Acorn to Arabella - Journey of a Wooden Boat - Episode 26: Moving a 4.5 ton keel - Acorn to Arabella
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- It took us about three days to move the keel out of the ground and into the boathouse. No easy task moving an object that heavy. It's great to know that we now have our keel and it is sitting where it needs to be in the boathouse. Next we'll need to fair it, flatten and shape the wood keel and then we can start bolting things together.
Paying forward the shoutout we received from Ruth and Garett at Salt and Tar (check out their channel if you haven't already), we'd like to mention another channel that we appreciate. Building Brupeg. They are refitting their 57ft steel boat for polar expeditions! Check them out and give them a sub if you like what you see.
/ @projectbrupeg
One more thing, the music in the middle of this video was sent to us by one of our viewer Nate Akers and is called First Spring Day.
(The other two songs are Inumery and Gone Tomorrow by Jimmy Wahlsteen from Epidemic Sound)
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Acorn to Arabella is a boat building project taking place in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve and Alix started as amateur boat builders building their own 38' wooden boat in their backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and beyond-sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project will continue well past launch, when they will travel and learn to cruise aboard the boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
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Acorn To Arabella Sampson Boat Co, and Learning the Lines.
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I once moved a couch up like 2 flights of stairs so... i TOTALLY understand your struggles.
did you have to PIVOT?
Such an old reference! LOL
I did that by myself once. Of course, I had a great dolly and an even greater elevator.
shut up shut up shut uuuupp
A lead couch too!
This was the episode that got my interested in your project 5 years ago, and I'm so thrilled to hear about your launch! Trying to come out to Mystic to see it in person!
Building and moving that keel is more than enough boatbuilding fun for most people.
I love that you openly admit your not expert shipwrights, your learning as you go, yes youget things less than perfect sometimes but you trying and that's awesome
Thanks!
We are just being honest about our skills and knowledge.
Glad I found your channel brother digging the old school work ethics. You guys kick-ass
You effectively demonstrate that there are no limits on what can be accomplished in the realm of DIY! From conception to successful completion of this project, the key elements appear to consist of planning, preparation, ingenuity and improvisation in action, along with unfathomable levels of precariousness, (Rube Goldberg would stand back in awe!), astronomical quantities of sheer luck and lots of hard work. You pulled it off! The background music was also consistently pleasant.
The only thing that can stop you is you.
It's just that simple =)
If you do any more winching like that, PLEASE toss some heavy blankets or old rugs across several sections of the lines. Not a guarantee it will save your life, but they will absorb a lot of the energy if a line breaks.
Yeah, but I'm not faulting them. Glad to see they are taking on such a substantial build, and going above the norm of today's "instant gratification, just buy it" mentality. It is inevitable that reward comes with risk. I just hope I can offer a tip that may someday be the difference between a really bad scene and one that could have been.
Well done element. Gentleman and educator proper.
Thank you Robluxi
Tom Hutchins you should read up on Darwin’s theory of evolution a little bit more. People on the internet like to spout back whatever bullshit they hear, in this case it’s “Darwin awards” or “darwinism”. Let me tell you it doesn’t quite work like that fellow.
They were using fiber rope and chains. Those don't stretch. If they fail they simply collapse to the ground.
Wow, I have gotten so used to heavy forklifts and cranes that pick up this stuff up quick and easy that this made a good reminder of what life would be like without them.
Life would be a lot heavier and slower!
Good stuff, guys! Jacks and chains and levers and sore backs. I will be doing more of that, soon. I like your improv capstan thing. All the best :)
Thanks!
We just watched you laminate a floor timber!
Can't wait to see how you wrestle that purple heart under and in place, sure it will be smooth as silk =)
If you ever want a pit stop on the route from the West Coast to home we would be psyched to show you around our build and to have the chance pick your brain =) Maybe in the fall when we actually have a boat like object.
Fair winds and keep on trucking!
SO many people now days don't know what a come along is much less used one. You have a refreshing show!
