Month: June 2020

Vlet – Day 3

28th June 2020 – I had a good night sleep. I should have lowered the living table earlier to sleep on, instead of sleeping on the floor. Wen we started the engine, we noticed a flat battery. With only cheap low amp battery charges, we would not make it. There was a liveaboard battery aboard.  The owner switched batteries so the engine started. Sadly enough we had no other power aboard. No radio, no monitoring of the engine, no lights… 

We left Terrneuzen and arrived around 9 o’clock in Evergem. Locks only open at 10, so we waited for an hour, had a chat with some skippers and filled the fuel tank. 

The skipper in front of us had issues getting into lock, creating issues for us as well.

 

Once we left the lock we had no more issues. The service in Bruges went fluently, every bridge opened nicely on time. The lock went quickly and we moored alongside my neighbour to unload the boat. We then continued to Oudenburg where the ship arrived at its destination, 40 days later after the owner bought it…

Vlet – Day 2

27th June 2020 – No sleep and a a lot of mosquito bites. But when waking up and looking outside made my day. Beautiful weather, a little bit of wind.  

We had a look at the engine and gearbox. The issue was not the engine but the mounting of the forward / reverse handle. Something we have to alter at a later stage. We kept it in mind while moving the boat that manoeuvring would require more thinking / fendering the boat. 

Once we left the Biesbosch we were in open waters. A lot of wind and water coming on our deck. No issue since it was sunny and as quickly we vace wet were dry again.

After the lock of Hansweert, weather changed dramatically. A lot of wind, nearly storm and bad weather. I was engaged in crossing the Westerschelde and had no other option then making it to Terneuzen. I have seen the boat rolling and hitting the waves. At some points, even I was scared. 

I changed clothes in Terneuzen while waiting for the lock.  We moored at the yacht harbour and stayed for the night.

Vlet – Day 1

26th June 2020 – We left in Bruges at 5 o’clock in the evening for Werkendam where the ship was moored. I was tired after not having sleep for a couple of nights because of the heat. The ship was ready for us, but I went to the yard first to pick up the old shaft and the grease pumps. Since they were ours, I wanted it back. always useful for something when you are converting your own boat…

It was nice to sail in the Biesbosh until the engine started smoking and was doing weird. We lost performance and decided to moore near the local ferry boat. The mooring didn’t go as softly as planned since I had no reverse. We secured the boat for the night, had a few drinks and went to bed.

Tordino – Swimming people and dead fish

24th June 2020 – There were a few articles in the local newspaper about dead fish and oxygen being pumped into the water. A lot of fish had died. I was a bit afraid what I might expect. When I arrived, people were swimming around my ship, but not a single fish was floating…

Stern – Working on the door frame

21st June 2020 – The door frame is now finished. I lowered the door and finished the frame around it. Now I can continue with the walls and start looking for another door for the toilet. I still don’t know what to do with the toilet itself. Keep the current system of a manual pump or make a comfortable home toilet.  I am afraid of the water inlet and outlet at the bottom of my ship. If it goes wrong, it will go wrong badly…

Watergeus – Leaking windows

18th June 2020 – No surprise at all to discover a leak somewhere. It has been raining for days and extremely hard. But to find three leaks on one side…. The silicone was totally gone so I had to quickly find a solution…

I had a look in the evening and they stayed dry!

A nice evening

15th June 2020 – Believing you are free, having a drink with the neighbours, people from other boats joining, watching the sun go down and forgetting how much work you still have on your own ship: this is what I call a nice evening…

Stern – Leaks and wood

15th June 2020 – I forgot to close the skylight, so it rained a lot… I found three leaks in the welding I did, two at the front and one in the corner of a window. I cleaned the problems, but welding is for Friday. I was tired, but did a small job, giving me a good feeling. I bolted three pieces of wood, the beginning of the frame for the ceiling to the ribs. 

Stern – Cleaning and painting

14th June 2020 – I gave a second coat of paint on the front of the cabin. You can still see where I welded. Not happy about the result. For the rest of the day, I did some cleaning and removed the last old stuff from the bow area. Before leaving, I quickly build a mast for the back. A small detail, but at least something done…