When Steve and Alix couldn’t find rivets that met their high standards for constructing their Atkins ketch, Arabella, they did what any sensible backyard boatbuilder does – they made them! It’s probably not surprising that the young pair, who have harvested their family grown trees for planking and smelted their own lead keel from scrap, have decided to make their own 1/4 inch square copper rivets to hang Arabella’s planks. Using copper bar stock and a 32-ton press with a die, Alix and Steve now have what they were looking for!
Some of you may have contributed your muscle to their formation, as the pair dragged around their rivet making set-up to the Jamestown Distributors Tent Sale in April and to a few other shows. Their fortitude and determination are very inspiring and we hope that even if you’re not growing your own trees and making your own copper rivets, that you enjoy seeing the Acorn to Arabella series of videos showing us how these two are impressively and quite literally “banging out” this boat!
