VermonTear 4x8 "Moby" Build ~ Dec 11 -- ?

[VermonTear]

Sharon & Woodbutcher: Thanks for taking a look. Oh, Sharon... I DO have a wood stove in my shop, so no fears about my freezing in Vermont February (or March) temperatures -- I have my mistakes to keep me warm.

[VermonTear]

Okay, I've been making some progress and taking some pictures that I haven't posted in a while. Here we go:

I got my frames glued to my exterior, already epoxied skin, got some insulation and additional blocking for fenders etc glued in:


Then I glued the exterior door skin to the door frame:


Skinned the interior of the cabin with Cherry ply:


Here are the doors, skinned and trimmed both sides now:


Now the interior cabin cherry is looking better and the door is trimmed. One groove is routed out for a bulkhead, but I've got more work to do there:


Here I'm routing out to make a maple ply door frame:


Think that's enough clamps? Thankfully they were only 99 cents a piece:


Interior is pretty close to being set, with the bulkhead slots routed, and the galley now skinned in maple ply:

[VermonTear]

I ordered my fenders from Grant Whipp, but boy was I surprised when the box arrived!

Grant did fine, excellent in fact. But Fedex managed to put my label on a fender that was supposed to go to "Lyle in Iowa", and the label for Lyle on the box of two smaller fenders that were to come to me in Vermont. I opened the box, thought that 1) my other fender would come tomorrow and that 2) either Grant or I had goofed -- probably me -- and ordered the wrong fender number.

Not realizing yet that there had been a mixup, I went out to see how bad these big fenders were going to look on my little "Moby":


It was then that I double checked the fender numbers and saw that this wasn't the fender that I had ordered. About the same time I got an email from "Lyle in Iowa" (in a town not far from where I grew up!) saying that he had my fenders.

Grant quickly got Fedex Whipped (!!!) into shape and we both got our right fenders.

Here's Moby a week later with her real fender:


She looks happier, No?

[VermonTear]

With my two walls this far along I had two tasks ahead of me that I was approaching with trepidation. I accomplished one of them last week: Hinging the doors.

I remember my father always talking about how easy his kitchen cabinet instalation project was until it came to "Hanging the Doors!" He told that story so many times it caused me some hesitation to set that router into my wall and door edge and mount a piano hinge (which I've never done before.) But, after posing the question here, consulting with a friend, and talking to the piano hinge manufacturer I took the plunge and it went fine.

Here's the wall before I started. Sure didn't want to screw it up!:


I made a scrap setup to test the depth of the router bit, as well as how far back to route in the wall and the door. I ended up setting it deeper than shown here:


Here was the setup on the wall:


And the router setup for the door:


Here is the hinge installed:








I'll un-install the doors before assembling the walls on the chassis, to make assembly, finishing, etc easier.

Now only one big task on the wall I'm worried about -- and I'll postpone that awhile -- cutting the hatch edges off!

ken

[NebraskaTeachr]

You're making good progress. I really like your build. It will be beautiful when it is done.

[VermonTear]

Thanks, Nebraska. You look a little young to be a teacher, but then everybody is looking younger these days.

Where in Nebraska?

Ken

[VermonTear]

Oh, now I see it. Lincoln. I grew up in Council Bluffs.

[synaps3]

Beautiful build so far. Your build quality is amazing, your experience from making Kayaks shows. Your joints and seams are all so neat...

[stonykill]

amazing work. Thanks for the inspiration. I need to start one once the weather warms up.

[Martiangod]

Thats alot of spring clamps
Tear is lookin great so far

[VermonTear]

Dave: Yes, the kayaks were good practice. So, were a slew of kitchen cabinets I designed and built a few years ago. As for the neat joints and seams.... I just don't photograph my sloppy ones, or as least I don't post them here. I do have photos of a doozie of a mistake I made.. and how I fixed/hid it. I'll post that later in the build when I...uhh... I guess when I feel like sharing.

