is so much history in Fort Jefferson, even though the fort never saw battle. We could have stayed in the Dry Tortugas forever, but we had to get back to Key West to meet up with Doug from SV Seeker. We worked out a potential solution for installing our auto helm, but we need access to Doug’s floating metal shop in order to fabricate a stainless steel bracket to use as a mount. First, we needed to countersink two of the lag bolts on the boomkin so the bracket can be installed perfectly flush. Then, I marked up the piece of stainless, and headed back to SV Seeker where Doug’s portable handheld band saw, plasma cutter, and array of metalworking tools help us bring our vision to fruition. We even factored a bow roller into the design for more ease in launching our stern anchor—bonus! We never expected to be working on Arabella, on SV Seeker! The piece fits perfectly (after a little refinement with the angle grinder) and the autopilot works perfectly! The auto helm is going to open a lot of doors for us. We have some big miles to get back north for the summer, and having the autopilot will make the long passages a lot easier to manage. Amazing teamwork this week! A huge thank you to Doug and Bob—we couldn’t have done it without you. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

In this episode, we sail Arabella over to the clear, blue waters of the Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West. Starting from the Ten Thousand Islands, we hit Key West for provisions, hot showers, and to pick up the parts we need to get our auto helm installed. It was a whirlwind stop—less than 24 hours, and it was time to get going for an overnight sail to the Dry Tortugas. The sail to the Dry Tortugas was magnificent, with a steady 10–15 knots pushing us right to the country’s least-visited national park. As we approached Fort Jefferson, we were grateful to get hailed on the radio by a fan with some helpful information about anchoring in the Dry Tortugas. In the Dry Tortugas, the sound of nesting brown and black noddies, terns, and migrating Magnificent Frigate birds made for some soothing white noise, while the hermit crabs on land gave Robin a real delight. We anchored on the west side of Fort Jefferson, where we had plenty of privacy and easy access to shore. The snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas was second to none. First, we took Victoria over to Bird Key for some creative snorkeling—with such a strong current, we decided to stay tethered to the tender while floating the current on a paddleboard. Then we spent time over at Loggerhead Key snorkeling Africa Reef, which was abundant with marine life. We saw barracuda, about a million tropical fish, neon-colored coral, and even a spiny Florida lobster! With shifting winds, we decided to move the boat over to the east side of Fort Jefferson, where the anchorage was much more lively. Seaplanes come and go, the ferry arrives like clockwork, and… Goliath Groupers visit Arabella with regularity. The sunsets on the Dry Tortugas were so mesmerizing, that even Akiva took to lying on the side deck to take them in ;-) Being in such clear, clean water makes it a perfect time to get our Spectra water maker back online. The water maker has been offline since we were docked in Harwichport last winter. There are no resources in the Dry Tortugas—no water, food, or fuel—so getting the water maker back online allowed us to extend our stay in this tropical paradise, without worrying about staying hydrated. Another big project that we’ve been stuck on is the auto-helm. We tried to get this installed back in Boothbay before heading south for the winter, but didn’t have the right parts. While it was discouraging to realize that we STILL didn’t have what we needed to get the auto helm installed…we DID come up with a plan, and it’s a good one that requires a little help from a friend. SV Seeker, SV Seeker, SV Seeker, this is sailing vessel Arabella…come back! Stay tuned to find out how we solve our auto helm installation issue… -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

In this week’s episode, we say goodbye to Sanibel Island and the beautiful “Ding” Darling Wilderness, and we set sail for Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands, an archipelago just north of and adjacent to the Everglades. It felt great to raise the sails after so much motoring. We enjoyed a lively, adventurous sail for the full 70-mile journey south, and even got a surprise burst of wind that carried us right into the Panther Key anchorage at the end of the day. Arabella isn’t the only wooden sailboat we have access to—our tender, Victoria, also has a sail rig…so we sailed her over to Dismal Key in search of some ancient Calusa shell mounds. It took us some time to find a spot where we could safely get to shore, but we eventually found a faint trail that led us up past an old shelter and provided a path through the harsh island environment. No sign of rattlesnakes, fortunately! From Dismal Key, we sailed Victoria to a few private white sand beaches, and to a sandbar for Akiva’s running and playing pleasure ;-) Eventually, the time was ripe to break out the saltwater fly rod and try our hand at catching a few fish. We have no idea what they were, but we caught-and-released a few small fish. Sailing to the Ten Thousand Islands was a unique experience, and we enjoyed a few days of total relaxation in a breathtaking location. 10 out of 10 would recommend. -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com

Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code ARABELLA at checkout. Download Saily app or go to https://saily.com/arabella -------------------------- We’ve sailed our beautiful wooden sailboat all the way from Maine to Boca Grande, where it’s time to stop and give our tender, Victoria, a little TLC. Her transom is in dire need of repairs. Remember, she was built with 100-year-old Honduran Mahogany from a boat we salvaged during the boatbuilding process, and some of that wood is starting to give up the ghost. I was able to not-so-easily remove her knees using my pole saw and a hacksaw blade. Then, Robin and I hauled her out and propped her up against a palm tree where I could do the rest of the repairs and fiberglassing. Without the knees in place, you can clearly see the transom is pulling away from the hull. We also have a few cracks in the transom from where our tender motor sits. I’m going to reinforce that part of the transom, apply TotalBoat Thixo, and fiberglass over it. That should get Victoria ready for whatever adventures lie ahead! While the Thixo and fiberglass cure, I give Victoria a good bath—and Robin hits the Boca Grande bike path for a run with Akiva! They both need it! Beyond being a great place to do Victoria’s transom repairs, Boca Grande is a hot spot for wildlife viewing. From the boat, we spotted pelicans and Ospreys, and from our paddle boards we spotted iguanas, manatees, rays, and about a million tropical fish! Perhaps even more beautiful than Boca Grande is the quiet island of North Captiva, which me, Robin and Akiva were excited to explore. First stop: hiking Captiva’s beaches and nature trails, and passing a pod of about ten manatees soaking up the mid-day sun! The destruction from hurricane Ian is still very evident on North Captiva, where not many homes made it our unscathed. Some have been rebuilt, but many have not. The next stop for us is Sanibel, provided we can make it out of our anchorage without running aground. I think we’ve finally gotten to the fun part of cruising and living about Arabella! -------------------------- Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his 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 now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva. -------------------------- If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help Acorn to Arabella's wishlist: https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They'll kick 10% our way! To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions! https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com FOLLOW US: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com