Love the way you guys just get it done,real world solutions with no mega budget. My thought is if had to do again a sand mould built up on hard standing would make job easier. After casting simply clear away mould and slip wheels under on hard standing.
Thanks!
Casting above ground could work but the mold would have to be very very strong. 4.5 tons of liquid puts a lot of pressure on its vessel!
The way they were pulling it could kill someone though. It's good if you can get the job done, but I personally can't handle the thought of snapback.
th-cam.com/video/3GsSMfLYIQg/w-d-xo.html
They were pulling it uphill, that's why it was so hard. Next time build a level rail, or hire a mobile crane.
Your comment needs a devil horns and slayer playing in the background.
I find this video an inspiration in terms of what you can do with little gear and money but a positive attitude
That is basically our vision for the whole build. What we lack in experience, tools, equipment we will just make up for with determination and a ton of hard work.
The mechanical advantage you used wasn’t the most efficient. Pulling on the pulley with the come along actually cut the pulling force in half.
Exactly what I too was thinking.
@@gordongraham4307 Are you sure you want to go sailing with these guys?
I thought this also, need more snatch blocks!!
i saw this as well, and was scratching my head. they're pulling the pulley, doesn't that halve the force, and double the speed?
I will reconsider complaining when it's in the low 40s and I'm complaining about working in the cold. Definitely give you thumbs-up for your diligence in that cold weather.
Old school ingenuity and muscle wins again. Great job guys.
Thomas Russell well its pretty straight forward. ive done escavation of rocks half the size of hatchbacks its all leverage n setup
high pressure micro leverage is the strongest. id often use simple car straps to get the 65×65 bolders in the bucket of a small bobcat
best thing to do to save time with that would be to pre setup chains under then attach them to 3-4 weight tested engine style rolling harbesses lock them together and pre plank a pathway. paying 2people 25per hour might as well spend 600 on weight tested used rollers if u could stream line the process so its all 2.5days you could do it a bunch
I don't see much muscle. Two levers with the gap they had would spin easy with decent grunt
never thought watching 18 minutes of some guys moving a heavy ass lead block could be entertaining. good job! :)
HAHA
Thanks!
Live footage of someone trying to get me out of bed
Great comment! We both burst out laughing, you put up one hell of a fight!
Elena Piteo you need a diet......
yep she does, twitter.com/ewaina24
Elena Piteo. Always feel like my day is not wasted if I can watch someone else work.
LMAO
I do not know why youtube suggested your videos, but I am so glad it did! Really cool to watch man. Great job. I inherited a steel Railroad cross tie tool from my grandfather (he acquired it when the shipyard he worked at all his life closed down). Growing up we used it to move some really heavy stuff, and even lifted cement slabs a few times to level them. This video reminded me how useful big tools like this are, but also how much effort is required to use them :). A neighbor saw it when I first brought it home and said, "That is a man's tool". lol
I've used one of those before, heavy as all get out!
The big tools are not light, that is for sure!
Attaching the pulley to the come-along/tractor used to apply force does not result in the highest possible mechanical advantage. Using 2 pulleys/blocks you could have had a 3:1 advantage by attaching the pulley to the tree and attaching the come-along between the free end of the rope and the keel. With the tractor you could still have had a 2:1 advantage. They way you set it up had a 3:2 advantage in both cases. But still: nice video.
I noticed the same thing. The only reason the last setup worked was because the mechanical advantage was setup correctly to take full advantage. Had it been setup correctly the other two systems probably would have worked.
Actually, with two ropes and two pulley/blocks you can rig a compound 4:1 system. You directly attach the first block to the keel and using the first rope rig a 2:1 system with the tree as the anchor point. Then attach the free end of the first rope to the second pulley and with the second rope rig a second 2:1 system with the tree as the anchor point. Then pull on the free end of the second rope. Google "compound 4:1 system" if you want to see examples of what it looks like. It's disadvantage over a "simple" 3:1 system is that it puts a lot more stress on the first block/pulley and the first rope.
