90 Days feels like a lifetime

We have officially crossed the 90 day mark and after one more weekend we should be finished. It has felt like it has taken 'forever' to get to this point and I keep finding myself recounting the months, cuz it feels like it has taken 6 months instead of just 3.

Ok, for an update... Maybe there should be more progress since my last post, but it's the details that take the most time. The Spar varnish is starting to go on and in some places it's finished after 3 coats. I was hoping to find time to make wooden fenders, but in response to a limited amount of time, I instead painted the metal ones a copper color to better compliment the look of the natural oak and cedar. There will be time for fenders later. If I could just skip working on work stuff, I would have all kinds of time :-) Just kidding Boss. The upper hatch is done, the bracket to hold the hatch up is complete, the trim is on covering most of the red trailer frame. The interior of the cabin has some of the polyurethane on it, the Paper Towel holder is designed and installed (Thank you sweetheart for the design help). Some other little niggly details are finished up as well. And 'Yes Dad" I pulled the bearings and repacked them, I will replace them with Timken's ($$) after the trip.

The porch lights are wired and installed and the latches to hold the hatch closed are installed as well. The frames for the lower galley doors are put together and the panels are glued up. The copper screw caps are installed on the upper hatch and look really cool.

So next weekend I have to put the doors together and install them (in theory the windows arrive on Wednesday). I am in Long Beach and Dallas this week and by the time I get home late on Friday night, I will only have 2 days to finish everything that needs to be done before the maiden voyage starting on the 5th of June.

Every bit of progress should feel significant

I spent all day in the shop and all I got done was this....

Actually upon reflection, this is significant progress. Today the interior of the roof is sanded, the chase for the electrical was installed and the interior cabinets were completed. As I reflect it was a great amount of progress all before our friends came over for dinner and a movie at the Taylor Cinema. Thanks to Billy, Ashley and Ella for breaking up the frantic pace of this project with a wonderful evening.

Progress for today:

The interior cabinets are finished. The 2 doors on the left and right are for our clothes storage. The 2 drawers left and right are for other stuff. The drawer in the lower center section will be for our laptop, it will drive the monitor that is mounted above. The monitor section is hinged at the top and when open reveals a couple of shelves and valuable storage.

Here the flanking cabinets are open. You can see the storage that is available, each of the shelves are 12 inches deep and 13 inches wide.

Here you can see the chase along the roof for the electrical that runs to the shelf containing the reading lights and outlet above our head when we are sleeping. It is cedar and will tie into the roof nicely. As of now all the electrical (with the exception of the porch lights) is completed and the trailer will be hooked up to "shore power" for the duration of the build. We have a series of busy weeks ahead of us as we have committed to a weekend trip the first week in June and have to be "campable" by then.

Tons left to do... The hatch and lower galley doors, the doors and windows, the skirt around the trailer, the trailer lights, spar varnish, polyurethane, and the wiring for the Explorer. It will be a busy time. Once the whistle sounds at the end of the day, Sharla has given me the clearance to spend as much time in the shop as necessary. She has been amazingly supportive of this project and is even starting to show some enthusiasm towards the finished product. (I think the monitor being installed was the turning point :-) ).

A great day on the slate for tomorrow (Sunday). AJ has a JV Jazz Band concert at the Edmond Arts Festival and then a Oklahoma Youth Orchestra Concert at Putnam City. It will be a musical, action-packed day and any progress I make will be lat in the evening.