Month: February 2007

Watergeus – Last day in Sluiskil

26th February 2007 – In the late morning / early noon I started making the last preparations for the sailing. Realizing a lot of the the bulkhead needed to be welded, I started doing it myself.

Between some welding sessions, I helped moving a boat by hand and celebrated somebody’s birthday.

In the evening, the welder came to finish what I had started.

Taking goodbye of the people I’ve lived with, we decided to sit inside my neighbour’s ship and drank a beer. Half an hour later we heard somebody shouting their was a fire and when going upstairs, smoke was getting out of the pusher next to us. Together with him we extinguished the fire. There was a lot of damage. After an hour everything was under control and the fire had gone out. Cause, a diesel heater. So I ended my last day in Sluiskil in a very sad way.

By the time it was two o’clock, I went to bed, realizing a few hours later we would set sail with the Watergeus to Bruges…

Watergeus – Sealing the windows

24th February 2007 – When windows are placed, between their frame and the steel of the den, there is always a small gap, just enough to let water slowly enter the boat. Therefore you can make use of packing or silicon. It took us some time to fit the windows nicely and close them with silicon.

In the afternoon, the pipes for the toilet, shower and exhaust were placed on the waste water tank.

A lock was created to close the door from the outside and the inside. Later that evening some more welding was done on the bulkhead.

Watergeus – Filling up the ballast tank

23th February 2007 – I had prepared everything for the trip (see article), but forgot about putting weight in the back, so the propeller would be under the water, not halve above. If the propeller is above water, you can’t sail backwards! Therefore I filled the new waste water tank with canal water.

 

The deck was painted on the side visible in Bruges. This will make her look nicer for when we arrive somewhere next week.

The holes for the portholes of the bedrooms and corridor were drilled, those of the kitchen and bathroom re drilled.

Some more plating of the watertight compartment were welded.

In the late evening the preparations for the trip were discussed, while drinking some coffee and beer.

Watergeus – Painting the entrance

22th February 2007 – In the morning, since the weather was dry, I painted the main entrance in black, according to the rest of the boat’s style.

 

While the first coat of paint was drying, the windows for the kitchen and bathroom were placed. Since I couldn’t drill with my hand, which is till not healing, the holes could not be re drilled to match the windows.

In the afternoon, I made a trip with Rinus’ new boat, the 1929 build Arma. She is a maatkast built on the dimensions for sailing through Friesland. It was a small but relaxing trip.

While sailing on the Arma, the welder started working on my bulkhead, the last thing that needed welding before leaving Sluiskil.