The past few days have been aimed at preparing to mount the hatch. While awaiting the arrival of the stainless steel piano hinge, I masked and coated the rosewood components inside the cabin with sanding sealer. To do this I masked the areas with blue tape.
The original plan called for using a "hurricane hinge" to mount the hatch to the body. The unforseen issue was that the hurricane hinge requires a 90 degree intersection between the roof and the vertical. Our condition creates an approximate angle of 75 degrees. As a result, we decided to use a 3" wide stainless steel hinge instead with top-mounted waterproofing.
The hinge arrived today, we cut it to length, and mounted it to the hatch.
Below see the detail of the square-drive pan-head stainless steel screws selected to mount the stainless steel hinge.
The next step is to position the hatch on the trailer and attach the hinge.
As we paused at the end of the workday and considered our progress and next steps, a chipmunk proceeded to make it known that he would appreciate a peanut or several.
I have previously posted photos of Sean feeding the squirrel. Here, then, is the chipmunk.
Before building the rosewood electrical boxes we learned about using the dovetail jig by building a drawer and a box for the jig.
Here is the completed box:
After finding out that polyurethane and rosewood don't play well together, removing the urethane and using lacquer instead, we installed the four electrical boxes inside the cabin.
There are two in the front above the electrical cabinet, and two under the shelves in the rear of the cabin. The two outlets on the port side will be AC, while the two on the starboard side will be DC. Two more such boxes will mount in the galley once the hatch is mounted and the upper cabinets are framed.
Between yesterday and this morning I have two waders to share.
First up is the Little Blue Heron - Tri-Color Heron hybrid bird, posing nicely on a rock in the middle of a pond yesterday morning.
This morning I found a Snowy Egret sitting on a hummock in still water, with a very lush green background.
In a previous post I noted that we applied polyurethane to the Rosewood electrical boxes. Well, the urethane never hardened. Why? Because Rosewood contains oils that prevent the full polymerization of polyurethane.
Now I know that. Then, well, I should have.
Back in the mid-1970's I built an electronics enclosure from Rosewood that required very special preparation for a catalyzed lacquer finish. How quickly I forgot that experience.
After the boxes failed to harden with polyurethane I did some research on the internet and quickly recalled my adventure from almost 40 years ago. Subsequently, I scrubbed the boxes with acetone and steel wool to remove the polyurethane. I then sanded with 400-grit paper, sealed with Deft lacquer sanding sealer, sanded again with 400-grit paper, then applied three coats of Deft Semi-Gloss Spray Lacquer.
The results are as expected, and quite spectacular.
As it was going to be a 90 degree plus day today, Sean and I took a drive up to Southern New Hampshire to Chesterfield Gorge. This protected area is rather small but an impressive hike.
Find information on the Chesterfiied Gorge Natural Area here.
Located on NH 9 between Spofford and Keene, the 13-acre reserve is dominated by hemlock, beech and birch. A trail leads down into the gorge approximately .7 miles with about a 300 foot gradient. The stream, Partridge Brook, tumbles down through narrow cuts, swirling pools and vertical spills on its way to the bottom.
Note: Click on the images to view full screen (best).
Although it was a warm (90 degree) day and somewhat humid, the trip was more than worthwhile to refresh the psyche and the soul.
The closing days of May offered few opportunities to photograph birds. Among those presentable are:
Purple Martins. First, a male in the top of a tree eating leaves.
Next, a female with more than a mouthful of nesting material. She couldn't get all of it back to the nest, and so settled for less.
A Cedar Waxwing:
And, a Willow Flycatcher.
There were some other birds, including a yellow warbler, but none of the photos measured up. This Whitetail, though, did:
I watched this deer for over five minutes as it made its way across the marsh and ultimately across the road to another marsh. It was seemingly unperturbed by my presence.
And so closes May. Dang! It is June already!
While reviewing recent photos I realized I had omitted some from today's earlier post. And, so, I give you some yellows.
Yellow Warbler, female. This shot is very similar to one from the post "Today Was Spectacular" on 5/10/2013. That photo was of a male. The two photos were taken about a mile apart.
And here we have both male and female Goldfinches, taken very near the shot above of the Yellow Warbler.
I couldn't decide which of the two poses of the female I liked best, so I included both. I tend to favor the bottom one.
And, reaching back another couple days I found this immature male enjoying his dandelion seeds.
