M&M's Droppie

[TallGuy7]

Today I continued with the galley hatch. First I glued in the additional supports where the curve sits.



Then I took out the hatch to glue in te top and bottom bits.


Top


Bottom


Finished hatch frame

I then refitted the distance blocks on the sides and bottom. I was worried the hatch would not fit, but it fitted perfectly.



Time to call it a day…


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[JasenC]

The Plybeam construction should keep that puppy from moving, can't wait to see it skinned.

That's always the fear with these types of critical builds, all that work and then, does it still fit. I have stories.

[TallGuy7]

Today I started skinning the inside of the galley hatch. Turns out the radius of the galley struts is too small… the plywood breaks when I try to squeeze it in position. Steam or carving the wood does not help.

I decided to abandon the idea of using one sheet and adopted the strategy of two sheets of ply and a small strip between the two sheet to make the curve. Used a new glue that is super strong and can bridge a gap of 4mm.






Had dinner and still had some energy left to finish the inside….







Tomorrow I will sand this and see if it needs further reinforcements. Given my experience with this glue I expect it to hold up nicely.

Tomorrow I can finally pick up the doors and see if the holes I cut are the correct size.

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[TallGuy7]

Time for another update…


Doors for the ‘Lafuma garage’ etcetera arrived and they all fit like a glove…

Started my challenge to cut into the walls…



First I cut the ply that will sit on the outside. I screwed it against the wall. The I placed a 3mm plastic strip against the inner curve. I screwed my kurvenfix against the plastic strip.



Removed the spacer and the trim and added a wooden strip the same thickness as the kurvenfix. I then used my router to make the first cut.



Sawed of the top wood…



Then I used a copy ring of 30mm and a bit if 10 mm in my router. This leaves a perfect 10mm barrier to sit against the d-seal and block the water.




Repeated the process on the other side.

I then made the adjusted spacer for the hatch and glued it into place.



That’s it for today. Time for a beer!


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[TallGuy7]

Worked on the hatch this evening.

Put in the wiring and insulation. Also added some reinforcements for lights and license plate. Also came up with a solution to lock the hatch. Don’t know how its called in English, but we call it an espagnolet in the Netherlands.



Also created a diy Rorschachtest…




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[TallGuy7]

Still dry and warm in the Netherlands so yesterday evening I managed some small tasks on the TD.


Hatch wired and insulated.


Started prepping for fiberglass…




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[TallGuy7]

Unfortunately it started to rain so I had to move everything inside.

Damn.

What will you sheath the sides with?

Tony

Change of plans…

Fiberglass, epoxy and paint.


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[JasenC]

Wow you've been busy, lookin good.

[TallGuy7]

Skinned the hatch…



Epoxy filler is in.

Almost ready for epoxy and fiberglass.


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[TallGuy7]

Worked on the electrics….




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[TallGuy7]

Progress…


Hatch ready for epoxy, glasfiber and paint…


All the electrics wired in.


This is where the D-seal wil fit into.


Wiring for the lights fitted.


Fabricated the sandwich panels for the doors. 20mm xps foam between 4mm okoume.

Then the big finale… sheeting the walls with 4mm okoume… one side I used 2k polyurethane glue. That proved difficult… time worked against me and was bad for my mood… also clamping it to the sides was difficult. On the other wall I used my regular super strong SMP glue and chose to screw the sheets to the side. Just have to fill some holes with epoxy filler.




Tomorrow I am hoping to find time to remove the clamps and screws and route the sides to the exact size.


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[western traveler]

I hadn’t looked in on your progress in quite a while. What a beautiful job you have done! Won’t be long now..
Ralph

[noseoil]

In the states we have access to a material called "bending poplar" which is a type of thin plywood. It's about 3mm thick & is made with the veneer laminations all running in the same direction, not at 90 degrees like traditional plywood. I was concerned when I saw how tight the radius is at the corner of the hatch.

You did a good job solving the bending problem, it looks good!

[TallGuy7]

There is also sheeting available that’s called (loosely translated) airplane triplex. It should make the curve easily but it comes in sizes that would still result in seems. This was faster and cheaper.

Turned out okay, happy with the result.


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[TallGuy7]

This weekend I was planning a wine tasting (and buying) trip in France with two of my best mates….

Unfortunately one of them managed to get his entire family infected with covid so we had to cancel. Suddenly I had 4 days to work on the teardrop….

The weather had other plans because it is raining now for days with small intervals of dry moments. Still managed to lay all the fiberglass and epoxy down on lafuma garage doors, hatch, roof and walls.




Managed to cut the two doors 2cm too short… sometimes I get confused and mix up the numbers… now I have to wait for the new materials to arrive.






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