If you look closely at the point where they set up their logging winch you can see that they changed the rigging at least 3 times.There are several clips cut together but at one point they do manage to rig what looks like a simple 5:1 system. At least twice it looks like different variations of anchoring both ends of the rope and pulling on a block/pulley (rather than pulling on the free end of the rope). It looks to me like maybe they were trying to rig a compound system but didn't do it right.
Thanks for the tips on using the blocks! Seems we still have a lot to learn!
+Acorn To Arabella Just remember to only pull on the free end of the rope and only attach the pulleys to either the load or a static point. In other words, never pull on a pulley.
I just love reading these comments.. the world is full of experts it seems. Good job guys
I love to see this, good luck from Portugal 🇵🇹
The saying...'where there's a will, there's a way," ...would fit nicely here. Well done. Just keep in mind how much enjoyment you'll get sailing. Thanks for the video.
Guys do me a favor. Next time throw a blanket or at least a jacket over those come-a-long lines. If they snap they can really hurt someone bad or even worse maybe even kill someone. The blanket or jacket acts as a buffer if the line should break. There is more tension in those line than you think and they can harbor a lot of energy that get's released like a super whip. I have seen things like that kill and hurt folks so I just wanted to drop you a note for the future. Like the build, keep up the good work!
Chris Stoughton yeah, their faces being right next to those chains was making me nervous
Well done Chris.
I've seen chains snap pulling silage wagons out of the fields and split a tractor cab in 2. The driver never had a chance. That's why I posted this. Just wanted those young guys to be safe and make more videos.
Lol. This is about the dumbest mythological safety measure ever. A blanket isn't doing jack shit if a failed line has enough tension built up to do any actual damage to a human body. Let alone enough to kill.
And no sorry jackass, but chains don't stretch. When chains fails they simply fall limp. They don't go recoiling back. Your story about a tractor cab getting cut in half from a broken chain is straight bullshit that is physically impossible.
You are wrong nasdonline.org/1151/d000945/safe-use-of-tow-ropes-cables-and-chains.html
I’ve watched every episode from when you started, and I just needed to watch this one again just to remind me how far you’ve all got with the boat, this boat will be an historic piece one day I’m convinced it will still be intact in the year 3000 just like what our ancestors built.
The more pulleys the higher the mechanical advantage.
I woulda got like 10 pulleys hooked up to the tractor and just drive forward. Once you can’t anymore anchor it off somewhere and go back.
Then repeat
Excellent example of craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing this with me.
Some Egyptian Faros called, they've got a big project back in time they want your help with.
I just wanted to say, your videos have helped me through a very rough and turbulent time in my life. They have helped me keep a keen keel through the darkest of times, and helped stave off the worst of depression. Please keep going, and finish Arabella, I look fwd to seeing more videos soon.
We are sorry to hear about your dark days but are glad that our little journey could be a small bright spot for you!
We will keep on keeping on, slow but sure. We hope you do the same!! Fair winds to you!
Where’s an Egyptian pharaoh when you need one, this would’ve been a walk in the park? LoL jk, That was impressive, thanks for sharing.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Well done.
Great job working with a tight budget. Anyone could pony up 65 grand and had one delivered, you put sweat equity into the project. Big tip of the hat towards the ship builders of old, you could feel their rum soaked presence.
DIY, Vintage, acoustic guitar, playing dress-up, recording it all for social media, large beards that look taped on -- I have stumbled into university hipster-land ! ;) I can picture you all posing for plandid polaroids of each other off the coast of south africa one day, sipping on some absurdly priced obscure coffee blend, wearing berets and teaching us all about the plights of the world. All banter aside I wish you all luck -- that is one massive project and I'm sure once completed it will be incredibly satisfying.
Woah, spoilers at 17:23! Can't wait to see the removal of the form.
Funny that moving a giant block of lead around was worth watching from start to finish. Congratulations!
Great work!
You guys must be exhausted.
Was looking forward to seeing the keel exposed, but I guess that comes in the next video.
instagram.com/p/BexslvHFt4r/?taken-by=acorntoarabella To hold you over until that video. :)
Completly Awesome!! Made my fingers cold and my back hurt just to watch. nice work!
