MATTAPOISETT — Of all the boats in Mattapoisett Harbor, only one had never sailed the sea before Saturday, June 17.

As a crowd of spectators from as far away as Wyoming and Washington lined the docks, the Arabella, a 38-foot, hand-built wooden sailboat was launched for the first time to cheers and applause.

The project to build the Arabella was started in 2016 by Stephen Denette, a fifth generation farmer from Granby, Massachusetts, and was chronicled on the YouTube channel “Acorn to Arabella.” The YouTube channel has approximately 181,000 subscribers.

According to the project’s website, Denette sourced the wood used for the boat from trees planted by his great grandfather on his family’s property. The Arabella is based on a 1934 design by shipbuilder William Atkin.

“To me it’s a big epic story,” said Cal Brodie, who traveled from Puyallup Washington to watch the launch. “You have a guy in a small town in Massachusetts who decides he’s going to build a boat … it’s an amazing story of someone’s determination, their brains, their go-to.”

According to project member Anne Bryant, Denette “doesn’t know how to sail — but he didn’t exactly know how to build a boat either” before beginning this project.

“To build a boat and have your very first sail aboard the same boat is, at best, very rare,” said Bryant. “[Denette] knows and wants deeply this unique opportunity.”

As a trailer from Brownell Boatyard lowered the Arabella into Mattapoisett Harbor, Denette stood atop the vessel with a small crew.

Bryant told spectators that Denette “didn’t exhibit any kind of rugged individualism in any of it.”

Working alongside Denette and Bryant was boat carpenter KP, video editor and composer Ben Fundis, filmmaker Adin, and a small group of paid staff and volunteers.

Throughout the process of building the Arabella, said Bryant, Denette sought the help of experts and boating professionals.

“I wish everyone could row a boat, go sailing, smell the ocean, know what it’s like to lose sight of land and find the place you were looking for after navigating an impartial and unforgiving ocean,” said Bryant, who also emphasized the importance of getting to know the other spectators watching the launch.

“I hope you meet some strangers today, everyone around you is into the same things,” she said.

For Katherine Litis, who traveled from Hartford, Connecticut to watch the launch with Daniel Lemire, this event allowed her to experience the wider “Acorn to Arabella” community.

“As the viewer we watch the videos and we never know who else is watching,” she said. “It’s a really cool experience.”

Lemire, who first found the YouTube channel about five years ago, watches “Acorn to Arabella’s” weekly videos with his father.

“It’s been really enjoyable to watch this process, basically starting from nothing and here we are today watching the boat launch,” he said.

On Sunday, June 18 another launch took place at Mattapoisett Harbor. 

Bob Emser,  a sculptor who runs the YouTube channel “The Art of Boat Building,” launched the Victoria, a smaller wooden sailboat that will act as the Arabella’s tender. 

The Victoria was built from old-growth mahogany, pine, black locust and more. According to Emser, the majority of the wood came from a larger 32-foot boat called The Victoria that was purchased by Denette to be used for materials on the Arabella.

“Since the majority of the materials to build the tender will have come from Victoria, the tender will also bear the same name ... in honor of that grand vessel,” said Emser in a 2022 YouTube video.

In Mattapoisett, Emser attached the boat’s nameplate to its stern and showed the crowd the boat’s various features. 

Then, to applause, Emser and Denette brought the Victoria to the water for its inaugural sail. 

Now, the Arabella will sail to Mystic, Connecticut for the 2023 Wooden Boat Show. 

For more information on the Arabella, visit www.acorntoarabella.com/launch-information.