Lessons learned

[indianaterri]

So far, things are going well.  Outer shell nearly finished, just waiting for epoxy to cure, and bottom ready to go on.

 

As I’ve been working I’ve been keeping up with the forums and really enjoyed the progress of folks ahead of me and wanted to share some.of.the mistakes Ive made…or rather, some of the foibles I’ve come across, and you may too…

 

Working with power tools you may get a nick or cut, and may bleed on the wood.  That will be a mark you can look at later.

The epoxy bottles may drip a bit after pumping out.  Waiting for the last little drip may waste time…forget about it…let it go…

If you epoxy at a weird angle you may get some in your hair…this will NOT come out…I’ve learned to wear a hat…when I remember.

If you epoxy outside…in the spring…you will get tree flotsam and bugs stuck in the goo.

A puddle of epoxy on the garage floor will forever scare you away from stepping in it…no matter how many weeks… Because it will always look wet.

Gosh darn the thing gets heavier with epoxy…or are my arms getting more tired?

Yep, wear gloves no matter how little you think you will touch the epoxy, because you will inevitably get some on your finger and swipe your hair from your face…see above…

Now that I’ve moved it outside it’s hard to mow around it without getting grass on it.  Make sure the epoxy isn’t wet when this happens.

And…new lessons learned every day.

Any more to add?

[greenninja51502]

Putting 4 old sliding drawer knobs on the bottom of the galley deck made it a lot easier to install by myself. The four small holes will never be seen as long as you don’t use too long of a screw and go all the way through the panel. Adding handles to both sides of the outer frame made it a lot easier to move the camper after putting the floor on before turning it over. I had to drag it out of garage and turn it over in driveway as my garage isn’t tall enough, ladders stored on ceiling and garage door opener and flourescent lights in the way.

[indianaterri]

Months down the road and she’s taking up all my free time, and I’m enjoying every bit of it…well, most of it.

More lessons learned.

 

So, she holds water, really well, and I have to soak up some puddles after a good storm.

I have her outside which I would not recommend, but I do have quite a bit of space.

If working u der a tree for shade, watch out during storms for large branches falling.  Yep, had to move her after a limb started dangling like a full pinata above her.

Vinegar takes off the epoxy!!  Woohoo!

Any mistake you make in alignment will come back again and again…  I had a huge gap in my galley corner filled with fillet.  We cut it out, but then I had to trim some transom, and add some back.  I think I’ll cover it with a stripe.

As I’m sanding I’m finding all the drips from my epoxy work…oh well.

I’m nearly finished, and yet have weeks left to do fixing all the boogers and rough spots before I varnish.

Whenever I see a mistake I think, ‘Yep, I’ll be seeing that for years.’

I love the color of the wood and can’t bear to paint over any part of it…but I likely will…it’s like cutting long hair, or getting a tattoo…only one I’ve done.

As I’m building I keep thinking if the first night (and more) in the pod.

Because I’m out in the open, people come by often and watch.

 

[rovineye]

“Whenever I see a mistake I think, ‘Yep, I’ll be seeing that for years.’”

That’s what I thought too. But most have just blurred into the background. Even the hole I drilled through the shell when adding a wire channel. The only one that still bugs me is where I was cutting the galley hatch out and the side cutter worm gear came apart and the blade went on a tangent. I can still live with it and maybe I will fix it someday. Maybe. It is still such a beautiful thing!

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