I'm no expert, but I think an a-frame or two could have made your life a bit easier in some of that struggle.
The fact that you guys moved this thing without losing any fingers is awesome lol
A longer handle on the comealong will make that way easier. Men buy boats.... Real men build them.
I’ve always been impressed with the power of bottle jacks. Hydraulics for the win!
You need at least 8 times mechanical multiplication to use a 1/2 ton come-along!
Plus safety factor, so 10 to 12 times!
You guys and your project are the real deal. Thanks for sharing the journey. God Bless.
Braver then me. I would not want to be anywhere near that rope, if it broke it would have snapped your legs in half like twigs! You should also give a shout out to SV Seeker, them and salt and tar are responsible for many of your views and subscribers, if not most.
All too true! Seeker and Salt and Tar have been awesome! We love that this platform is not a zero sum game and that everyone is into helping each other out instead of thinking of each other as competition. We wanted to take the time to pay it forward to smaller channels at the moment.
Acorn To Arabella the sailing community is a great community. I notice a lot of bigger channels are patreons to smallet channels.
You guys need to work faster and more videos!!
I am no expert in building of things cause I'm not technically inclined. But i'm fascinated by what these guys do. Showed it to some friends. One says it being done by themselves, would it not be cheaper & less labour intensive if done with concrete. Thanks for this most likeable video guys & You Tube.
Glad you are enjoying it!
Concrete is much less dense so we would need a lot more of it, it will break down over time and is not nearly as tough as a lead keel. Lead is the gold standard for a ballast keel because actual gold would be too expensive =)
Message to the past: If it's freezing outside, just raise it some, pour water in the hole, let it freeze, raise it some, repeat :)
Too late. Done deal.
That would take forever.
should have just floated the lead out by pumping in mercury.
Yes could have made ice the whole way and slid it on ice
Way to go guys, you have achieved another milestone! Can't wait to see you get back into timber work and getting some frames installed so we can get an idea of her lines.
Your doing a brilliant job, great see you having a go!
Every time your fingers went under the form I winced a little
Me too
Problem solving is half the fun of doing things, I think. I was a miner and we had to move machinery on a regular basis with chains and comealongs; watching you in this vid reminded me of the good old days. Another mammoth task accomplished.
We agree! It's always a big puzzle and we may not always find the easiest or smoothest way but we always get it done and it feels so damn good when the task at hand is accomplished!
I think you Boys could build a pyramid ! ;-)
Don't give them ideas, they've got a beautiful boat to finish first... ;-)
Ehhhhm! Doubt that!
I love it, you raised and moved a big heavy boat part using anchor ropes and basically the same method early wooden ships used to raise their anchors.
i gotta'say....digging out that keel much cooler than uprooting an old tree.
hard even by today's standards...but when you think that our ancestors weren't able to go to ye old wall maeart ....well..i'm sorry to say though....if it weren't for blocks and tackle, come-alongs. chain-blocks, tractors or subarus....i;m not sure you;d finish on time.
but i've no doubt you'd finish. :)
but....how you're going to get that sonofabitching behemoth into the bottom of anything...never mind your boat...well...that's another episode i'm looking forward to.
this was a pretty good friday night for me already...but thanks for making it a bit better, :)
Yeah, but they also had like 40 strong to hey-ho things around.
bertski60 in the Sailing World it is Worst Marine I mean West Marine.
lol i read that whole thing imagining you sounded like bubbles
Great episode - levers, pivot points, wedges and grunt will move anything - well done Guys!
Interesting how the "Militant cleric" beards are gaining popularity with the young guys in the US...They must consider them good role models....Btw - Nice work with the keel.
eh, certain areas the beards have always been common. Areas of appalachia its more 'mountain men' beard than anything else, for example.
Surely you aren't referring to Iranian politics with that statement, right?
Will Inglis No sir.
