13th September 2012 – I sanded down some of the panels for the wheelhouse steering. I’m building the column for the meters of the engine and gearbox. By the end of the evening, you notice progress is getting slower.
Author: frederic - page 138
11th September 2012 – The gas handle has to be mounted on the original place I cut a sheet of multiplex and mounted the steering. It took me some time to get it right, but I’m happy with the result!
10th September 2012 – Today was time for the front paneling of the steer wheel. It took me much more time then expected. By the end of the evening, I was not even halfway…
9th September 2012 – A second day of hard work where you quickly see some progress. I cut the biggest sheets for the steering box. A result was visible in no time.
8th September 2012 – If everything goes as planned, my new windows should arrive next week. Around the old windows is still a lot of wood. That wood was fixed by screws and nails. The nails were welded and the screws were drilled from the outside through the metal and then into the wood. had to break every single of them with a hammer and a chisel. It made a lot of noise and it strengthened my muscles of my arm!
After removing some more wood, I found a name and a date. This probably means the interior was redone in 1981.
Next to the windows at the front part of the wheelhouse I welded some ribs. I don’t like drilling through the metal for the wood. It is another chance of creating rust and leaks.
Once the welding was done, I started working on the dashboard.
7th September 2012
4th September 2012 – After three days I barely did something on the Hornblower. I’m struggling badly with my back. My parents and friends came to help me on some occasions. I had plenty of time for planning.
Once more I realized that clamps can help you a lot when doing a job.
Today was probably the day of tjalken. I noticed three tjalken passing by.
4th September 2012 – A major problem when I bought the ship were the sliding doors. Last week I started working on removing the old rotten profiles in which the door was sliding. Today I bought the metal and started replacing them. This looks an easy job that could be done in a few hours. By the time I finished, it took me a whole day for one door. Maybe my back is part of the problem…
3rd September 2012
2nd September 2012 – Since my back is still hurting, I can only do some smaller jobs. Today I started lining out the wheelhouse floor. The wheelhouse will contain the kitchen, a bench and table for sitting and the steering column.
26th August 2012 – Today I did something that you should never do. Take it as an example of how not to go to sea! If I knew everything when I arrived in Blankenberge, I might have considered going back home! Upon arrival I discovered there were no charts, binoculars or a working VHF radio. I had my mobile phone with all the important phone numbers with me. There were life jackets and our navigation lights were working.
With a simple plan of following the coast line, I thought we could make it easily. When I left Blankenberge, it was still dark. I had trouble leaving the harbour because of heavy waves hitting us. Quickly I realized following the coast line was not that easy. I then tried moving the boat from one buoy to the other. After two buoys, I never found a third one. By then the day came and I could clearly see the coast and all the buildings. Three hours later I was in Ostend. The harbour authorities didn’t like it I had no VHF. We had to wait for some time before they let us continue the journey to Bruges.
Nevertheless it was a nice experience and a good journey.
While sitting on my own boat in the afternoon, a nice little Luxe Motor passed by. It was the Hielke.
21st August 2012 – Because of the heat and some other activities, I haven’t been working on the Hornblower. Today I drilled a few holes for the wiring. I connected one socket as well. It doesn’t seem much, but I had to drill through so many layers it took me 20 minutes to get through!
20th August 2012 – I had a look at a yacht of a friend in Blankenberge. It had been a while since I last visited the yacht harbour. It is a small port along the Belgian coast.
18th August 2012 – I had a quick visit at the yard in Rupelmonde.
18th August 2012 – A friend was in need of some help to move the spits barge Waterbloem. We brought it from Ghent to Bruges. I helped him. It was around 34°C and standing in a wheelhouse above an engine was not exactly refreshing!
