Monday, June 25, 2018

What is better than work?

Well, on a hot, sleepy Sunday, watching others work is much better than doing actual work. My neighbor mentioned the YouTube series Acorn to Arabella, the story of a guy in western Mass who decided to build his own sail boat. I have no idea where this story goes, but I have gotten as far as chapter 22 wherein our protagonist cuts down a spruce tree that his great-grandfather planted. If he succeeds, that will become the mast of his boat.

It has been an interesting story to watch - dude definitely works hard, is a very skilled tree guy and knows boats inside and out. His carpentry skills - well, he hasn't died as a result of his lack of skill when it comes to tools like a table saw, but that's a minor quibble. He does things like fell and mill the logs for all of various pieces parts that make up a wooden boat, shape a massive piece of white oak to form the main keel board, he scrounged up and melted five tons of lead to cast his ballast keel, built a boat house and so on and so on. So he has a strong skill set, inherited well and he is goal oriented enough not to be deterred by pesky things like building inspectors.

Things I have noticed - with simple tools one or two people can accomplish incredible feats that would baffle archeologists, who apparently have never done a lick of work in their lives. Even in places that have been logged repeatedly for 300 years there is an abundance of good trees. Dude has a horrible accent that borders on Canadian and what sounds like a speech impediment. The narrator is an up-talker. Vocal fry is annoying. But setting aside all of that those guys, and occasionally their friends, are working very hard and gittin' 'er done. That's a good thing to see. I have spent way too much time watching this series but now I want to see how it turns out. Does he finish the boat? Is he able to haul it 100 miles to the nearest ocean? Does it float? You know, details.

For those of you who wonder what it is like to top and drop a tall spruce, here is episode 22:





Do not watch this if you have acrophobia.

Nassau, the Bahamas.

6 comments:

XRay said...

That was cool to watch... though I admit to fast forwarding a great deal of the commentary. Yeah, I could bing it, but tell me Sixty, why do they have to top it before bringing it down. Is it that it might lead to a fracture of the trunk from whiplash?

XRay said...

Oh, and I also meant to say he a better man than I... no way I'd do that, not willingly anyway.

The Dude said...

I don't have a fear of heights and I climbed some, and I still climb occasionally, but I am pretty much over the idea of running a chainsaw while standing on anything other than the ground.

As for topping - you got me - I have no idea. Where is DBQ when you need her - she could speak knowledgeably on that subject.

Good news is I am all caught up on that series so I can resume my own efforts at wood working, which, I must say I don't have to worry about sacrificial anodes in tannin-filled white oak, nor be concerned if the projects will float.

ricpic said...

Okay, I could not do a thing, not one thing necessary to fell that tree. But that guy's beard is still stupid.

The Dude said...

I concur - it's not a good look.

XRay said...

Thanks for the response. I was being nice about the beard.