18th June 2008 – I was briefly in Ghent in the evening. I did notice many people start having a Kempenaar as house boat.
16th June 2008 – Today we sailed the Arma, a Friese Maatkast from Sluiskil to Bruges where it will be converted into an office space and youth centre. It was a lovely journey that started at 5:30 in the morning in Sluiskil. At noon we had arrived in Bruges, where it took again a long time to pass through all bridges and locks.
She is a fully equipped ship, making use of a pilot instead of a traditional steering wheel. This is far more practical, but for my harder to handle since you don’t have that much feeling as with a steering wheel.
15th June 2008 – Since I have to sail tomorrow from Sluiskil to Bruges in the very early morning, I decided to stay the night in Sluiskil. I made the time to visit my friends and to see a spits barge at they yard. It was a spits barge I had worked on a few years ago.
14th June 2008 – At 8 O’clock I sailed aboard the Nomade from her mooring to the nearest lock.
In the morning I put in some more insulation in the roof. In the afternoon we cut out the holes for the air vent system of the ship. These holes will be used for air ventilation between the metal and the insulation and for the air in every room.
My mother painted the wheelhouse in yellow, like the traditional Dutch barges did.
9th June 2008 – I wanted to cut a second hole in my waste water water tank, so I could easily inspect it if there was a problem. After graining for 10 minutes the machine was so hot, I had to give it a rest. It never started again… This was the end for today’s work. I could not weld since I had to cut some metal, I could not build the water tank inspection hatch, etc…
8th June 2008 – Today we mainly worked on insulating the roof, around 92m2 needs to be done. It didn’t work out it’s a hard job taking a lot of time and not much difference can be seen. As far as I know it is, together with cleaning the bilges, one of the hardest jobs ever done on a ship.
7th June 2008 – Last week I didn’t work at all on my ship, so in the morning I cleaned the hold. In the afternoon I started working at the roof. It needs insulation and a framework to be built. I was disappointed that by the end of the evening, only 1.5m had been done, 3 ribs only…
1st June 2008 – Since there was a meeting in the evening, I went all day to Ghent to see some friends and how they are making progress in converting their barge.
31st May 2008 – Today we did some more work on the sides, paneling the frame with sheets of multiplex. In the afternoon, we made the floor for the office space and yes, it took us with four people a whole afternoon to get it done, around 20m2. The result is good, a nice wooden azobe floor.
27th May 2008 – Today we went sailing on the Marie-Galante, my neighbour’s spits barge. She was built in the same year as the Watergeus, but had always been upgraded and even as a house boat she is keeping her standard very height. Having a modern Caterpillar engine, DAF bow thruster and hydraulic steering, she is a beauty to sail on.
On the way back I sailed with her and I really was amazed of her steering, so fluently so nice and that for a spits barge!
It was a great day with a great ship and lovely people! The perfect combination for a good house boat society.
26th May 2008 – Friday evening I noticed water was high in the Canal, not unusual but not for longer then a day. It is now four days, so I had to make some of my ropes more loose. At the other hand it gave me he opportunity to take pictures of the ship from a different angle.
25th May 2008 – We went to get the doors. A carpenter knew where I could find some doors with glass panels. The doors are fine, but handles and frames are missing. Not that bad, since the door is the most expensive part. Also interesting is the height of 1,90m of each door!
24th May 2008 – Today we put the remaining insulation and started putting anti-damp foil on top of it. This will normally prevent any possible condensation from getting to the wood.
It was a busy day, we finished welding the little metal pieces on the den to hold the hatches and the roof of the back accommodation was painted light gray instead of dark green. Not only will it become less hot inside, it looks much cleaner as well.
23th May 2008 – In the evening I put in most of the insulation on starboard side. I started cutting the small green wooden planks and fixed them to the framework. All together, it makes it a very strong construction.
The other wood arrived.
22nd May 2008 – Today, the wheelhouse received a second coat of linitop oil. My father continued drilling holes in the metal roof for the wooden framework.
In the meantime I cut some insulation.