4th February 2022 – After more then seventeen years, it is time to move on and find a new project. The Watergeus has been my home for as long as I can remember, I always took care of her and now she is for sale.
Interested? Have a look at http://www.watergeus.be
3rd February 2022 – We received some stuff like books, namesign and pictures of the spits Isabella. Three years ago we got from the same skipper the steering wheel and the propellor. A nice addition to the collection!
19th January 2022 – During the last fifteen years, I’ve collected a lot of documents and brochures about houseboats and nautical events. These documents were still stored aboard the Watergeus and are now slowly moving towards the library aboard Tordino. The first of four out of twenty boxes were moved today….
18th January 2022 – No time to waste, so I started cutting tanks and oil drums. Three drums are gone and a third of a water tank. Another one needs to be done as well. I can’t use an angle grainder since I don’t want to put my library on fire….
18th January 2022 – Where to start, I just started with my office space today. I filled four boxes and made a big pile of old paperwork that has to go….
17th January 2022 – I’ve just started cleaning the upper level of the storage unit. This was the easy part… Tomorrow I will have to start cutting up water and fuel tanks….
17th January 2022 – I brought the first moving boxes aboard. It will be a hell of a job to empty the Watergeus after 17 years living aboard… It is with pain in the heart I’ve started. My main concern is to find a new owner who can show as much love and respect as I did.
9th January 2022 – The barge is safely moored next to the lock. Water was higher and we managed to get her off. It still took us some time, but at least he ship is safe and there are no leaks! I’m happy for the owner.
8th January 2022: A barge was stuck on the side of the Canal. Heavy winds blew the ship to the side. The sides are very shallow and full of rocks and bricks.
We tried pulling her out with our vlet, but this was not successful. A tractor came to help and we pulled the ship of the rocks. Sadly enough, the wind blew the ship back on it. Since water was still dropping in the canal, we gave up and went home.
7th January 2022 – The first repair of this year is done. The door handle of the museum broke. I managed to fix it, but is a temporary solution. Some more temperature and humidity registration tools were mounted in the museum.
Behind the library was a workshop. I’m using it as a depot, but this is the only part aboard that is not insulated. Between nice objects, I also keep my spare tools in this room. The idea is to clean it up, put some proper cupboard and use it as an extension to the library.
6th January 2022 – This evening I went to visit an old neighbour from the Nomade who is now living in the Netherlands. He had some plans and pictures from his barge for my museum. It was a nice evening! Talking to each other, it was bringing back a lot of good memories!
29th December 2021 – I drove to Rotterdam to pick up a model of a groentenschuit. This is a smaller version of the Hornblower, a vlet that was used in canals to transport vegetables and fruit. The person who restored it gave me a second model of a ship, very similar to the SL.7 Jannetje, later known as my ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’. Two nice models for the collection!
28th December 2021 – While I have a few days off, I wanted to work on Tordino but weather doesn’t allow me to do so. Therefore I made a decision to start working on the website of the museum. It had an update two years ago, but the content is outdated and no longer attractive.
17th December 2021 – I made a big walk along the canal and found some interest in taking pictures of barges again…
