The Astroliner

[Vedette]

Glad to see you are back at it wish I was!
Brian

[Atomic77]

Thanks Brian. Intermittently at best. So many projects going on! But getting wall panels in on one side is inspiring. And exciting.

Michael

[aggie79]

Looks great Michael!

[dales133]

Nice Micheal , shes looking great.
I was sceptical about the 3m tape until i used it for the first time and it sticks like the proverbial. Ive been using it combined with sikaflex, equal amouns of both so when the polyurethane adhesive goes off it shares 50% of the bond.
Only one slight word of caution... the camper i buit fot that other had issues where i only used the tape on a couple of extreeme hot days (40c + days )
And let go in a couple of places but was fine where id used glue to.
I doubt it gets that hot there so you should be fine anyway mate.
Just thought id put it out there.
Again...love you work man

[Atomic77]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated. I didn't use glue, only the tape. My thinking is that between the cabinets, walls, trim etc. there will be plenty of things holding the walls in place. By the time it's all built in, the tape will be a bonus.

Michael

[Atomic77]

[Atomic77]

Lots of progress made for just one trip and great looking round windows!

And OP would you believe in that same day my brother and I installed laminated flooring in his kitchen? I left the house at 4:30am Saturday and pulled in the driveway just a few minutes past 4:30am on Sunday! Long day!!!

Michael

[Atomic77]

I'm planning to get down to the shop on Saturday to finish the left side interior walls. Then I'll trim out the port hole windows and she'll be ready to start the interior!

Michael

[daveesl77]

Wow Michael, I really, really like how unique your camper has become. It is like a cool optical illusion! From teardrop shape to hydroplane shape, I guess it is just the camera angle, right?! I guess that is like that paint that changes colors, except yours changes shapes!


(always gotta be some smart alec in the crowd, right?)

Anyway, great to see you back at two of the things you love, fast boats and beautiful campers!

dave

[pjo129]

That is one sweet ride. What times will it run over a course? Post them when you get them (if it's not top secret). Have you heard anything additional on hydros returning to Evansville?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KCStudly]

Wow Michael, I really, really like how unique your camper has become. It is like a cool optical illusion! From teardrop shape to hydroplane shape, I guess it is just the camera angle, right?! I guess that is like that paint that changes colors, except yours changes shapes! <snip>

Yeah, it's a two season camper: camper building season (i.e. winter) and racing season (i.e. living the life, baby!)

Very nice boat. Hope it is fast (and safe... well, as safe as it can be).

[Atomic77]

Thanks guys. Sorry... no info on Evansville (one of my favorite courses.) Last year there was some Whispers among the inner circles about that race coming back. This year though, not a peep. Kind of sad really.
Our boat ran a 218 in Detroit...

Michael

[Atomic77]

The Astroliner has reached yet another milestone of evolution! Carrie and I finished the interior walls over the weekend. Of course, nothing ever goes as quickly as you think it should or would like it to... But progress all the same! We finished up any final tidbits of wiring that needed to be done and ran them inside channels in the wall before pulling them through and into the area where the closet will be.

Now they all arrive at one clean location, in the closet where the converter/ inverter will be. Pretty exciting to have the bulk of the wiring complete and hidden in the walls. Feels good. To fasten the wall panels to the wall we used 3M's VHB tape. Good stuff... If you've ever used it you understand why. Here's a couple tips: 1.) Don't use it any place that you want to take apart later. This stuff sticks and it sticks good. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing pickup trucks trying to pull things apart that have been stuck together with VHB tape. 2.) Use a heat gun to warm the tape prior to installation. When you warm it you can see the surface just slightly starting to Bubble as the glue comes to the surface. We found in the race shop this makes it stick even better! But again, this is a permanent situation.


A large majority of the walls will be covered by cabinets, upholstery, things like that. The different color panels separate the different areas. For example, all the black panels will be below countertops, cabinets and behind seating. The orange areas will be behind the Galley, the Head, and Dinette. The raspberry color will be in the Captain's Quarters. Each area is divided by something. Therefore it will look completely different once everything is installed.





The other things I have been working on are trim rings for the windows. There is a slight space between the interior wall panel and the glass which bothers me. So I designed a ring that will close up that area and finish it very nicely. I made it from wood in two pieces, glued them together with epoxy, filled any imperfections with filler and did a dry fit. They work perfectly, so now I will use some 2K urethane primer and paint them with base coat clear coat to accent the wall panel. More pictures to come on that project in the near future.






Michael

[KCStudly]

Looking good. It's going to be like you are living inside of a bowling ball!

[Atomic77]

Ha KC that's funny! Right now I can see why you say that but in reality only about 25% or less of the walls even show. The walls and cabinets will all be clear birch which will become the main focal points while the painted walls will only be accents at that point.

Michael