9th August 2021 – The doors for the toilet, the steps for the wheelhouse and a part of the skylight were sanded down.
I also removed the tiles in the kitchen, replaced them with a good and thick plywood. Now I can glue some new tiles…
Category: MS Stern - page 6
7th August 2021 – After rowing for two hours, walking back to the car and coming home, I started sanding the steps a little more. I put a good coat of oil on them and ten minutes later it started raining…
6th August 2021 – I sanded a little more on the door before putting a first good coat of oil. The door became slightly dark but we will see tomorrow.
I cut an old stair into two smaller ones. One is to come on deck and the other one is to go down in the wheelhouse.
5th August 2021 – I continued with the door for the back of the wheelhouse. It is now reassembled, but still needs a lot of sanding.
4th August 2021 – When moving the Stern, so many people looked at me. Some of them were seriously interested, others were looking at the ship like it was a wreck…. What people don’t know is that I’m proud of owning this ship. Many people want to own a ship or dream of one. I just did it. Tough or sad, I don’t care. I made it safely to Oudenburg with the white lifeboat alongside. Now it is time to continue working on the Stern to finish her. Earlier this month I was still planning on selling her, now I know more then ever I will use her for cruising on our canals in the evening.
3rd August 2021 – A first step in finishing the Stern is making a door for the wheelhouse. It will be a sliding door. I’m reusing a door from a friends wheelhouse but it needs a lot of adjustment. The door is to big and not square. The wood is salvageable but the varnish is gone.
14th July 2021 – It is already halfway summer and the weather hasn’t given me any moment to paint. I wanted to wait to put the name and numbers on the Stern until it was fully painted. I don’t want to get a fine when I’m moving the ship next time, so I put some temporary labels on it. At least, if there is a check on the ship, they can now trace it…
22nd June 2021 – I cleaned the Stern. It was to rainy to do a proper job. At least, I can now walk around in the wheelhouse, which will make it safer for a next journey, maybe next week…
14th June 2021 – The biggest mistake I made was moving the Stern alongside Tordino. I just can’t have a safe access to the ship. A ship is made for cruising around, so I turned back to Bruges. It took us less then two hours to get back. I was lucky to pass under the last bridge. After me, it was over. The bridge got stuck for a few hours…
30th May 2021 – I made a first journey with the Stern as she is converted now. It was a challenge to me since I barely move my own ships, unless it is for a yard visit. I prefer converting boats instead of sailing them. I was in doubt whether I should keep the Stern or not. If the journey went fine, I would keep it as my own yacht. Since I made this promise to myself, I need to keep it.
So I will continue with the Stern. But how was the Journey? Well…
I left Bruges at 7:47 after I forgot to disconnect the shore power. The bridge was open since they were replacing some parts of the internal lifting system. I was not sure about the height of the bridge so I lowered my mast. I’m glad I did since the bridge was not totally open.
The rest of the journey went fine, I arrived at 9:30 o’clock at Tordino. She is not very stable to navigate and from the moment you don’t pay attention, she goes her own way. I don’t thing she will handle bad weather nicely…
26th May 2021 – Before making any other changes, I want to know how the ship is steering with a new wheelhouse. The last trip was two minutes from her previous mooring to my ship. Sunday will be the day. One of the major issues will be the noise of the engine, but that is the least to worry about at this stage.
I cleaned the decks and made sure I now have a free deck to walk around. Last time, with the old wheelhouse I had to crawl on and off the boat to get to the front. I don’t want this to happen now.
23rd May 2021 – The project of the Stern stopped where it becomes difficult to me. The electricity and plumbing needs to be done, the finishing touch of the interior, the sliding door and the problem with the sound insulation of the engine room. I had a few acceptable excuses why I didn’t continue, but now the Baron project hasn’t gone through, I might as well just accept the challenge and finish why I bought the Stern for in the first place: to cruise.
21st May 2021 – It was time to start planning and working again on the Stern. I cleaned a part of the kitchen and realized most of my tools are still on Tordino…
31st March 2021 – I had some time in the morning so I gave a second coat of paint in the wheelhouse. Not done much but it gave a good feeling.
22nd March 2021 – Now that the new ship of my neighbor has arrived, it was time to clean up the mooring and move it back alongside the Watergeus. I was surprised the see the engine starting on only 8v instead of 12v. I kept it running for a while so the battery can charge. My other neighbour helped me with the rope work.
