Category: MS Stern

Stern – Cleaning

14th October 2023 –  It is getting colder, so I closed the air vents aboard the Stern and did some cleaning. Hopefully I will have more time next year to take her out a few more times then this year.  Maybe I’ll make a trip somewhere next week.  To be continued….

Stern – Making a small list of things to do

14th August 2023 – I’m making a list of things I want to do on the Stern. It near the end of the summer and besides moving her occasional and cleaning her once, I haven’t done much.

  • Putting the new mattress aboard
  • Adding a new extension cable so I can use the LED lights at night when it becomes dark
  • Removing the green mold from the outside of the windows
  • Cleaning the inside: removing unnecessary tools and spare parts
  • Mounting the toilet
  • Sorting out the electricity
  • adding a water connection from the water tank to the toilet
  • rebuilding the engine room floor with proper hatches and plywood.
  • changing the paint scheme on the outside of the wheelhouse
  • finishing the silicone joint between the rubber and the deck
  • Welding the railing where it came lose
  • Adding a new coat of oil to the door and skylight
  • Finishing the door
  • Adding a new Belgian flag
  • Painting the mast at the back
  • Replacing the engine battery
  • Checking why the AIS is not working
  • Finishing the inside of the cupboards

My idea was to do most of these things tomorrow, but the longer I start thinking about it, the less these things will happen. The Stern still needs a bit of love and care… So if it doesn’t rain, she should look a bit more like this:

Stern – Moving and small trip

19th May 2023 – I was surprised, the engine started straight away and I made a small trip. The idea was to move her by hand, but since the engine started, I made a trip of a few hundred meters and back.  I really hope to have some time for her next year…

 

Stern – Cleaning

30th April 2023 – Time to clean the outside of the ship. It wasn’t looking right at all so I spent half a day cleaning the outside of the ship. Added some new flags and removed the old LED lights from the mast that were broken.

I noticed the decks were extremely slippery. I nearly got in the water, so I was glad I never removed the railing around the ship.

Clean windows
Looking shiny again
Clean deck!
Dirty deck
New flags on a dirty deck

Stern – Dry bilges

23rd November 2022 – I wasn’t expecting it, but the bilges were dry. I think it dried out because of the wind.  This weekend I will seal the leak in the hatch. Not sure when I’ll be able to continue on this little boat… 

Priority 1 will be making a proper access to the engine room. 

Stern – Wet bilges

11th November 2022 – I  checked the Stern and noticed there was some water in the bilges under the engine. Quickly I discovered, and honestly had it it in mind already, the hatch for the batteries is leaking. It was something I welded last year when I had nearly no time….

I bought a hover, since I ran out of them. They do break after a while if you start using them for oil. 

Bilges are dry again!

Stern – Engine running

30th September 2022 – I’m planning on using the Stern for a project at the end of the month. I started the engine, but with a nearly flat battery it took some charging time to start. In the end it started an ran nicely.  What do I love Lister engines!

I was never happy with the floor I had made in the wheelhouse and the result today was obvious. I ended in the living room, head first… Another item on my todo list for the next couple of months.

Stern – Cleaning and wiring

3rd July 2020 – We mainly cleaned the outside of the ship and most of all the roof of the wheelhouse. I connected the solar panels to the wiring in the ship and moved the VHF antennas. Since I mounted a metal support for the search lights, the antennas could no longer be collapsed in case we were passing a low bridge.

 

Stern – Curtains and welding

2nd July 2022 – The day started relaxed by mounting the curtains in the living room and sealing the windows in the bedroom. Then I started welding the brackets for the solar panels, fixed the railing and mounted a small wooden mast. So far so good. 

I raised the solar panels and wanted to weld the bolted frame to the new supports. About ten seconds later, solar panel one started cracking into thousand pieces… 

Slightly frustrated, I removed everything and made a new smaller frame for one panel…

 

And I must admit, one panel is looking better then the two that were squeezed into the roof.