20th November 2022 – Not much a man can do when he cannot leave the house. I added some more old postcards to our inventory system… Curious? Have a look.
15th November 2022 – I had the chance of visiting two skippers in Ghent. Both of them had some very nice stuff for the museum. Both of them retired a few years ago and the boats they were talking about were ships I’ve known in service and seen converted into houseboats. Interesting to talk about the past of these vessels!
13th November 2022 – We received a huge collection of postcards from France inland canals and barges. They are being digitalized at the moment.
11th November 2022 – I checked the Stern and noticed there was some water in the bilges under the engine. Quickly I discovered, and honestly had it it in mind already, the hatch for the batteries is leaking. It was something I welded last year when I had nearly no time….
I bought a hover, since I ran out of them. They do break after a while if you start using them for oil.
Bilges are dry again!
11th November 2022 – This morning I continued scanning prayer cards from old skippers. They are a nice addition to the collection and a good source of information.
10th November 2022 – Yesterday I received a huge collection of prayer cards and postcards. I started scanning the cards.
5th November 2022 – I have an issue with one of our servers aboard Tordino. After several years of service, it failed. So I installed a new one, it might take some time to have it ready. In the morning I continued with the cupboard. I received the good news that the model of the ex-Aquarel is nearly finished, so that one will fit on the new display table above the cupboard.
4th November 2022 – I went to get some plywood. It is expensive! In the afternoon I drove to Ikea to get two cheap kitchen cupboards for underneath the display table. They were cheaper then the piece of plywood….
In the evening I mounted the cupboards. Enough for today!
2nd November 2022 – What else can I do but rest and do some scanning and inputting into our inventory system…. Slowly making progress, nearly halfway in scanning the pictures of the Sebastien.
31st October 2022 – Slowly getting stronger again, I made some time for scanning photos and documents. At the moment I’m scanning over 300 photos from the spits barge Sebastien, now moored in Mechelen as a houseboat.
15th October 2022 – Last week I received five big photos from the harbour of Antwerp, all of them taken before the First World War. It are massive prints in an extreme good quality. They are mounted in the Library.
14th October 2022 – In went to pick up a model of a houten waal at the Belgian border with France. It is probably one of the most detailed models I’ve ever seen.
Aboard Tordino, I spent most of the day scanning documents I received earlier this week.
13th October 2022 – We had a very enthusiastic group of people coming from Bruges. The good thing about such a groups are the interaction where both parties learn from each other.
11th October 2022 – I managed to visit the scrapyard in Antwerp through the help of a friend. I ended up with some paperwork and a nice ‘spoelbak’, a metal box to do the dishes outside.
Afterward, we went to his place where he gave me many documents and a nice model of an otter for the museum.
10th October 2022 – We walked around in Ronquieres, paid a visit to the houseboats and then went along the old canal, looking at the abandoned locks and the lock keeper houses. It was a nice day!
