Days 6-8 of Building

Hello all!

On Day 6 we installed the bulkhead, hatch stiffener, back ledge, and put stiffeners on the kitchen counter panel.  The bulkhead separates the sleeping area from the kitchen, and was sealed into the rest of the shell with fillet.  The hatch stiffener was also installed with fillet, and helps the hatch to stay sturdy when it opens and closes.  We added a small lip that is ultimately the edge of the lid around the back of the teardrop, again with just fillet.  To prep the kitchen counter for the next day, thin stiffener boards were attached to one side of the panel with wood glue.  I was really glad that there was no fiberglass involved on this day, since it slows us down to have to get the strip fully soaked with epoxy.  After we finished with the ledge, we sanded down the teardrop floor.  Before we got the floor sanded though, we had a little visitor come into the garage!  A little frog had hopped in and was checking out our great glue job on the teardrop floor.  We didn't want to end up stepping on him or letting him get to any epoxy, so I shooed him out and closed the garage door.

The majority of work on Day 7 was installing the kitchen counter.  To do this, we fit the counter panel into the pre-cut slots in the bulkhead.  This sounds rather simple, but it took us a long time to get the sides sanded enough to fit properly into place.  Small panels were also installed, which will make up part of the back wall of the teardrop.  Fillet was applied around the edges of the counter and wall panels, then left to dry.  We also added the first coat of clear epoxy to the teardrop floor.

Day 8 was quick and relatively easy.  We added the second coat of epoxy to the floor so that it's ready to install tomorrow - exciting!  Then we sanded down the underside of the counter and wall panels.  Once everything was smooth and wiped down we added a coat of clear epoxy so that those surfaces and joints will be a little stronger and look nicer.

Tomorrow we get to add the floor and turn the whole teardrop upside down! (Which really means it'll finally be right-side up, since the shell is laying upside down in the mold.)

Hour Count:
Day 6 -- 7 hours
Day 7 -- 4 hours
Day 8 -- 2 hours

Total Time -- 38 hours

Stay tuned for more building!
-Kelly

Teardrop floor

Bulkhead and stiffeners are stitched into shell

Teardrop was tipped up on end to get bulkhead in

Weight placed on top of counter stiffeners

Lip/Hatch Lid around back of teardrop

Our frog visitor!

First coat of epoxy on floor on Day 7

Kinda broke a paint roller

The counter is installed and weight is on it so that it dries tight to the shell

You can see the bulkhead and counter

Sanding the kitchen on Day 8

Beautiful first coat of epoxy in kitchen!