31st July 2011 – On Sunday, I always try to do a constructive job: wood work in the living room. I finished the wall near the bulkhead and started building the frame on the other side. While working, I discovered the windows are not on the same location on each side. Starboard side starts at 60cm from the bulkhead, while the windows on the port side at 80cm.
30th July 2011 – I built a floor in the bathroom. It makes it easier walking around. The floor is bolted since I need to take it away to clean the bilges and to rebuild the exhaust.
The shaft is at one point higher then the floor. It will not become a major problem since the stairs are above the shaft. I’m happy with the lowered floor. It makes a difference of 20cm’s. This means I can stand up without hitting the roof with my head.
29th July 2011 – We worked on the windows in the bathroom. The floor was lowered yesterday.
27th July 2011 – It has to be done one day, so I just started. Cleaning the remaining 16 meters of gang board. I did around three meters today. When I finished painting, it started raining.
26th July 2011 – All the stuff I planned for the winter can be done now. The weather is so terribly bad. Therefore I updated several pages on this site
25th July 2011 – I have the boat now for three and halve months. I spent a lot of money, it took me a lot of spare time to get so far. When the windows in the back are replaced, the boat can be called dry. I don’t see anymore leaks from rain water. The bottom is fine, she was doubled by a previous owner. In September I want to replace the wheelhouse windows and start working on the engine.
If everything goes as planned, I hope to make my first trip next year. She won’t be finished, but at least I should be able to make a journey with the Hornblower.
Having worked on several boats in the last year, I can think this one being the biggest success for me. Some advice for starters: Make sure you have place to sleep aboard while working. When you are tired, you can go to bed without driving several miles! When there are nice people around you, it goes much quicker as well. You don’t loose motivation.
24th July 2011 – Breaking down isn’t always nice. Sometimes I like it, on other occasions I want to be constructive. I did some timber and insulation work in the front. One top side of the living room is now nearly finished. A skipper came and gave me the advice to lower the bathroom floor, by removing the exhaust of the engine. It gives me 8cm of more space, just enough to stand up, or at least for me…
When it was dry, I removed the remaining kit from the windows and sprayed some paint where we welded last week. I don’t mind that the boat is painted in several colours. What I do mind is rust!
23rd July 2011 – I didn’t sleep to well, thinking on how to solve the trouble. The toilet was removed, as everything else. I decided to do it properly, so everything had to go! The toilet pipe was leaking, at least the plastic bit. It is now sealed and welded. Gives me a much safer feeling! One hole less in the boat.
We started breaking out the windows, cutting the metal to the right shape and that was it for today. After we removed the windows, the metal around it was looking bad. It was thin. Last weekend I posted in my blog some pictures of the leaking windows, well the result can be seen now.
I had another look and when the whole area was cleaned, it didn’t look to bad. There is nothing that can’t be repaired.
22nd July 2011 – My car was filled up with wood. Maybe I should have bought a little van instead of an Opel Corsa. I unloaded the wood, painted it with an alternative of carbolineum and loaded them aboard the Hornblower. It took me two hours, but it had to be done first. If you don’t do it straight away, you just start using the wood without treatment.
Since I want to clean the bilges, I started removing the wooden floor in the bathroom. I discovered a lot of trouble, maybe a little bit to many! Water around the toilet, water near the shaft, a rotten plate a bit further and damaged concrete…
This is the moment where you start doubting on the boat, the project and yourself.
19th July 2011 – Before I painted the anchor, I cleaned it with a steel brush. It looks nice now, but I will give it another coat tomorrow.
18th July 2011 – I went to pick up an anchor. I found a small clipper anchor on Internet for sale. It was still in a good shape, but it was sold as a garden piece…
16th July 2011 – I did some more woodwork today, building a bulkhead between the forepeak and the new bathroom. I had to to a party in the evening, so I didn’t stay long.
16th July 201 – In the morning I got some more sheets of wood from my neighbour. I cut them on the right size so they could enter the boat.
In the afternoon and evening I broke down the bathroom. I was disappointed I could not lower the floor. Shaft and exhaust of the engine are running underneath the floor. I felt through the wooden floor on four locations. I’ll replace it next weekend with a descent construction!
The price for aluminum windows (like the RAFA windows) are expensive. Rubbers around glass is much cheaper, but I have seen them go wrong on several ships. I needed a few buckets on the Escapde and now I need a few on the Hornblower.
15th July 2011 – I finished the second wall in the living room. If I had enough wood, it would have done completely, now I have to wait for the other side…
10th July 2011 – Instead of breaking everything down, I started building the two important walls. One to divide wheelhouse from living room and the other one to separate sleeping room from living room. It looks simple but at the end of they day, I built half a wall and the frame for a second one!
I cut out the floor where the wall is standing. This means I can always access my bilges without breaking down a wall. While removing the floor I discovered the bilges where still dry. This means the windows are not leaking!
