2nd March 2015 – With the idea of buying another bakdekkruiser, I decided to write down the conversion on the Escapade and where it failed for me. It will be published the next couple of days. In the meantime I abandoned the project since the ship I visited last week is to far gone. Sad, but it is wiser to put my money in the finishing of the Aquarel.
1st March 2015 – I did finish the side and had some time left to build the frame for the remaining bit under the waterline. It feels great to be that far and to realize that I still have a lot to do …
The hold is looking bigger with the t&g. It feels warmer as well since 90% is already insulated.
28th February 2015 – One big area needs to be insulated and finished with t&g. Once this area is done, I only have to work below the waterline and a few corners. I did half of it today and I hope to finish the rest tomorrow.
16th February 2015 – There was now a period where I nearly worked every evening. It is nice to see how much progress you can make. With a finished ceiling, the walls nearly done and more or less a clean hold, it feels great. I don’t want make a list of what has to be done, but I’m starting to feel I have control again on the project.
15th February 2015 – Running out of wood gave me time to continue building the kitchen. Since the wall is build, I can now easily finish the kitchen. I still need to build one cupboard, an inspection hatch for the side of the ship, a cooker and room for a fridge. I’m happy I can reuse the old paneling from my neighbours spits barge. It gives a good contrast between old and new.
14th February 2015 – I spent most of the day cleaning the ship and building the wall. Every month I make one day free for cleaning the hold. When buying t&g, insulation and other items from the shop, there is a lot of packaging. There was some old wood I no longer needed. When finished, the hold seemed slightly bigger again….
13th February 2015 – The hold will be divided into two areas. One is the exhibition space and the other one an extension to the back accommodation. I welded a metal support from one site to the other at a certain height from the bilges. The idea is not having to break down the wall when I’m at the yard and there has to be welded underneath.
My plan was to build a sliding door in the wall. It gives me more space and I have a nice door that could fit. It took me the rest of the day to built the framework for the door. It wasn’t that easy as it seemed…
10th February 2015 – Finishing the wall on portside, cleaning where I will weld supports for another wall and counting how much wood was left. Written in one sentence but it took me all evening.
8th February 2015 – Just working on portside.
4th February 2015 – The ceiling is now nearly finished.
22nd January 2015 – I started with t&g, ended with the door framework and some other smaller jobs. Never being bored aboard the Aquarel! It will be a major step once the t&g is finished. I don’t want to start thinking what to do next, there is still so much work that needs to be done. I sometimes wonder why I started this project and what will become of it. The conclusion: Don’t think, just do it!
21st January 2015 – It nearly starts automatically putting the T&G. I had some multiplex and insulation to finish in the bathroom area first. By the end of the evening i was happy with what I had achieved. Moments later I realized I had to build a frame for Saturday. This means I have to come over tomorrow to make this frame.
20th January 2015 – The ceiling went well today. I made some progress on the t&g. In the meantime, I discovered a small leak in the ceiling of the generator room above my water tanks. A ship always keeps you busy.
17th January 2015 – For about the whole day, I put t&g on the ceiling. It didn’t go as planned. I have a curve or bend somewhere and it takes me an average of ten minutes for one plank to put in. Frustrating in some way, but nice to see how it will become once finished.
To the end of the day I discovered a crack in two planks. It annoyed me so much I quiet the job. I’ll see how it reacts later.
16th January 2015 – My intention to finish the ceiling by the end of December was a failure. A new deadline is the end of January. Today I finished most of the insulation and the first layer of wood. The hold looks dark at the moment because of the brown multiplex. Working with no daylight often causes me a bit of a depression.
My hold still contains stuff I need to put elsewhere. Since I put on my roof in March last year, a lot of tools and parts were stored in the main hold. They need to be in my workshop. There is now a wooden wall that divides the hold in two. To have access to my workshop, I need to go outside. My parents came to help me moving all this stuff. By the end of the afternoon, the main hold looks emptier. I can walk around and finish the ceiling without stepping onto everything.