Acorn to Arabella: Getting an Antique Thicknesser

As the Acorn to Arabella team works through their stash of boards for planking their Atkins ketch, they are finding more pieces with defects that require attention in order to be useful. It just means more work bunging and flattening the boards which will be bent around Arabella’s frames and forced into her curvy lines. Having the right tools to accomplish all these jobs is something the team worked to set up before they started, but along the way, they made some good friends with years of experience, advice, and some extra tools on hand to share.  A fall visit to Gannon and Benjamin’s amazing boat shop in Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard landed the Acorns with a new, but very old and “experienced” antique thicknesser. This is a huge addition to the Acorn to Arabella boatyard which exemplifies the camaraderie of the boat building community – a tight-knit group that shares advice, shares resources and passes down tools that have outgrown one shop but will launch another into a whole new level of productivity. 

The secret to keeping up with the many boatbuilders getting after it in their backyard boat shops is following their Instagram channel. Those like Acorn to Arabella and Sea Dreamer Project are posting real-time updates in those feeds which gives you a glimpse into the project as it currently stands. Alix and Steve from Acorn to Arabella have been forced to tear down and rebuild the boathouse by the local building inspector, a struggle they have been sharing on their Facebook and Instagram pages.  Keep up with the teams there!

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