5th April 2018 – I quickly drove to the yard in Zelzate. A neighbour is on the slipway with her boat. She had a survey done and was surprisingly positive about the result! There were a few minor issues. I wanted to help, but couldn’t find the energy. Just back from the yard myself and going back with my second ship in September means enough yard work for me!
22nd February 2018 – I’m holding my hart what will happen next week. If they are right about the temperatures, it will be very cold. I’ve ordered a heat wire for around the water pipes in the bowthruster area since there is no other heating option in that room. I’m sure the Watergeus is heathed enough.
The whole conversion of Tordino is now in this new weblog!
12th February 2018 – We had our annual drink to celebrate the new year. Each of us brought some drinks and we had a good chat while some fire was burning!
4th February 2018 – A friend is having his ship in Zelzate at the yard. I had a look. While I was there, I drove to Ghent to take some pictures and to see how the houseboats and its community is changing.
I just moved the whole story of the conversion of Tordino to this new website. Now I only need to move the Watergeus, Aquarel and Hornblower…. Three ships, covering a period of 9 years in total. It might take me some time…
25th January 2018 – To make sure everything is in accordance with the regulations, I just ordered some new equipment for both ships, including life rings and other safety tools. The old ones will make it into my museum.
24th January 2018 – I went to a lecture about the CVO/CBB certification in Zuthpen. The most important item was to request a survey before 1st November 2018! I requested mine in the beginning of this year.
15th January 2018 – I just moved the story on the Escapade from the old to the new site! The conversion of the Aquarel is a bit longer. I’ve just moved the year 2016 and 2017 to this new site!
The year didn’t start well, broken car and a broken heater in the Watergeus. Today I got another van, a smaller one, but I don’t have intentions of doing another boating project in the next three or four years. Maintaining Tordino and Watergeus is already a lot of work! Keeping a museum up and running will also take energy!
My heather was fixed as well in the late afternoon.
I had a chat yesterday evening with a friend living on a boat, a bit further along the quay. He recommended me to stop doing project and to enjoy a bit more of life. Maybe he is right!
After more then 14 years, it was time to change the layout and structure of this website.
Updates will only be visible on this page.
The old information is about to be moved to this new site in the near future! I’ve now added around 80 posts in half-a-day. There are over 1500 posts on the old website. It will keep me busy the next couple of evenings…
29th September 2017 – I finally started on the Watergeus. Yesterday we did some small repairs, made the anchor winch turn and removed some old fuel pipes. Seems simple, but it did take a lot of time.
Today, I finished removing the old wires from the wheelhouse and engine room.
26th September 2017 – While I was in Ghent, i took some time to walk along the ‘Oude Dokken’ and take some pictures. A lot of these ships have changed since they moved to the other side. It is certainly becoming a nice area to live!
18th September 2017 – Found some time again to update the blog. A lot if things are supposed to be happening in the near future, mainly on the Watergeus again. I’m making her ready for the next survey. I would like to get an European Certificate (CVO) for her.
At this moment, I’m still recovering from Sunday 10th where there was a major event aboard Tordino. Nearly 700 people came to my ship in Beernem for an exhibition about the history of the Canal and the Inland waterways.
17th September 2017 – At least one day where I didn’t have to work. I went to the Scheldefeesten in Baasrode and visited the museum on the old shipyard.