The Race is On

Finally started! This weekend Katie helped assemble four sawhorses to hold the plywood. Yesterday I drew out the design on the top sheet, and today I made the first cuts.

These plywood sheets are really heavy so we sorted and stacked them in the order we are going to finish them. The top sheet will be for the trim on the starboard side of the tear drop. Because I'll only be using a two inch strip around the edge I used it to lay out the design and locate the door. All the pencil marks will not matter on this one. The blue tape is to help prevent fraying along the edge of the cut, which worked OK, but not as well as I had hoped.

I clamped the first two sheet together and cut them at the same time. After they were cut I used a belt sander to smooth the curves. By doing this, it ensures that the trim piece will fit perfectly to the side piece. The next step will be to take the measurements that will allow me to replicate the design and the door location. Then I will cut the inner profile of the trim.

I Wish I Wasn't Such a Chicken

Jeremy and I were in Ocean City on Saturday visiting Salty Yarns and Malibu's Surf Shop. This Dregs longboard was out on the porch at Malibu's. How cool is this?? We didn't buy it but it's totally Jeremy and me in 10 years - travel trailer, red pickup, the ocean.... aaaah.

I used to have an Arbor longboard in college but was too scared to ride it. I didn't want to fall off and hurt myself - not the best mindset for an aspiring skateboarder :)

Maybe if I buy this one I'll have a better chance of climbing on and rolling off into the sunset. Or maybe I could just hang on to the back of the trailer while Jeremy pulls!

Check out the 37" South of the Boarder ditch board here.

First Things First

Last night I finished my first contribution to our teardrop build! This lovely little cross stitch by Sunset, Our Roaming Home. Once the tear is built, this beaut' will go in the cabin in a frame handmade by Jeremy, or so he promises :) I'm so excited I can hardly wait to start on the next thing! Hmmmm, what will it be?

You can buy the kit here if you're interested. It's a relatively old design but ask at a needlecraft shop and they might just have it! Click here for a list of shops near you.

Got Big Wood?

Found an amazing deal on the plywood we need, delivered in about a week. We love you Warren's Wood Works!

Now it's On

Step number one is complete, threw down for the trailer today! Spent about twice as much money as I was planning, but as Confucius say, "good house needs good foundation." We looked at so many options, from Harbor Freight bolt togethers, to Carry-Ons, to custom welded frames, even used boat trailers.

The nice thing about this trailer is that the sides are designed to be removable, so the 5 x 10 frame is designed to stay stable with or without the sides. It is actually 5 1/2 feet wide, so that is going to call for some creative engineering. Maybe a roll off design so we can use the trailer without the teardrop? (Kate doesn't really like that idea.)

The next step is going to be finding the oversized 5x10 plywood. Anybody know where I can score some? We also looked at some cool flooring for the cabin today. Speckley industrial 12x12 floor tiles. We think they will look cool and stand up to anything. I cant wait to make some saw dust!