The Bathroom Begins

The trailer originally had no holding tanks.  Not many changes in the space except for the addition of the holding tank, but I really want it to function well as a wet bath.

That’s the way the shower pan looked when I took it out in the gutting process.  I’ve decided to reuse it, just shortening to fit the new space and a bit of polishing.

New bulkheads are rough cut, the tank is in place, and the shower pan is smaller.  I’ll be using white FRP panels on the inside of the bulkheads and the aluminum will be painted white.

5/8’s ply will sit on top of the tank and 1/2” King Starboard will form the visible surface.

I’ve seen Starboard, but have never used it.  It works like wood, cuts easily, and can be fastened with screws.  It should give me a nice waterproof surface that will be easy to keep clean.

This Perko marine scupper drain (used to drain the cockpit on a boat) is the shower drain fitting.  It has a simple check valve in it, just a floating rubber ball.  It’ll use marine sanitation hose to form a P trap before running forward to the gray tank.  I’ve also dished out the subfloor surface around the drain to encourage the shower pan to drain.

Last post of the year and nearly two years into the project.  Hard to believe it’s been that long, but there’s clearly light at the end of the tunnel now.

-steve

Finishing the Black Tank

I don’t know how many hours the tank has taken, not a lot.  But it’s been one of those jobs that takes small parts of many days:  a layup that takes just a few minutes, an overnight cure, and another layup and cure.

I inset the drain fitting and laid up several plies of cloth over it.  Hate it when I do these things:  put the tank in place and considered where to put the drain, took everything into consideration except the fact that Airstream made these trailers with frames, and of course, dead centered the frame rail with the drain.  Easy fix, I’ve admitted it, and no longer have to explain the patch you’ll see in some of the upcoming pictures.

Fittings got installed in the top along with a couple of thin wooden stiffeners glassed in.

Next, 1x2’s were bonded and glassed in to form a mounting flange for the tank top.

And this is all that was left of the 10 yards of cloth I had ordered, positive I’d have plenty.  The roll on the right in the picture is the additional 5 yards I had to get.

I used a marine sealant to mount the cleanout fitting.  The nozzle will sit under the bed and connect to the fitting I installed on the outside in an earlier post.

The tank top was bonded to the bottom with thickened epoxy and attached with some temporary screws.

Finally, today I removed those screws, trued and rounded the outside edge slightly and finished the job with a two ply layup just over the seam.  Peel ply comes off tomorrow after cure and the tank is done.

-steve 

Continuing with the Black Tank

Cold weather has been slowing progress down quite a bit.  Most days I have Pam with me, so we do the ten minute drive to the trailer to turn the heat on and then do something else for an hour or so to let it heat up.  I like to get her off the boat for awhile most days, but she is now in a wheelchair mostly and everything takes much more time.

After glassing the inside, I turned the tank over, filled the holes used in wiring it together, and rounded the edges with a belt sander.  Today I glassed the outside with 3 plies of cloth overall and a couple more where the drain fitting will go.

When the third layer was wetted out, I put a two inch strip of dacron peel ply on the edge.  Peel ply saves a lot of work.  It’ll pull off when cured, leaving a nice surface that won’t need sanding to prepare for the layup to fasten the top of the tank.

Tomorrow I’ll trim the edges and maybe get started on the top and the drain fitting.

I ordered a few laminate samples for the galley counter top and everyone who has seen them has picked this one.  I think I have too.  Water heater and toilet have now arrived as well.

-steve

It is Cold in Western Washington

 

 

And it’s supposed to get colder before it gets warmer.  I kept my epoxy on the boat last night to keep it warm and it took quite awhile for the trailer to warm up this morning.  Got some epoxy and fiberglass work done though.

I’ve got a day for the trailer again tomorrow so hopefully I can get a little more done.  Tuesday looks very cold so trailer work is probably out.

-steve

A Stitch and Glue Black Tank

I'm using stitch and glue to fabricate the black tank which will sit above the subfloor in the rear curbside bath. It should be a good technique for the tank, especially as it's easy to shape it to fit the Airstream curve. Materials will be a 1/4" plywood core, epoxy, filler and fiberglass cloth. The tank will extend through the bathroom bulkhead and under the bed so the little cleanout sprayer fitting can be hidden.




Yesterday I got the plywood pieces cut out and glued the first layer of 1/8" Baltic birch into a rabbet cut into the 1/4" plywood. The birch will let me make the curve on the sides of the tank. Today the bottom and sides were wired together to hold them in place temporarily for the epoxy.





We've got light snow and cold here for the next few days, so I may not get too far with this until it warms up a bit. The trailer heater warms it up just fine, but I can't keep it on unless we're there, so it really gets cold soaked.  It has to be warm for Pam, so we went to the trailer, turned on the heat, and then ran errands for awhile to let it get warm.  Pam is quite frail now and isn’t walking well, so it’s getting much harder to get out with her.  Worth it, though, as she thought those snow flakes falling today were pretty cool.

