Month: October 2019

The grundel, part III

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 on barges

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.

Outside pictures

Blended windows

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:

  • Windows could break when lowering the wheelhouse
  • Some skippers were afraid their vanished interior would be deteriorating quicker because of sun light coming in.

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.

Inside pictures

Some inside pictures of the wheelhouses from Dutch Barges. Most of the pictures were used with permission from the broker website Fikkers.

A kitchen in a wheelhouse

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?

The old articles on converting a barge…

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!

Tordino – Upgrading the back accommodation – Part 1

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.

Having a look for a Grundel

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.