Update on the Nutmeg foamie, built in 2016

[Bob Hammond]

Hello,

I thought I'd post a couple of pics of the Nutmeg, which I built in the summer of 2016. It sat outside for the first year or two, and since then it has been stored for winters in a tent-garage. Right now, it's dirty from sitting outside under the trees for a months or so.

It has held up well. My daughter jackknifed it into the quarter panel of my Forester, with no damage to the Nutmeg but a very sizeable crease in the body of the car.

The canvas overall is intact except for abrasion damage at the very end corner of the rear overhang (see picture). I don't how it happened, but two years ago I injected Gorilla glue in the defect and it has been stable, and the heartwood cedar frame is not rotted at all. The paint is original except for the red and aqua color stripes. Last year I stripped the varnish from the doors, and applied new varnish, but I see now that the front window visor-frame needs renewal too. Also, two years ago, it withstood a hail of acorns for a weekend from trees that were 70-80ft tall. The canvas held up just fine.

[Bob Hammond]

Addendum

The Nutmeg tows extremely well. The loaded weight is about 850-900lbs, with weight distribution of 60/40 fore/aft and 50/50 side to side. After putting on 980lb, N-speedrated @ 85 PSI tires, I've had it up to 75mph on a freeway with no sway at all, even when passing semi's coming or going. (I usually drive about 65). Once, I had to make a panic stop from 65-70 mph and it stayed perfectly straight behind the Forester. I've also checked the temperature of the hubs and tires after a long drive, and they were only a couple of degrees above ambient temperature.

It has never leaked anywhere, even in the heaviest thunderboomers.

[GPW]

Very NICE !!!!