Will Inglis fuk you bin laden is my daddy
We just wanna look like men is all.
you fella's are sure doing it the hard way and doing it well ,,, big thumbs up !!!
I guess you shouldn’t have made it so heavy. \o/
What ??!!!......lol
Captivating series so far fellas. Incredibly well done, relaxing and educational. Thanks for sharing all of this.
Wtf is a keel and why is this on my recommended
It's the thing that keeps sailboats from tipping over
Just found your channel
This is exactly how I feel.
I love your can do ethic .
And life should be an adventure eh..
Sailing 12 years now
My life motto : There is always a way .
Ancient Egyptians would laugh if they saw this
Don't think the pyramids were made by 2 dudes.
Omg James!! You are sooo right!! Lol..
Man did you guys need an excavator back then. You've come so far.
Im rebuilding my 3rd boat, nothing compared to what you guys are doing... I love this stuff... So, ya im hooked on this channel now
17:05 'Uh, I don't know if that canoe is gonna float.' Hard work! Thanks for sharing!
I am amazed at how smart you all are. Insane work!
Brilliant episode guys, really looked forward to his one, good job. Can't wait to see you flatten keel and bolt to keel, really must feel like progress now. Cheers. Andy UK
Here from Salt n Tar... yall Rock!!!
I have NO clue about anything with a boat, in fact Im at least 100 miles from any water deep enough to support a row boat.....I found your channel wildly interesting! Hope to see more to satisfy my curious bone...great work guys
It's incredible how far you guys have come. This is the first video of yours that I saw.
Cool! Thanks for being on the journey with us!
Geez, I almost broke into a sweat watching this - hard work guys, well done. 👍
That thing is HEAVY! It was so much work to move it! Thankfully we don't need to move it far anymore and soon it won't move at all until Arabella makes the move to the water.
When I saw that tractor I was saying to myself "No Way" will that move, but I am certainly glad you got it set. I've been awaing this day for a while now. Congratulations, You just accomplished a Very difficult task, and all your hard work will soon come into focus. God's Speed to you !
Thanks!
We had some doubts about the tractor as well between it's small size and the frozen ground but figured it was worth a shot. Apparently we got the block set-up wrong so maybe with a more efficient set-up the tractor might have stood a better chance.
It will be a glorious day when we start bolting all the boat parts we have made to each other. Just a few months away! We need some warmer weather though so we can paint before assembly!
What a huge bunch of work! Good going.
I thought the pour video was scary, working with molten lead...until I watched this one! NOT a boat guy, but loved your video's! Thanks for sharing!
I might not watch more than this video and the last one, but I must say I am incredibly impressed with your work!
thumbs up for rowing your keel along with your come-along!
LOL, it was slow but a lot of fun.
Just watching this as I slowly binge watch the whole series, but my big thought, especially after watching the pour on the Tally Ho project, is that a forklift would have been really helpful! Looks like you guys did a great job with limited resources! Now off to continue watching…
Acorn to Arabella, linked your channel, both are different and cool. Best wishes for your wife and you.
I sure do appriciate watching your hard work. But it also makes me appriciate that I got friends with heavy equipment I get to borrow when needed :) Keep it up!
G’day and greetings from Tasmania Australia I just happened to stumble across your channel and I was hooked I love boats and although I had a fibreglass one there is something about the old wooden sailing ships/boats and it’s people like yourselves that are still keeping the fine skills needed to build them. We have a wooden boat school down at Franklin in the Huon Valley and they keep the old skills alive while teaching how to to build them. The pouring of the keel was very interesting and so was the last video in trying to move it well done on a great job I have subscribed and look forward to the build, thank you for filming it kind regards John
Absolutely great stuff guys. Wish I was there cranking that hoist. Blankets or heavy lines over the active lines and chain. Should something give it up, they'll arrest all that stored up ass whippin energy. You guys are doing a fantastic job. What a project, … A+++ for balls, ingenuity, and project. Thanks guys
Love these videos! It's a pleasure to watch the craftsmanship and honest care, as well as some great ingenuity, being applied to an old world object. Just an idea for your cribbing, especially in the 20 degree weather, you could have placed large blocks of ice in the hole, stacked like bricks up to and touching the spine. Had the keel dropped it would have been instantly halted. Yes the ice may crack and shatter a little, but water does not compress! When you were done you could either toss out the ice or let it melt. This is how I recommend setting large tanks into the ground as well. Fill the oversize hole with ice, slide the tank onto the ice pile (w/a pickup truck) and using driveway ice melters (propane flamethrowers!) melt the ice and watch the tank settle.