-steve

I Have to do Plumbing Pretty Soon

I know I can do it—the system is pretty simple, but I just don’t like plumbing.  But, cabinets are going back in and I know it’ll be much easier to make plumbing runs while those cabinets can still be moved.

So this marks the official beginning of plumbing, still probably to be delayed as much as I can.  The streetside rear corner was originally the outlet for the power cord, but all that stuff is in front now.  I’m using the hole to plumb a cleanout sprayer for the blackwater tank.  The inlet is a Perko marine city water hookup and chrome plated bronze, very nice quality.  I’ll use another one later for the trailer’s city water hookup.

The black tank will sit on top of the subfloor in the rear curbside location of the bath.  I’ll be fabricating the tank using epoxy and fiberglass cloth with stitch and glue techniques.  I’ll start on the tank soon.

Meanwhile refinishing is ongoing with the original bed frame and its nice curved corner the current work in progress.

-steve

The Key to My Trailer

Pam is no longer able to climb into the V berth in the bow that has always been her bed.  I’ve been lifting her up there for several weeks, but finally decided to move her into the main saloon where access is much easier.  Alzheimers doesn’t like changes and boat cats don’t like changes, so let’s just say that last night was not the most restful on our little boat.

Cold, windy, and rainy this morning, but I had respite care for Pam and 6 hours alone to work on the trailer.  I got the 12 volt fan hooked up on the heater and connected the gas line.  And, the work mostly stopped.

It was nice and warm with the fire burning in the heater.  I sat back in one of the recliners with my copy of David Winick’s  Airstreams Custom Interiors and most of my day slipped away.

Guilt made me get a little work done, some sanding and some stripping on the cabinets.  I emptied out the stuff in the drawers in the galley cabinet too and scored a great find.

When I bought Island Girl, the keys could not be found, so I installed a deadbolt and have been using that to lock the door.  But in one of those drawers was this little key that fits the Bargman lock perfectly.

-steve

We Almost Have Heat Again

About a year ago I got the Dickinson Propane Heater installed temporarily so Pam could be comfortable inside and so I could work through the winter.  The wet weather we have this weekend and the look of the forecast means we need it back in again.

Nothing is ever simple.  Since it sticks out more than the Panel Ray it replaces, I needed to get the other big pieces of cabinetry back in, so the bed and galley are inside, with refinishing of them still to go.

 

Tomorrow I’ll get the propane hooked up on the heater and the 12 volt power for the fan that we didn’t have last year.  Then our little fireplace will be permanently installed!

Even though there’s a lot of work still to do on the cabinets, it’s a really big deal to get them back in.  We’re starting to look like a trailer inside again.

-steve

The Recliner Cabinet

is mostly done except for the hinges for the top compartment and the laminate tops over the electrical system area.

The circuit breaker panels for the 110 volt system and the 12 volt system are on opposite sides under the radio.  Front panel is the solar regulator, and it also has the battery voltage readout.

Brissy the boat cat is just starting to get used to the trailer.  She’s not at all happy with car and truck noises outside, though.

Both of the Elfa bins are accessible behind the one panel opening.  The pull is off the original gaucho and matches the other drawers.

Still waiting for hinges to arrive for the top compartment, but they’ll be here shortly.

I spent most of the day today cutting, fitting, sanding, and fitting on the forward bulkhead for the fridge/wardrobe cabinet.  It’s close, but not quite there.

-steve

Big Stuff Goes Back In!!

All the original cabinets moved out of Island Girl about a year and a half ago.  Yesterday was a big step forward with the refrigerator/wardrobe cabinet going back in.  It’s not refinished yet and needs a couple of panels replaced, but it is back in.  Mainly it’s back because I want to reinstall the Dickinson propane heater with cold weather approaching, but it still looks good back inside.

The cabinet for the recliners is nearly done.  Mostly waiting for some hinges to arrive from Lee Valley and for the laminate install.  I have absolutely no idea for color or pattern on that and am just kicking it down the road.

-steve

Tools!!

I’ve got a pretty good set of basic tools, but when it comes to making cabinets I really come up short.  My buddy Dusty (he of the Airstream cutouts for the overhead sliders) looked at what I was doing and loaned me a router, a laminate trimmer, a biscuit joiner, a brad gun, and a staple gun.  All these in addition to his table saw, chop saw, and belt sanders I’d already been using.  It’s really a luxury having access to the right tools.

The front curved portion is, like most of the cabinet, 1/8” Baltic birch and is bent around the plywood formers and attached with thickened epoxy.  It was done in one uncut piece and I used duct tape to mark the edges and to keep the epoxy from sticking beyond those points.

Then I just used a razor knife to cut out the opening for the two Elfa bins.  I used the round welt from VTS for the edges.

The bottom bin will attach to the front face, giving access to both bins.

The sides are now on and I’ve got the hardwood pieces cut for the armrest opening and the mount for the little radio.