Storykill: Thanks. If you're going to start in warm weather, now is the time to get your design together, and start lining up what parts you want/need and where you're going to source them. This forum's a great place to do that. I also found that Steve Fredericks book Shop Manual (which I bought) is a great guide and resource. It's not a set of plans, but it is an excellent road map and full of tips. His inside-out method of construction is, in my mind, definitely the way to go. Build all the pieces in the shop/garage then put them together, rather than building a small box, crawling in with your tools and saying "Now what."

Martaingod: I put 67 clamps in a Home Depot bucket and took them the cashier. Told her there were 67, she could trust me and I'd buy the bucket too, or she could take 'em out and count 'em and she could keep the bucket. She rang me out and I went home with the bucket. PS: I've had them all in use at one time, too!

[teakin'teardrop]

I ordered my fenders from Grant Whipp, but boy was I surprised when the box arrived!

Grant did fine, excellent in fact. But Fedex managed to put my label on a fender that was supposed to go to "Lyle in Iowa", and the label for Lyle on the box of two smaller fenders that were to come to me in Vermont. I opened the box, thought that 1) my other fender would come tomorrow and that 2) either Grant or I had goofed -- probably me -- and ordered the wrong fender number.

Not realizing yet that there had been a mixup, I went out to see how bad these big fenders were going to look on my little "Moby":


It was then that I double checked the fender numbers and saw that this wasn't the fender that I had ordered. About the same time I got an email from "Lyle in Iowa" (in a town not far from where I grew up!) saying that he had my fenders.

Grant quickly got Fedex Whipped (!!!) into shape and we both got our right fenders.

Here's Moby a week later with her real fender:


She looks happier, No?

Theres goes my fender )) this is my first post in here and Im a brand new member here

[teakin'teardrop]

Im tryin to get familiar with this website till I get the hang of it

[VermonTear]

Welcome teakin... You'll get the hang of it. Go on over to http://www.tnttt.com/viewforum.php?f=40 -- the Newbies section and introduce yourself. Then put some pictures of your build up.

ken

[VermonTear]

Okay... I haven't posted any pictures/progress for a while, but I made some waves in March. We had a week of "summer" weather in Vermont, before I had to go back to stoking the wood fire in the shop.

Before I could varnish the exterior, I wanted to put some black epoxy trim on the door cutout:


Then, I lined up the sides and doors and gave them 8 coats of Epifanes High Gloss Extra UV-Filter Varnish -- 5 spray coats and 3 hand coats with them laying flat.


I bolted the floor to the chassis (with a little layer of rubberized ice flashing material in between), and took a break in our 80 degree March weather in VT!




Friday, March 23 was the BIG DAY! ASSEMBLE!!!

My Neighbor Andy, and two friends, John and Charlie, from my men's group gathered at 9 AM to help me attach the sides to the floor.



The sides were all set:



And the Crew was ready:


Andy, testing the glue gun:


Glue in the groove. This is right out of Steve Fredrick's Shop Manual. Highly Recommended!!! The 1 3/8" wide groove in the wall slides over the 1 3/8" thick floor for 1" above the floor, and 3/4 below, and fits flush against the sides of the chassis. A nice tight fit that gives the wall a lot of stability.


Both walls in place now, with one of the bulkhead also glued in place in the pre-routed grooves. Andy's steady hand to run a screw through the floor down into the 1x3 in the wall below (without going through the exterior!)


A little joking around... it was a fun morning.


Testing out the length:



THANKS CREW! GREAT JOB!
**********************************************************************************

My crew left me to begin fussing around with the cabinetry -- which is what I've been doing ever since -- gluing and clamping little sticks together, trying to keep it lightweight, functional, and yet smart-looking. We'll see....

The Galley begins:


Add some insulation:


I need to complete the inside first so that I can do the varnish, then put on the roof. (After that, I can build the Hatch Cover and after the Hatch Cover I can do the Galley cabinets.)
Lots of clamps:






I have another day's work to do on the interior cabinets, plus 5 cabinet doors for the interior. Plus I need to figure out the interior outlet and switch holes in the side walls ( I wanted to cut them before the walls got vertical, but ran out of time before assembly day) But soon.... I'll be ready for the headliner, and some roof insulation. Stay tuned...

Ken