Rain Day

Well, I've never had a rain day before, but today school was closed because of the torrential rains we've gotten overnight. Unfortunately, I was already at school!

So, I journeyed home and decided to tackle the windows. Six hours later I had them installed.

I have to say, I knew it would not be easy to cut the aluminum doors to fit the windows. I was EXTREMELY careful. I started by using my cardboard template.

I put the window in place and was immediately heartbroken. I had cut it too big. I couldn't understand how this could be, the template was meticulously made and I measured three times. It turns out the radius of the window was slightly larger than the piece of aluminum that sandwiches through the door. I had used the wrong part of the window as my guide.  (Notice the teeny tiny light coming through the top right corner of the frame.)

I immediately was crushed. How could I have been so dumb? I was beside myself. I thought about my options. I considered making new doors out of wood; ordering bigger windows; etc. none of those options appealed to me so I sat down and sulked. I decided to hope something at the hardware store would inspire a solution.

I went to the hardware store and looked at every type of weather stripping, Velcro, plastic I could find. Nothing would work. So I wandered the aisles trying to think outlet side the box. Defeated, I drove towards home. Then I had an idea; make a gasket, but with what?

I steered towards the bike shop. I purchased a bike inner tube.

Twenty minutes later, I had made my own gasket with the tube. Another trip to the hardware store for some adhesive. I was able to split the tube and work it over the aluminum where the window would sit. I was then able to install the window in a way that provided just that teeny bit of difference I needed from my 'mistake.'

It took a couple of hours to trim the other window. I went through seven metal scroll saw blades all together. I went to the bike store and bought another tube. I was able to quickly make another gasket and install the new window.

Now, the windows are installed and the doors are back on the teardrop. What started as a heartbreaking 'mistake' ended with a unique customization! I'm hopeful when the adhesive sets up that I can add a little more silicone sealant to the gaskets to ensure that they are watertight.

The cabin is already much lighter with the windows in place. I feel proud of my problem solving skills, for today.

To Do List

Okay, so I'm realizing that I'm attacking this project in a bit of a scatter-brained fashion.  There is 'so much' that I want to do that I have kind of been doing a little of this, and a little of that.  Another reason for my disorganized approach is that there just is not time during the work week to get much done.  In my defense, I have been waiting for parts and materials to arrive in order to accomplish many major tasks.  I thought it would be a good idea to reorganize and make a rational list of projects in the order I hope to accomplish them.

Here we go:

1.  The windows have arrived, so I need to VERY carefully measure, mark and cut the aluminum to prepare them for the fitting of the window.  This makes me very anxious!  Slow and deliberate are the words I need to be constantly remembering.  After cutting the holes, I will be able to install the windows and re-mount the doors.

2.  I need to caulk and mount the green treated board in the bulkhead: (this is going to require a third set of hands.)  At this point, the cabin will be 100% sealed and water-tight.

3.  I need to firm up the galley plan.  I don't want to glue it all in just yet, but I need to have a pretty certain layout of the design so that I can begin moving forward on the electrical work.  Right now I'm leaning towards having the electrical panel and all connections at the top of the galley behind a fold down shelf.  This will greatly simplify the wire runs (I hope!)

4.  Once the galley is planned, I need to layout the interior cabinets; these again need to be in place before I can finalize the wiring.

5.  I'll rough in the wiring.

6.  With both cabinet sections planned, I can stain and seal the wood and finally install it.

7.  The next step will be to finalize wiring and install the insulation.

8.  Next will be the installing of the headliner over the insulation.  At this point, I'm still not sure if I'll install the headliner directly on top of the insulation or if I'll add a think layer of Luan plywood.

9.  Final fitting of all interior light fixtures, etc.

10.  Clean and buff the aluminum skin.

Now, there's an organized list.  I am going to try to stick to it as I move forward on the project.