5th May 2020 – I gave a coat of primer on the mast, then I went for a cycle to the marina and in the late evening, I gave a first coat of paint.
Author: frederic - page 64
4th May 2020 – In the afternoon, we rebuilt the rudder aboard the Maxx. It took us some time t get it sealed. The bottom was thin and welding a plate was not easy.
3rd May 2020 – While I had to paint the other side of the metal hatch and the lightboxes for Tordino, I repainted the skylight and a part of the front deck of the Watergeus.
3rd May 2020 – I had the mast of the Arma in storage. These are the kind of items that can always be used at some point. It is a small mast, three meters long and extremely light. The foot is heavy and at least 2 cm thick. I cut the foot in half and welded both pieces with a different angle. Paint was removed from the mast and the foot.
3rd May 2020 – I went to check Tordino and had some time in the hold. Before I will be able to open the ship, it will need a god cleanup. I also dropped some furniture for making the accommodation more pleasant.
2nd May 2020 – I continued cleaning metal, finishing the hatch I started yesterday evening. Then I did the second lightbox for Tordino.
2nd May 2020 – The first attempt of building a namesign as no success. While I was in Oudenburg yesterday, I brought a nice wooden plank with me. Today I cut into 5 namesigns, one big one and four small ones. They received one coat of oil.
1st May 2020 – After waking up depressed, I continued working on the big namesign. I gave it a first coat of oil, I don’t know what the result will be. In the afternoon I was at friends in Oudenburg. They had some nice wood left, I will use it for smaller namesigns on the bow.
1st May 2020 – It is getting heavy, seeing no friends and always working from home, no social contact besides seeing the people walking by on the towpath and street. I can’t work on my projects, it is bad weather and I’m running out on inside jobs and energy…
In the evening, I started working with cleaning a metal hatch to protect a window on the front deck. It is an old hatch from the Aquarel, I will use it in winter time or when I’m moving the ship.
3oth April 2020 – I was aboard the Max again to see what progress was made. The rudder was still stuck, and by removing the interior at the back, it was still not possible to get to it. The only option left was removing the rudder from beneath by cutting a piece out of the bottom of the ship. It took us a few hours to get this, what is looking as a simple job, done.
I was standing in the back cabin to check for possible chances of fire, but everything went safe!
30th April 2020 – I could finally register the Stern under my name. At the beginning of the year, the registration was 150 EURO, since April 1st it is 50 EURO. The application to register wasn’t working since they had to reprogram it. Once they fixed it, they could not publish it because they were waiting for the price change to be published official.
So one step closer in moving the ship to Bruges…
28th April 2020 – The second day of welding aboard the Maxx. While I was there, I helped watching for possible fire. The hull was so thin that during the welding, we made additional holes.
28th April 2020 – The whole idea of converting the Stern is to make her look as traditional as possible. Working on the outside, once the Corona measures are over, is priority one. I already have a wooden skylight, but I also want to have boxes for the navigation lights. I drove to Tordino to pick up some metal. On the way back, I received a message on Facebook about existing lightboxes for sale.
In the evening, I started looking for model and sizes. If the buyer doesn’t accept my offer, I will make them myself tomorrow.
27th April 2020 – Today a friend started welding at the Maxx. There were a few holes at the bottom of the ship and in the side. All of them underneath the waterline.
27th April 2020 – I gave a last coat of oil on the wheelhouse. I hope it to be good for a few years now… There are some more jobs to be done, but it will be raining tomorrow so, they have to wait.
