21st February 2011 – As usual on a boat, one of the first job I always do is cleaning the bilges. It was no different with the Escapade…
Different then with other barges, the Escapade was filled with led as ballast.
Author: frederic - page 159
19th February 2011 – Again some water was visible in the bilges, while I cleaned it earlier that morning. It had been raining so much that I could fill a 12 liters bucket. The sooner I find all the holes in the side and roof the quicker I might get her totally dry.
15th February 2011 – The interior of the Escapade is now gone. In 30 minutes, a friend and me removed the whole interior. Why? Well I discovered around 15cm of water in the bilges last night. I first tired hovering it out, but was to much. Once the interior was gone, I could estimate the amount of work needed to get everything clean.
Once the bottom was visible, I noticed the condition was better then expected.
14th February 2011 – Most people will think that it becomes easier after a few boats to always do the same jobs. Well in some cases it is true.
Unfortunately, the Escapade is not easier at all. I’m even afraid it might become a bigger job then the Watergeus. If she had the same size of the Watergeus, the amount of work would be to much. Every day I’m discovering new problems. It seems like it doesn’t stop!
13th February 2011 – The back accommodation of the Watergeus is nearly finished. It is time to start thinking about curtains, paint and other coloured items. My girlfriend is the perfect person for this. She choose the colours and I must admit, I like them!
12th February 2011 – In the late evening, I put a new cover over the Escapade to prevent rain from getting in. Doubtfully if it will work, but anything is better then it is now! Covers often mean the end of a ship. You hide the disaster from the public. Once the cover starts to disintegrate, you put another one on top of it. Doesn’t look right, but it gives a false feeling of ignoring the problem.
12th February 2011 – The whole morning I went shopping, or should I rather say: wait at the info desks of the shops.
In the afternoon, I finished the walls, adding a little piece of wood to hide any possible errors I made earlier during the conversion…
11th February 2011 – Again a meeting for the Vlaamse Woonschepen. It is important for the organization to continue to exist. My mother spent a whole day oiling the inside of the wheelhouse. It starts to look good!
10th February 2011 – I removed the water tank from the Escapade. I now have complete access to the bilges at the back of the ship. It is a 220 liters RVS tank. Heavy but useful. The bilges underneath don’t look that good. Some more work to add…
6th February 2011 – I just discovered there is some more water under the engine. I makes me think I might have another leak somewhere… Doesn’t feel good. I can handle leaks from above, but not from underneath.
I used some black rubber to seal the small leakage in the joint. I hope it will stay dry.
Recently I had removed some metal from the Escapade. Since I only had half a day to work I cleaned the remaining parts at the back of the yacht. I did some measuring as well and removed some more rust.
5th February 2011 – There is some water at the back of the ship. It is no rain water and the shaft isn’t leaking. The joint between the bottom and the back is leaking. Small rivets and a lot of rust. I wonder if my cutting and hammering last week didn’t make it worse. I did cut out some old structured metal, and probably the best part of the ship…
5th February 2011 – Tiling was finished on the floor in the bathroom and toilet. The ceiling of the sitting area and the walls got their wallpaper. The shower crane was mounted and a part of the wheelhouse was sanded down. Briefly written what was done today.
29th January 2011 – I’ve started cutting at the back of the ship. I want to remove the welded construction and reveal her decks again. Once finished, I noticed how bad they are. Needs replacing as well in the near future…
In the meantime I used some liquid rubber to stop the leaks at the back.
29th January 2011 – I have done a lot today! In the morning we tiled the toilet, bathroom and entrance of the back accommodation on the Watergeus. In the afternoon I helped sanding the wheelhouse with my parents. Later that noon, the Frantsis left her mooring next to the Watergeus. She has her own spot now!
25th January 2011 – The last piece of multiplex for the back accommodation has been cut and mounted. Normally, no more wood work should be done in the back area.
I also started doing some basic plumbing.
