Hot Day!

The temperature outside the teardrop on the patio was 102 degrees (in the shade) and the temperature inside the teardrop was 97 degrees.  I really don't like hot weather; especially when I want to work outside.  I cannot imagine how the guys who work on the roof or on the roads do it.  I took lots of breaks, drank lots of cold water, and moved my zero gravity chair into the garage to cool down.

Not a lot of photos to document my work today.  

I made the hardware for the window curtain rods and painted them glossy black.

I carved the foam pieces for the bulkhead.  Covered them in foam and then installed them.  Turns out the glue (PL 300) did not work well on the insulation (1/2") that I used on the bulkhead.  I didn't think that very thin plastic layer on top of the insulation would be a problem, but the glue only 'stuck' to it, not the actual insulation.  So, I needed to pull out four of the strips of cedar and re-glue them.  I ended up using Gorilla Glue.  I also used a little bit of it on the foam covered pieces along the wall of the bulkhead.

Used the marine grade contact cement and clamps to glue the foam door panels to the door.  They turned out fantastically!

Very carefully created a pattern for the cut out for the mattress.

Traced the pattern onto the foam mattress.  Used a $14 electric knife to cut the two small wheel well sections out; ended up with two really nice pieces of foam that I may turn into a back rest or possibly a couple of pillows for the teardrop.  Couldn't believe how easily I could cut the foam.  Two minutes and it was done.  The mattress pads fit right over the cut outs; we may not even need to customize the covers. 

Not quite as productive a day as I would have liked, but all in all it was successful.  Tomorrow is the day to start working on polishing the body.  Not sure what new experiences that will bring for me!

Crazy Weather

Today was an interesting day.  Mostly cloudy, warnings of lots of bad weather, but so far only a teeny bit of rain.  I got a lot done today.

I built the slide out shelf for a laptop and/or to place iPhones or other I suppose even a fan, heater or whatever.  

Once I had figured out the dimensions of the shelf and how I was going to mount it, I needed to figure out how I was going to get the 12 volt power ports into the cabin.  I decided not to put them behind the slide out shelf because it would have been really hard to get to them.  Instead, I put them to the right of the shelf.

Here is the housing for the power ports.

Drawer slides in place and open.

Pull out shelf installed.

Open.

Power ports installed.

The next big project was to get all the cables cleaned up and organized.  This is the battery strap which holds the battery in its place.  

 

My simple on/off switch for the battery.  Simply twist it to the right to turn it on; twist it to the left to turn it off.

Everything tidied up and strapped down.  I installed the fire extinguisher too.

Doors and all hardware installed.

The galley is complete.  The only thing I need to do is install the sliders on the cooler slide out tray.  Still need to fix and install the reading lights again and install all the additional insulation.  Not too much more inside work left though.

A FULL Day!

Have you ever been the first person into the hardware store?  Have you ever been back so many times that they start taking a personal interest in your project?  Both of those things were true for me today!  Who knew that Lowe's didn't open until 8:00 on Sunday?  I made multiple trips to Lowe's today; all of those trips ended up purchasing plywood.   I was not very efficient with my trips.  In my defense, I didn't think I would get as far as I did; thus the need to make multiple trips.

My first task today was to finish the storage boxes.  Once I had them in place, I installed the finger pull hardware.  I liked using the aluminum edging on the boxes.  It looks neat and it should help any warping, etc.  Next it was time to caulk and paint.

 I painted it the boxes and the lids black; nobody will see these because they will be under the mattress, but I don't do anything half-cocked.  If its worth doing, do it well.  That's something my Dad taught me and its stuck.

 I caulked the heck out of the storage boxes.  It's going to take 24 hours for all the caulk to set.

I tried using some paper to make a template for the mattress.  This didn't work out too well for multiple reasons.  Note the expert use of my shoe to hold the paper down!    I'll just end up measuring and marking the futon mattress when I'm ready to 'customize' it.

It's kinda hard to see in this image, but I added two chrome 'pulls' on the sliding doors.  The black and chrome look really nice.  The headliner, a charcoal gray, is going to look sharp with these colors.  I plan on installing the headliner on the lower half of the bulkhead as my experiment with the contact cement.  You can't see it in this image, but I did get the green treated piece of wood in place for the bulkhead storage area.  I drilled through the frame to anchor it, but it will take another set of hands to get it bolted in place.  I'll need to caulk this once it is in place.

Here is the first piece of wood in the galley.  Nothing is anchored or treated yet.  I have to decide how I am going to 'treat' it.  I'm not sure if I'll do paint or stain, or even just seal it as it is.  I have to do some more 'looking' and admiring galleys I like.

The side pieces and the wheel well covers rough fit into the galley.  Getting those 'arches' just right was tough.  Thank goodness I purchased some very, very fine jigsaw blades.  They cut the plywood cleanly.  I described my work today to my son as working with Legos.  I'm kind of trying out different designs to see what is possible.

Here you can see my 'Lego blocks' in place.  I'm thinking that I will have the stove in a special 'box' that will be on a pull out drawer.  The cooler will also be on a slider.  I really need to look at other galley designs to see how I can best utilize the tight space here in the galley.

I like the simplicity of the galley above.  I have the exact same stove and think that the way they have it stowed away is really cool.  I might do something like this.  I also like the natural wood look of the cabinets and silver hardware.

The two images above are from the gorgeous Camp Inn site.  I love everything about the way they lay out their designs.  Look at how the stove is tucked into the little nook on the left.  I also really like the way the cooler fits in the center nook.  The whole design reminds me of a very high quality yacht.  The natural wood and stainless steel are gorgeous!  I think the way the table folds in half and stores out of the way is an elegant touch.

I like the way the galley in the above image echoes the arch of the side of the trailer.  I wonder if I could carry this into my design?

 The cooler in the slider is awesome; but what really 'finishes the look for me is the doors that cover this part of the design.  I think I can do this with my design.

 I do NOT like the hardware on the cabinets, but I do like the way the cabinet is 'cut' from one piece of plywood and the doors are mounted flush like that.

There are two elements of the above design that I like.  I think the angled table is a good use of the side table and I especially like the drop down 'shelf' that is connected by chains.  In this way it can be used as additional prep space, or can be folded up and out of sight.  

There are so many designs out there.  All of them have to respond to the original design.  The original galley of the 1947 Tourette, had a gasoline stove, an ice box and a few small cabinets.

I'm pleased with my progress at this point.  My windows will arrive early this week, as well as the door hardware.  I'm very excited about the windows; I'm really hopeful that they will fit in such a way that the 'holes' from the hatch will be covered by the rubber gasket.  If they do, the window will look like it was there the whole time.  Once I get the windows marked and in place, the cabin will be watertight.  Things are coming along nicely.  After a busy, work-filled weekend, I'm ready for the work week!