28th February 2011 – I traced a previous owner of the Escapade. I finally know where she was built and when! He even has some older pictures of her. I can’t wait to see them.
The Escapade was built in 1937 at the shipyard Van Lent en Zonen in Kaag.
28th February 2011 – I traced a previous owner of the Escapade. I finally know where she was built and when! He even has some older pictures of her. I can’t wait to see them.
The Escapade was built in 1937 at the shipyard Van Lent en Zonen in Kaag.
27th February 2011 – I was looking for a few metal drilling bits when I noticed some water under my engine. First, I taught it was rain water, but very soon I noticed it came from a different area, the propeller. Friday afternoon, I ran my engine for an hour,so I know what caused the leak. Only it didn’t stop. Looking closer, I noticed the belt of the automatic grease pump was broken. I now quickly used the manual pump, but water continues to drip. I’ll have a look somewhere next week.
A bit more positive news on the Escapade, even with the heavy rain from last night, not much water had come in. I now properly sealed most of the holes on deck.
Thinking of what needs to be done this year, painting the outside of the Watergeus, going to the yard with my two boats, building a new upper structure on the Escapade, I realize it will be a bit to much for one person.
First of all, I want the back accommodation to be finished, so people can rent the area. Whenever the weather permits it, I must paint the outside of the Watergeus. It has now been three years and without maintenance it doesn’t look good anymore.
If the Escapade stays dry, I’m not in a hurry converting her. She will take a large amount of my budget.
26th February 2011 – One tile was replaced today. It was broken by drilling a hole yesterday evening. The toilet was mounted, the wheelhouse woodwork finished and the last corner of the floor sanded. A few bits of wood needed a primer and the area was cleaned.
What needs to be done the next weeks: Plumbing in the engine room, painting and getting the kitchen in!
In the evening I started cleaning the inside of the yacht. I used steel brushes and a hammer to remove rust and paint.
25th February 2011 – In the morning I filled up my water tanks, a job that takes four hours. While they were filling, I cleaned one of my storage rooms. Since I need to break down the bedroom in the Escapade, all my tools and stuff that was located there needs to get to the Watergeus.
The afternoon was completely spent on removing paint on the Escapade.
23rd February 2011 – I replaced three windows of the Wheelhouse of the Watergeus. They were al broken when I bought here. It was now time to replace them with a decent solution.
The toilet was tiled and the ventilator for the bathroom connected.
Two years ago, the old Scheepsdalebrug was removed. In the morning, one of the two big supports for the bridge was mounted. I took some pictures while I was working outside.
In the afternoon I continued with the bilges of the Escapde.
22nd February 2011 – Another evening spent aboard the Escapade, cleaning bilges and removing rust. The ceiling of the bedroom was removed. The more wood I have removed, the more I discover. Melted insulation, burned wood and a black metal with some paint left. Cause of the fire must have been the electricity.
21st February 2011 – As usual on a boat, one of the first job I always do is cleaning the bilges. It was no different with the Escapade…
Different then with other barges, the Escapade was filled with led as ballast.
19th February 2011 – Again some water was visible in the bilges, while I cleaned it earlier that morning. It had been raining so much that I could fill a 12 liters bucket. The sooner I find all the holes in the side and roof the quicker I might get her totally dry.
15th February 2011 – The interior of the Escapade is now gone. In 30 minutes, a friend and me removed the whole interior. Why? Well I discovered around 15cm of water in the bilges last night. I first tired hovering it out, but was to much. Once the interior was gone, I could estimate the amount of work needed to get everything clean.
Once the bottom was visible, I noticed the condition was better then expected.
14th February 2011 – Most people will think that it becomes easier after a few boats to always do the same jobs. Well in some cases it is true.
Unfortunately, the Escapade is not easier at all. I’m even afraid it might become a bigger job then the Watergeus. If she had the same size of the Watergeus, the amount of work would be to much. Every day I’m discovering new problems. It seems like it doesn’t stop!
13th February 2011 – The back accommodation of the Watergeus is nearly finished. It is time to start thinking about curtains, paint and other coloured items. My girlfriend is the perfect person for this. She choose the colours and I must admit, I like them!
12th February 2011 – In the late evening, I put a new cover over the Escapade to prevent rain from getting in. Doubtfully if it will work, but anything is better then it is now! Covers often mean the end of a ship. You hide the disaster from the public. Once the cover starts to disintegrate, you put another one on top of it. Doesn’t look right, but it gives a false feeling of ignoring the problem.
12th February 2011 – The whole morning I went shopping, or should I rather say: wait at the info desks of the shops.
In the afternoon, I finished the walls, adding a little piece of wood to hide any possible errors I made earlier during the conversion…
11th February 2011 – Again a meeting for the Vlaamse Woonschepen. It is important for the organization to continue to exist. My mother spent a whole day oiling the inside of the wheelhouse. It starts to look good!
10th February 2011 – I removed the water tank from the Escapade. I now have complete access to the bilges at the back of the ship. It is a 220 liters RVS tank. Heavy but useful. The bilges underneath don’t look that good. Some more work to add…