Arabella, the Atkins ketch being constructed in the backyard boat shop of Steve Denette’s Massachusetts property, is looking more like a yacht and less like a woodworking project. With the mock-up cabin house installed, she looks nearly seaworthy, were it not for her lack of a deck and most of her upper planking. Letting nothing … Read More
Things are never as you might expect when you peek behind the doors of Narwhal Labs, the makerspace that lives inside the TotalBoat HQ. The team there is on a constant search for the ultimate build that will break boundaries, crush the internet and challenge their team’s skill set. Videographer and maker, “Graz,” is always … Read More
In part 2 of Keith Mitchell’s Rams Horn sled build, we see the sled that he started in Part 1, come to life with its beautiful curved “horns,” metal bracing, and the very considerately placed seating that allows sit-up controls that look almost comfortable. Keith has built and taken apart the sled to sand and … Read More
Shipwright Keith Mitchell is a bit of a legend when it comes to making things of wood that actually matter. Things like boats, beautiful fishing nets, spoons – intentional items that bring him joy while he makes them. So when Keith reached out with the idea to make this sled together, we knew it would … Read More
Steve and Alix (Yes, Alix is back!) from the Acorn to Arabella project aren’t slowing down with progress on Arabella, the Atkins ketch they are building in their backyard. Steve is applying more of the TotalBoat Wood Sealer and then using a few coats of Gleam Gloss Varnish before putting most of the wood below … Read More
In honor of TotalBoat Ambassador Jess Crow‘s birthday, we bring you an impressive technique that Jess has mastered. It’s also the one year anniversary of TotalBoat and Jess’s launch of MakerPoxy, the artists’ epoxy resin that Jess helped to formulate. It begins with her hand-painted boulders that Jess adds along the shoreline of her beautiful wooden … Read More
We invited local resin artist Jessie Jewels to come into our new Narwhal Labs Makerspace and share her craft with us. Jessie is a teacher who has a classroom in Warwick, RI where she holds classes and has a studio. She joined us in the Lab to make some epoxy Petri dishes, which … Read More
Woodturner and maker Ken Moon had some fun last week making some spooky epoxy resin tea light holders. He grabbed the TotalBoat Tea Light Holder Kit (which also can make some cute little mini planters) and used some of his own pigments, fun sparkles, and some High Performance Epoxy that he had on hand. The included molds … Read More
Steve and some helpful friends with sailing experience are in the Acorn to Arabella boathouse this week to help determine the best placement for some important parts of Arabella. With the sealed and varnished deck beams in place, they can lay out a few options for placement of the house top, the mizzenmast, and for … Read More
If you’ve been a YouTube fan or TotalBoat customer for longer than a bit, then you’re likely a fan of our old friend, Lou Sauzedde. We were lucky to collaborate on the video and boatbuilding series, the TotalBoat Skiff and the TotalBoat Dory with Lou in past years, and we are beyond excited to announce … Read More
You might recall our joy earlier this summer when we had TotalBoat Ambassador Tim Sway on the TB “campus” in our makerspace, Narwhal Labs. He came to us for a video visit to spruce up his mobile guitar store and stage truck with some custom vinyl graphics and TotalBoat Elixir Paint in a custom color … Read More
When the Tim Sway family literally pulled right into Narwhal Labs, we were excited at the chance to have some fun with Tim as he builds out his dream bread truck. He’s converting it to a traveling guitar store and mobile stage for his New Perspectives Music gig. Sway’s work revolves around taking reclaimed wood (from … Read More
TotalBoat Ambassador, Richard Honan, has been sending us updates of his most recent boat building project, a 13′ Peapod. Richard is a talented (and award-winning) artist, woodworker, and retired signmaker who has invited his young neighbor and his 2 granddaughters into his basement woodshop to assist with the build of this most recent boat. His … Read More
Leave it to a few woodworkers like Paul Jackman and Jason Hibbs to take the Epoxy River Table to the next level. Of course, Jackman won’t build anything unless it’s large and made from recycled pallets, and Jason Hibbs of Bourbon Moth was just the man to taunt Paul with the creation of his bespoke … Read More