Checking a tjalk in Nieuwpoort

8th July 2020 – I promised the owners of the Anna Sofia to have a check and to have some stuff done. Sadly enough I didn’t had any time yet. It took me some time to find the vessel and the jobs that needs to be done will take some time. Luckily enough I had silicon and a silicon gun in my car to seal the sink of the bathroom.  The other jobs have to be done Saturday evening.

It is a lovely interior, traditional Dutch, but with some nice details like old doors, stain glass, etc… It gives a cosy feeling! Some new nice ideas for my yacht came up. Only if I had the time to work on the Stern…

 

 

The repairs aboard the Maxx – Sinking again

7th July 2020 – I shouldn’t have taken a day off to help. The result was known before we even started. When the ship was launched in the water, the bilges became wet quickly. First through a small hole, later through the holes of the original plate. I tried with cement, but when closing one hole, water came through another one… There was nothing that could be done, but taking the ship back out of the water. The owner doesn’t want to give up on her and has already spent a fortune on a ship that isn’t worth it. 

I am pretty much doing the same with my little yacht and shouldn’t judge. Nevertheless I am talking about different amounts of money of realising the same size of ship. 

What annoyed me the most in this project is that the owner didn’t listen and had to say I was right at the end of the day, spending a fortune on craning that should never have happened. In my opinion there are only two options left: fiberglassing the whole hull or scrapping the boat. It is hard to say, but you will now already not get back any money you spent in the ship….

Moving the Mouette

6th July 2020 – With a group of friends we moved the Mouette to the Flandria yacht Harbour.  We started the operation at 5 o’clock in the evening, but had to wait for the batteries to get charged. The lock was busy since they hadn’t worked for nearly a whole day. It took us some time since the ship is taking a lot of wind and we wanted to go gently. Around 10 o’clock we were moored in the marina, just in time before it got dark.

 

Stern – Free insulation

5th July 2020 – I found an advertisement for free Rockwool insulation. I drove to pick it up and filled my whole van. There is enough for the Stern and even more for future projects… Only one issue, where to store it?

Friends going and leaving the yard

3rd July 2020 – In the morning I drove to the shipyard in Sluiskil to take some pictures of the Julie leaving.  There were some other houseboats t the yard as well.

While I was there, other neighbours called since they got stuck with engine trouble in Leffinge. It is always an adventure going to the yard, but it was nicely fixed by the skipper.

In the evening I helped the Julie in the lock grabbing a rope. They had made a nice journey. 

Vlet – Day 3

28th June 2020 – I had a good night sleep. I should have lowered the living table earlier to sleep on, instead of sleeping on the floor. Wen we started the engine, we noticed a flat battery. With only cheap low amp battery charges, we would not make it. There was a liveaboard battery aboard.  The owner switched batteries so the engine started. Sadly enough we had no other power aboard. No radio, no monitoring of the engine, no lights… 

We left Terrneuzen and arrived around 9 o’clock in Evergem. Locks only open at 10, so we waited for an hour, had a chat with some skippers and filled the fuel tank. 

The skipper in front of us had issues getting into lock, creating issues for us as well.

 

Once we left the lock we had no more issues. The service in Bruges went fluently, every bridge opened nicely on time. The lock went quickly and we moored alongside my neighbour to unload the boat. We then continued to Oudenburg where the ship arrived at its destination, 40 days later after the owner bought it…

Vlet – Day 2

27th June 2020 – No sleep and a a lot of mosquito bites. But when waking up and looking outside made my day. Beautiful weather, a little bit of wind.  

We had a look at the engine and gearbox. The issue was not the engine but the mounting of the forward / reverse handle. Something we have to alter at a later stage. We kept it in mind while moving the boat that manoeuvring would require more thinking / fendering the boat. 

Once we left the Biesbosch we were in open waters. A lot of wind and water coming on our deck. No issue since it was sunny and as quickly we vace wet were dry again.

After the lock of Hansweert, weather changed dramatically. A lot of wind, nearly storm and bad weather. I was engaged in crossing the Westerschelde and had no other option then making it to Terneuzen. I have seen the boat rolling and hitting the waves. At some points, even I was scared. 

I changed clothes in Terneuzen while waiting for the lock.  We moored at the yacht harbour and stayed for the night.

Vlet – Day 1

26th June 2020 – We left in Bruges at 5 o’clock in the evening for Werkendam where the ship was moored. I was tired after not having sleep for a couple of nights because of the heat. The ship was ready for us, but I went to the yard first to pick up the old shaft and the grease pumps. Since they were ours, I wanted it back. always useful for something when you are converting your own boat…

It was nice to sail in the Biesbosh until the engine started smoking and was doing weird. We lost performance and decided to moore near the local ferry boat. The mooring didn’t go as softly as planned since I had no reverse. We secured the boat for the night, had a few drinks and went to bed.

Tordino – Swimming people and dead fish

24th June 2020 – There were a few articles in the local newspaper about dead fish and oxygen being pumped into the water. A lot of fish had died. I was a bit afraid what I might expect. When I arrived, people were swimming around my ship, but not a single fish was floating…