My sleeping habits have changed to where I'm generally up at 3:30 am for some unknown reason. About the time the sun is coming up, I've experience a tap, tap, tapping. Investigating the source of this noise I discover a beautiful reddish orange and black bird pecking away at the pickup windows and mirrors. This bird is extremely skittish and would flit away at the slightest of my motions on the deck above. This bird was soon replaced by the pecker bird shown below and the beautiful bird was rarely seen again.
The pecker bird was not skittish at all and would allow a very close approach while giving me a look that said; "yeah, so what ....?" With that I initially agreed, after all what harm could this pecker do? There is the issue of this bird's droppings coating the doors, mirrors and bed sides. This additional indignity may be fitting for a vehicle designed not to impress on any level.
I allowed the little pecker to have at it for a while. At times he would really get worked up and go to town on the windshield. This went off and on throughout the day, until I noticed the little pecker was creating pits in the windshield. I've experienced the persistence of birds when herons return year after year to fish my koi ponds. I assumed breaking the pecker behavior would be difficult, but no! Two encounters with well thrown rocks diverted his pecking to the neighbor's window. Now the skittish beautiful bird is back at it.
In my previous life I enjoyed automobiles intended for spirited driving on twisting roads. Such vehicles are not suitable or enjoyable on Belize roads. I do not find enjoyment in driving a low powered, lumbering pickup under any conditions, but it suits the circumstances. I think I've found a solution to my first world problem:
Scooter Porn
This pothole doger is an electric Phat Scooter. It has a top speed of 20 mph and a range of 30 to 50 miles. It features front and rear hydraulic disk brakes as well as front and rear suspensions. In most parts of the U.S. this scooter is allowed to operate on bicycle trails with no license or title requirements. After purchasing the scooter I had this Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz moment when I realized was no longer in Kansas. The scooter needs to be titled and licensed in Belize. This would require the addition of a horn, brake light and turn signals as well as switches to control these items. I set to work with the parts I could obtain locally from the chinese scooter dealer.
A switch housing was fitted next to the left handlebar grip. The switch housing grips the handlebars in an area deformed by the nearby bend. Some file work on the housing gripping surfaces accomodated the handlebar deformations. The electric horn is visible behind the front fender. Just below the switch housing is a squeeze bulb horn. It is one of those horns where the body tube loops just before the bell. I like to call it my Happy Hello horn as apposed to the Clown Horn description it is sold under.
The turn signal/running lights and handlebar mounting clamps I ordered on line. These mounting clamps are ordinarily used to attach rear view mirrors. The clamps were drilled and tapped to accept the light mounting threads. The electrical leads exit an additional drilled hole.
The rear turn signal mounting brackets were recycled from the light angle iron shipping cage protecting the scooter. The center brake light was sourced locally. I built the black wooden forward section to give it a teardrop profile. I may change this taillight out in the future.
It has been a fair amount of work figuring out how to modify and implement the wiring. Everything works with the exception of the turn signals. The LED lights require a special flasher relay that I will not have until the next shipment arrives in the middle of April, a month away. Along with the relay I will be receiving a new saddle shaped seat suspended by springs to better tame the potholes.
This scooter will serve the majority of my transportation needs. I have a large light fabric bag that will hold cargo on most shopping expeditions. I have been very excited to receive this scooter and the returning driving pleasures. The scooter sat at the freight forwarders in Los Angles since early December and I did not receive it until the middle of February. Presently lacking turn signals I can not yet register it for use on the road. Is scooter gratification delayed scooter gratification earned?
I will admit to taking illicit scooter rides in the neighborhood to make these observations. An early ride took me on a road I don't often travel. This resulted in a higher speed scooter encounter with a monster pothole. This was a good early lesson for me as I required chiropractic services shortly thereafter. The on order, spring suspended, seat will be a grand improvement over the inadequate stock seat. I was expecting a greatly cushioned ride on the wide tires inflated at 10 psi rather than the recommended 15 to 20 psi. A higher tire inflation pressure will improve the range and may make it less squirrely on rutted road sections. The wide tires makes it possible ride at what would otherwise be impossibly slow speeds. The 1200 watt motor has torque for effortless hill climbing and good acceleration. The three speed ranges (8, 13 and 20 mph) are very useful to reduce throttle authority in lower speed situations. 20 mph may be as fast as I'll ever want to go on this scooter as the sensation of speed is great! The reactions of the few people that have seen this scooter have been unusually positive. This would be great if I were more comfortable in the spot light.
The Boat Build
I've had two weeks of visitors merged with a good three weeks of a lingering illness overlapping the scooter receipt and modifications. Yet there is previous and present build progress to report. Earlier efforts have produced many parts comprising deck stringers, decks, hatch mounts, and hatch combings. With all these loose parts things were becoming chaotic. It was time to assemble some parts and restore order.
Above the deck stringers are epoxied to the rear deck undersides. Two coats of epoxy were applied to these components followed by sanding before assembly.
Laid out on the sawhorses is the underside of the forward deck subassemblies. Two plywood sheets makeup the forward deck. These sheets are joined by butt blocks visible to either side of the forward hatch cutout. The sheets will be joined as part of the on hull installation process. These subassemblies also received the protective epoxy coating and sanding treatment.
The forward hatch inner coamings received an outside 1/4" overhanging lip to help exclude water from the inside. Coamings are surfaces intended to exclude/deflect water. The hatch lid will extend over the inner coaming to close against the outer coaming. The outer coaming face, seating against the hatch lid, is just above the deck surface. Thus, any water forced pass gaps in the outer coaming will be directed against the side of the inner coaming and further inhibited from entering the vessel by the hatch opening outside lip. This is one traditional method of building water tight hatches.
Above are inwale timbers clamped in the starboard hull stern glue up. These inwales assure substantial material is available to receive screws supporting the aft trampoline and hardware to tie up the boat.
The head floor is visible in the left compartment. The composting head covers the opening providing access below, but normal access is through the cover to the right.
My next task is to finish up the bow fillets. The bow fillet above has been sanded in preparation for building up with additional epoxy applications. It is not wise to fill this volume in one go as large epoxy volumes generate significant heat during the curing process with the potential for fire. The epoxy is applied in thinner layers that generate less heat. Once a layer has partially cured another layer is then applied. In this case I waited too long for additional epoxy applications and had to re-sand the cured epoxy for adhesion to the next coat.
This is where my wait for the shipment of $4.00 worth of inferior Chinese small sanding drums paid off. The sanding drums greatly reduced the time and effort required for this difficult to sand area. My decades old Dremel tool never received much use until starting this project. It was only a year ago that I discovered the Dremel had oiling holes that I attend to regularly to help assure it will last for the project duration.
