We Stripped Our Wooden Sailboat Back to Bare Wood... Again

After five nonstop days sailing from Newfoundland to Maine, Arabella is finally back in the United States—and almost immediately, she's coming back out of the water. This week's episode begins with the final leg of our offshore passage from Newfoundland. Steve and Felix find everything from light winds to 25 knots as they work their way around Nova Scotia, across the Gulf of Maine, and toward Rockland. After a year in Canadian waters, Arabella crosses back into the United States and reaches Maine just in time for Steve to make it home for his grandfather's memorial service. Then it's time for another haul out—and a boat project Steve hoped he wouldn't have to tackle again. Arabella's antifouling bottom paint is failing on the oak planking below the waterline. So for the third time, Steve begins the painstaking process of removing the bottom paint, this time stripping the hull completely back to bare wood. He explains why he believes the oak is causing the adhesion problem, why previous attempts haven't lasted, and the new primer system he hopes will finally solve it. After roughly eight days of chemical stripping, scraping, and sanding, there's at least some very good news: beneath the paint, Arabella's 3½-year-old oak planking, seams, bungs, and scarf joints look remarkably good. Next week, we'll finish the new bottom-paint system and get Arabella ready to head south for the winter. #WoodenBoat #Sailing #BoatRestoration #BoatMaintenance #Antifouling #Sailboat #BoatBuilding #SailingArabella -------------------------- 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