Month: September 2011

Hornblower – The big tow

30th September 2011 – Since I had to work, friends took some pictures of the towing. Even if I hadn’t to work, I was to ill to do anything. Not sleeping, too much work at my work and at home had taken to much energy of me.

In the late evening, I did a little effort of driving my boat from Moerbrugge to her mooring with Andy. Something I would regret the next two days. Still it was a nice experience. In the lock of Dampoort, a friend came aboard. We hit the door of the lock because the reverse of the gearbox failed to work.

 

Hornblower – Moving the boat

28th September 2011 – An English couple is willing to tow my boat to Moerbrugge. Since she is moored at the front of the dock, they wanted her to to be next to them. It would be easier to leave on Friday. I’m under a lot of stress at the moment and forgot to fill up the fuel tank. I changed oil, tried the steering and came with a battery. After two minutes the engine stopped running and we had to tow the boat by hand for approximately 400 meters. Climbing up and down every barge to get the rope and pull her a bit further.

In the two minutes the engine ran, we were smoked out. The exhaust was broken and a lot of smoke came free in the wheelhouse. The person who had been working on the boat made sure I wouldn’t leave…

Hornblower – Engine, steering and BBQ

25th September 2011 – A lot of technical issues have to be arranged before leaving Sluiskil. One of them was the cooling of the engine. The exhaust was leaking, so that needed a fix as well. The steering was not working properly and the wheelhouse was still a mess. I couldn’t show I was working on leaving, so everything had to be done in between…

We had a great BBQ with the neighbours in the evening. It made me forgot my trouble for a while…

Hornblower – Bow

4th September 2011 – The bow is nearly finished. Two bollards on each side, the hatch and an air vent are the finishing touch of the front cabin. I did some wood work on the inside.

A friend came to say hello. He recommended me changing the bathroom. Put it in the front of the barge and keep the back area as study room and sleeping room. I might consider it!

 

Watergeus – Bulkhead and front deck

3rd September 2011 – I did some more work on the bulkhead today while I was filling up my water tanks. In the afternoon I cleaned the fore deck and repainted it. Last year, I put a metal box on deck. One year later, with the dust on deck underneath the box I had a lot of rust.