30th March 2021 – Pictures say more then a description of the journey. But it was lovely!
30th March 2021 – A boring day cleaning decks…
29th March 2021 – Some more deck cleaning and painting was done. Parts of the deck were painted as well as the second lifeboat.
29th March 2021 – I have many friends from abroad who are living on boats or who have a boat in Belgium. They can’t come to say hello. Sometimes there is one or two exceptions like today. We had a nice chat on a summer-like evening…
28th March 2021 – It was a very windy day. I started by cutting through the ribs of the bottom of the new entrance. Now it is a big hole and stuff can be lowered down. It was slightly tricky since I didn’t one the plate to fall down. It worked out fine with some clamps and some wood.
I removed some paint from the decks, another two meters are gone.
My mother painted the lifeboat while I had it attached to the car. It was the only safe way to do so.
27th March 2021 – The carpenter came and we had to cut the wooden ribs and level the insulation. I did as much as I could, but not the most lovely job…
I preferred sitting in the wheelhouse watching the people passing by and just having a drink…
27th March 2021 – We assembled the distance keepers. I gave the remaining bits a first coat of primer. They are now ready to be put in the water but they might still receive a good coat of finish, probable red.
26th March 2021 – I have four watertanks in the hold. One needs to go to make space for the stairs of the new entrance. I cut the tank into several pieces to take it out. Then it was time to remove the wood around the ceiling and walls.
In the late afternoon, two friends helped lowering the frame for the stairs. Now it is up to me to get them in position.
26th March 2021 – The owner of the Maxx called me with some exciting news: they will launch the Maxx on 3rd April 2021. Since I promised the make the journey to Ghent, I will make sure I’m there when they launch the ship. Hopefully third time right time!
While I was there, I noticed a sailing yacht, very similar to the Baron
25th March 2021 – I mainly cleaned the deck on starboard side, the side that will be visible on her new mooring. I did four meters.
24th March 2021 – I removed the last bit old green paint and started cleaning the decks. A long way to go.
In the afternoon I cut the hole for the entrance.
In the evening I got a nice stair for the entrance. It is extremely heavy. One part is loaded aboard. The other one will be for later.
23rd March 2021 – The second part of the distance keepers arrived today. We unloaded them and put them on the street side to paint them. The whole construction is much heavier then expected. I got some paint left from another project and the first set of parts got a first coat of primer.
22nd March 2021 – Now that the new ship of my neighbor has arrived, it was time to clean up the mooring and move it back alongside the Watergeus. I was surprised the see the engine starting on only 8v instead of 12v. I kept it running for a while so the battery can charge. My other neighbour helped me with the rope work.
22nd March 2021 – I had a good nights sleep aboard the Watergeus. Makes a difference! We left Beernem in the dark and by the time we arrived at the first bridge, it was daylight. We were stuck behind a tanker for the whole journey. It was a lovely day, steering in the sun and just enjoying the typical (to me boring) view of the canal Bruges-Ostend.
21st March 2021 – We left Zelzate at 8 o’clock in the morning. The lock of Evergem is opening at 10, so we had plenty of time. It was again a cold night. I was surprised to see how busy it was at the lock of Evergem, certainly on a Sunday morning.
At lunch time we arrived at Beernem where we moored the ship alongside Tordino. We had a few drinks and went home.
