26th December 2022 – I went to Nieuwpoort to get an old pump of a houten waal. It is basilcy a metal or bronze pipe with a manual wooden pump inside the pipe…
What is so special about this pump? It was build at the same yard where many wooden barges (houten walen) were built.
24th December 2022 – I was surprised to see how low the water was in the canal. The distance supports for the ship are grounded and I’m quiet afraid Tordino will follow. Yesterday water was high. Nearly 1 meter of difference…
23rd December 2022 – A lot of rain and wind, a perfect day for working aboard. I’m nearly getting there. I was way behind planning for scanning. I received a lot of stuff the last couple of months and now it is nearly all in place and in the inventory.
22nd December 2022 – I found a few nice painting in the Netherlands for the museum.
19th December 2022 – The first job today was to check if there was any damage in the engine rooms of the ship. It has been freezing a whole week and some days temperatures stayed below 0°C. Luckily no damage was noticed.
In the afternoon I continued scanning books and postcards for the inventory.
18th December 2022 – I had a visit of some old skippers. Sadly it was really cold, around 2°C in the hold. They didn’t stay long, but I received some nice books for the library!
Starting from tomorrow, temperatures will be again above freezing point, so it should be better!
17th December 2022 – Today I went to pickup a model of the Aquarel. It was custom made for our museum.
13th December 2022 – Last night was the coldest night in at least two years. Since it is to cold to work in the hold, I worked in the accommodation where I have my pellet heather running. When you live aboard it is easy to keep it warm. Now I have to drive three times a day to fill up the heather.
A few more nights and we are safe again!
12th December 2022 – It was a cold night, but tonight will be worse…
6th December 2022 – Another evening of scanning…
4th December 2022 – A family of skippers, and close friends of me, came to visit the Tordino. They were curious where the models they gave me were showed. It was a nice afternoon!
30th November 2022 – Nearly every evening, I’m scanning postcards or old documents for the museum. While sorting out the Library today, I noticed how much scan work I still have to do. For the museum MAS in Antwerp, they are looking for volunteers to help them scanning. Knowing how much that needs to be done at their side, it would be much wiser to take a dedicated person into service. If only I had the money, I would do the same….
I installed a second screen to the working computer, so describing a photo will become easier. Photo on one screen, the tool on a second one. It was a job I wanted to do for weeks now…
26th November 2022 – Today, I picked up two nice models of inland barges, one of a sleepspits and one of a kempenaar. Both of them will become part of the core collection of the museum.
In the afternoon, I continued scanning postcards….
24th November 2022 – Just another day of scanning postcards, today I decided to go for French canals and barges. Sometimes you need a change….
While scanning the cards, it gives you the feeling you want to travel. It once was my plan in 2011 to travel through France. Maybe one day…
Anyway, I have over 600 cards that need scanning. At the moment, I’m doing around 34 cards a day…
22nd November 2022 – Another afternoon of adding postcards and documents to our inventory. Slowly making progress of a never ending job. Let’s hope, the inventory is becoming a useful tool for many people.
