- Ordered dinette cushion upholstery
- Rough cut polycarbonate for distribution panel
- Started laying out distribution panel
- Machined shower hose quick disconnect mount
- Final sanded and finish sprayed urethane on new dinette table
- Drilled and tapped shower hose quick disconnect mount for set screw
- Drilled and tapped mounting holes in distribution panel
- Received refrigerator slide
- Received power strips
- Received kitchen throw rug
- Started preliminary layout of dinette seating design
- Test laid out all systems underneath bed
- Installed shower hose quick disconnect mount
- Wired relays on distribution panel
- Fabricated polycarbonate distribution panel shield
- Ordered:
- Candidate water jerry cans
- Eating area spotlight
- Omnia oven kit
- Table support
- Wire labels
- Discussed water system layout
This has been an interesting phase of the project for us. We are on the home stretch and we are starting to get excited about our trip and preparations for this summer. That being said, some interesting planning topics have come up with finishing out the interior of the habitat.
Our normal procedure is to review a lot of options for any particular build detail. After comparing the options, we pick one as a baseline and intentionally leave the topic for a while. Picking a baseline lets us move on with other layout topics in the area. Then, right before committing to the baseline, we quickly review all the options again (usually on our evening walk). Usually the review strengthens our decision to go with the baseline, but occasionally a few details have matured and changed enough to cause us to change the baseline right before committing.
During this phase of the project, we are finding that we are actually changing the baseline more often than we would normally expect. The main reason is that an improvement to our plan in one area often cascades to changed requirements and improvement possibilities in other areas.
A good recent example of this is that we changed the layout of our eating area and really improved the seating options in a dinette. This has lead us to reconsider all kinds of things including light placement, refrigerator placement, fresh water tank position, water tank filling location, storage, battery charge controller position, wire and water routing, etc. Overall the new layout is very much improved over the original baseline, but it has required re-thinking most things in the area.
Some experienced designers that we know often use the term “old-timey brain”. Old-timey brain, in our context, is the pitfall of moving forward with a requirement or assumption that is no longer relevant due to other recent changes. Basically, in an integrated system like the habitat design, when you change one thing, you really have to re-evaluate many other things in the area. It is surprising how far reaching the changes can spread.
Overall, we are really happy with how things are progressing.
Wabi-sabi Overland 