14th November 2021 – I had all the pieces to finish the railing on the Stern. It is a small job, drilling around ten holes in the cupboard and putting bolts through. Today it is done. Happy with the result, I cleaned a bit of the rubbish in the living room and went for a walk…
1st November 2021– I made a small trip with one of the neighbours.
The reason for the trip was bad weather and no screws with the right size for the railing on the cupboards…
31st October 2021 – There are about a hundred small jobs left, all taking 5 minutes or less. I did a few today like pulling an extra power cable, mounting a light, finishing some plugs, etc…
25th October 2021 – Two sockets were mounted, the depth meter connected, a picture of a narrowboat screwed in the wall and I let run the electric heather for a while until it stopped smoking.
I added some LED lights powered by a battery and a solar panel in the mast. It was an idea from one of the neighbours.
18th October 2021 – With the days becoming shorter, so is dropping my motivation for working. I vanished the floor of the wheelhouse and toilet. the remaining wood around the new door was painted.
Last week I ordered search lights and some more equipment. It will all be mounted on a metal bar. The metal bar is painted and now I’m mounting the equipment.
13th October 2021 – I took half a day of to work on the Stern, but started with a good walk. Once back, I had not much energy left to do something. Anyway, a lot happened and I’m happy with the result!
12th October 2021 – It was raining so I couldn’t do much. The floor got a second coat of oil. Hopefully it will be dry so I can varnish it tomorrow.
11th October 2021 – The floor and panels got a second coat of paint or oil. I finished the wooden box for the car radio of the wheelhouse and I built a wooden box for underneath the wheel. At least I can put some stuff in there like spare fuses, etc…
10th October 2021 – The remaining t&g of the wheelhouse is now painted. I was doubting between oiling and painting. I think I’ve chosen the right thing by painting it. It makes the wheelhouse much bigger. The floor was oiled, or at least a port of it. I also oiled the bathroom floor.
8th October 2021 – The fuel tank is filled up again and ready to go. I made a small trip, but had to go back since it was getting dark quickly. Maybe not the brightest idea to leave so late in the evening.
The floor in the wheelhouse is nearly finished and I made a bracket for the compass. The Chinese ordered battery charger is working. Let’s see what will happen to the battery.
5th September 2021 – Just after finding the water in the bilges on Sunday, I had to break up the wheelhouse floor. The hatches were not properly made and I couldn’t open them. The only solution now is to work with aluminium profiles. They will align the side of the hatches. Sadly enough the weather was unreliable so I only got as far as one hatch…
4th October 2021 – Time to continue with the wheelhouse. I didn’t have time yet to go shopping for the wheelhouse floor, so I continued with the windows. It was no longer raining so my tools could stand outside. This is a major problem not having a workshop anymore…
3rd October 2021 – It was still raining heavily in the morning, so I couldn’t start working. In the afternoon I had a look and discovered quite a lot of water in the bilges. It is guessing where it is coming from. By the evening, I had hovered it out twice and it stayed dry. Probably the hatch for the batteries wasn’t totally welded and caused the problem. I sealed the joint with silicon and will have a look tomorrow.
2nd October 2021 – While it was still dry, I made an attempt to clean the wheelhouse and finish the walls. I only got so far…
29th September 2021 – With the weather being unstable, it is now the priority to have a watertight door.
It was becoming windy today. As long as it stays dry, I’m happy.
