15th January 2012 – The main area for this month and probably February is the engine room. The fuel tanks are nearly in position. They are on their own supports, but I might have to move them a few centimeters towards the side. When I built the construction, I had 2cm spare, now I can’t even put a sheet of paper in between the two tanks…

I was able to raise the watertank and to make new supports for it. They are bolted, I will weld the whole construction on a later stage.

I can’t wait to paint the bilges and put the aluminum floor on the ribs. It will certainly look much better then it once was…

10th January 2012 – Most of the evening was spent in drilling holes, building a structure for the water tank. I’m nearly out of metal. Everything that has been used were items remaining from the conversion of the Watergeus and the Escapade.

I took some pictures and the engine room starts to look cleaner and more structured as well. I’ve welded supports for light and electricity wires. The bilges look cleaner and most of the rubbish from the engine room is gone.

8th January 2012 – I always believed foam insulation would melt when it gets into contact with high temperature. When welding in the engine room, there was some foam in the bilges. It took fire straight away, also setting fire to a piece of wood and a rag dipped in white spirit. There was an open cup with some white spirit underneath the gearbox. That was also set on fire.

I was able to extinguish the fire quick enough to prevent any damage to the ship. Most plastic pipes and hoses on the engine melted including some small equipment.  Since I had no fire extinguisher in the area, I started poring buckets of water in the engine room and on the engine. This might have been a risk, but if I had to wait for the fire brigade or a neighbour, likely the whole ship would have been on fire.

After I finished all the welding, a big cleanup started. Removing everything from the bilges and cleaning the metal where it had become black of the fire. The fist part of the engine room looks very clean now. Also the supports for the fuel tanks are ready. Tomorrow I’ll put the thanks in their brackets if the paint is dry.

As you can see, an accident can happen very quickly. I had no bucket with water ready, neither a fire extinguisher. The next brackets will be welded somewhere next week. Firstly I will put some safety equipment aboard.

7th January 2012 – With most of the wood gone, it was becoming dangerous walking in the wheelhouse. My father came over to help me putting one sheet in position on the ribs of the wheelhouse.

2nd January 2012 – I continued cleaning the bilges. Underneath the grease, I found old tar on some plates. I removed as much as possible before giving it a coat of white paint. nevertheless it still became a little yellow….

29th December 2011 – Before I can get to the bilges, I need to remove all the wiring from the ceiling. Most of it has fallen down already. At lunch time, I’ve just finished removing the wires. The bilges are now dry (a little damp at the most). Cleaning will be for another day…

28th December 2011 – In the morning I removed the floor in the wheelhouse. Together with my neighbour, we put the metal sheets aboard the Hornblower. If I need them, at least, they are inside and easier to get in position. They have a weight of 90kg each and very heavy to handle.

In the afternoon, I started cleaning the bilges. There is so much that needs to be done. Actually, I just don’t know where to start. The tanks need to be mounted to the ceiling, the bilges need a good clean, the engine is dirty, there are hundreds of meters of electricity wires hanging around, there is plenty of wooden floor left in the engine room, etc….

27th December 2011 – In the evening I started breaking down the wheelhouse. With a saw, I cut the wall into several pieces. Behind the wall I discovered some kind of earth. I believe it was wood one day…