14th June 2016 – A clean job, this what I wanted for today. Not messing around with oil or any other dirt. I build a frame for one side and enjoyed doing it. It went surprisingly well and in no time, a frame for a wall appeared.

13th June 2016 – I just bought myself a new hoover. Much better then the previous one which is worn out, leaking and badly damaged. I spent 50 EURO and it did the job. If lasts longer, I’m a very happy man. All the sand is gone from the bilges. I have clean concrete again. I dropped some sheets on the ribs so I can walk around and sort out my tools before starting the big job of converting the front cabin.

12th June 2016 – The best decision was to put her alongside. I have descent power, no noisy generator and always light.

10th June 2016 – I cleaned the outside, put a cover of the engine room and had a few more hours of sleep… It seemed that more beer then fuel was used yesterday…

9th June 2016 – We welded some L-shape profiles on the deck and mounted the metal sheets I cleaned yesterday. I have now a square open box above the engine room. This means there is standing height in the engine room. Welding was a success until the generator decided to give up. The engine ran but no power came out. We heard some noise, but were unable to solve the issue.

I asked some power to the people living in the houses opposite my ship on the Houtkaai. Nobody wanted to help. They all had an excuse. I was disappointed in the mentality of human beings , and especially in those living there. They think because of livung in a house, they are worth more then you.

Since I have no money for a new generator, we decided to tow the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’ along the Watergeus. A friend came with a small boat with an outboard and off we were. It took us half an hour and they had to open the bridge twice.

Once arrived, I opened a case of beer and we had a good drink and a laugh.

8th June 2016 – Half a year ago, I got metal from a neighbour. He raised the den of his spits barge and cut some holes for windows. Those pieces were stored on the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’ for some time now. I cleaned them for welding since they were cut with a torch and the sides had some sharp edges.

7th June 2016 – Wood was delivered in the early morning. I loaded it on the Watergeus before going to work. In the evening, I moved the construction wood to the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’.

6th June 2016 – Half of the hold is now cleaned and painted.

2nd June 2016 – To avoid any more water from getting into the ship, I sealed any possible opening in the ship, starting with the portholes and finishing with the air vents. It doesn’t look right, but it will keep my ship dry.

31st May 2016 – I had another look at my ship in the evening. It had been raining and had no idea if any water came in. When I opened the hatch, I noticed my bilges had been filled up with water, around half a meter. I didn’t know what to do.

My generator was still dry, so I went home, changed clothes and started hovering. The generator was running in the accommodation and I had to be on my knees to get to the bilges. Because of the smell and fumes, I nearly turned away. A friend came to help me and the generator was moved into my car. At least I can now work silently and without having to breath exhaust fumes.

Later I would discover the water came from two open portholes, an open skylight and a few leaking seals.

25th May 2016 – We finished the entrance and the last porthole is now mounted.

21st May 2016 – I often buy paint in big quantity when there is a promotion in a DIY store. The problem I found last week was that this only had 6 tins of paint. So I drove around several shops from the same company to get some more paint.

17th May 2016 –

16th May 2016 – I finished the paint on the upper part of the hold and the ceiling. It looks nice in one colour. Late in the evening, I built the wooden frame and supports for the new ceiling.