Stephen and Alix, your project is just so inspiring. I can't imagine the sheer hard work involved. Keep it up - the vids are amazing.
Guys i really enjoyed your preparation, your approach and your ability to switch to plan B when necessary. Also the teamwork. Not a lot of yelln n screamin at each other
Thanks for making these highly entertaining and watchable videos,you’re both awesome.
Vancouver BC
Great job guys.
Just found your channel last night and I really enjoyed watching what you all are doing. I then checked out your website and see that you are located in the same town as me, small world. Wish I could make it to your open house but I will be out of the country for 11 days. I will definitely keep following your progress, good luck.
It is a small world!
Feel free to stop by and check things our in person when you get back. Hope you have safe and enjoyable travel!
LOL Bob singin "Desolation Row" in the background. . Glad that little wire on the come along didn't part on you.
Outstanding! When you boys get done I've got a Pyramid that needs moving.
Enjoyed the update. Onwards and upwards.
Love your problem solving skills, awesome!!!
Thanks! Just using simple tools and techniques that humans figured out a long long time ago.
This video shows the hard work and dedication it takes to make dreams come true
I have been looking forward to this video! Thanks and be safe. Really enjoy watching what you are doing. Blessings!
Loved the hommage to Corto Maltese at the end!
I love this video! It clearly shows what mech advantage means, you started with 3 to 1 then add more pull but without increasing the advantage. the tractor was a riot. Then winch with a rope. At the best the pull was 6 tons to over come the rolling resistance. Great science class teaching lesson. A double and a triple sheave and you would have had it easy.
You did get it done with what you had. More important; you didn't get hurt doing it!
Yep we got the pulley setup a bit wrong but we got it done in the end :)
@@AcornToArabella. Is this is a sail powered vessel? Controlled almost completely by block and tackle and winch?
I don't think there is anything you guys can't do. Bravo!
really cool work and use of natural melting heat! an exercise of thinking things through. great job
I realise there is a time delay before the videos are posted. I made a comment about the 1/4 ply used in the mould and you replied that the ply was there to give a fair face to the keel. I realised that you had seen the results of the ply in the mould. Keep it up boys. LETS ALL BECOME PATREONS SO THESE VIDEOS KEEP ON COMING.
Yeah, there is a 2-4 week delay from shooting to releasing the footage. By the time ya'll see the videos we are well into the next hurdle.
there must have been times during this project that you thought you'd never be able to get it done. kudos for the mental toughness.
Enjoy the channel and the project. Y'all are a smart bunch and am impressed w/the due diligence and prep. Not much I can offer but would recommend considering the unique power of your Ford tractors' PTO capability. It can power off the shelf items as well as made to order tools and equipment: winches, rudimentary booms and cranes, 3' rip saws, generators, mixing, etc. I've even thought of a way to mount an inflated car tire to help transfer those huge freshly milled slabs from the trailer to stack. I believe w/y'alls ingenuity that PTO power (and hydraulic lift) can and will serve you well. SemperFi bb
Gentlemen you are doing great work. I have a small suggestion for making those come-along pulls much easier. Purchase/craft yourself a hollow steel tube that can stand the weight that will fit over the handle. A 2-3 foot tube will give you so much more leverage on those tough cranks. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the kind words and suggestion. We did that once before and broke the come-along, turns out we don't need any more leverage =)
Another great video - capturing yet more excellent work and progress! Thank you.
You guys are amazing , I really like the way you use what you have to make things happen . Awesome job.