29th October 2019 – I had another contact wit the owner yesterday evening. Last week I discovered the ship wasn’t sold after all. While I was in hospital I gave him a ring telling my offer still stands.
I hope transport can be arranged for the price he suggested. If this works out, I’m expecting to own a grundel very soon!
Wheelhouses used to be built in wood and were removable for passing under some lower bridges. These days they are built in aluminum and can be raised or lowered by a hydraulic system. A wheelhouse is very often the area where the skipper spent most of his time.
In the early days many windows in a wheelhouse were blended or it was just a wooden panel instead of glass. This was for two reasons:
Nowadays this is no longer allowed since you must have an all-round view from the wheelhouse. This is also one of the rules in getting a CVO.
Some inside pictures of the wheelhouses from Dutch Barges. Most of the pictures were used with permission from the broker website Fikkers.
While walking around in Amsterdam, I discovered that several people had their kitchen made in the wheelhouse. It is not such a crazy idea after all. If you don’t move your boat, the wheelhouse is a perfect place to see what is happening and what is nicer then cooking with a good view?
29th October 2019 – During the upgrade of the website, the old articles on converting a barge were removed. Many people asked me to put them back online. I’ve just created a new category in this website ‘converting a barge’. There you will find the articles from the early days of Living Afloat, when it all started in 2005.
When I publish the articles, I will try to update them.
Have Fun!
14th October 2019 – I just made a bid on the boat on one condition, the transport costs are no more then 600 EURO to Bruges. I was friendly to suggest him to wait until he got another person bidding. We shall see…
14th October 2019 – A job that will take several evenings is painting the front engine room. It is now dark red and it is hard to see anything without a good light. Sadly enough there is not much room to stand or to paint…
12th October 2019 – We started with the back accommodation. The cupboards in the bedroom downstairs were falling apart and several shelves were missing. I rebuilt them and gave a good coat of primer at the end of the evening.
Old tape was removed from the good shelves. The stairs were covered by old carpet. The freezer who had not been used for at least three years was also thrown away. New wires were put behind the walls with proper sockets and switches.
10th October 2019 – Since I was pretty sure I could not get the yacht for a small amount, I went to Westland in Holland, just above Rotterdam. There was a grundel for sale. The owner sold it as a riveted schouw, but it was built in the 70’s and completely welded. The other issue was the location. The ship is in a closed canal near his company. So transport, a crane and a truck are needed to remove the ship from its current location.
While I was there, I noticed the owner had a small metal boat from the Belgian Spits Moving. This ship was scrapped two years ago and some of its paperwork and tools ended up in Museumschip Tordino.
6th October 2019 – There was a small yacht for sale in Ghent. The size looked good for me and I had a look. The owner warned me the ship was looking worse on the pictures then in real. Well he was wrong. The engine ran, but that was about the only good thing I could find. Certainly not a project for me at that price!
5th October 2019 – We went to the Furiedagen in Maassluis. Friends of us were there with their ship.
