15th May 2022: Some more ships for the event Oostende voor Anker were passing by.
Month: May 2022 - page 2
14th May 2022 – After a heavy morning, some change of plans, I had a good breakfast with my girl and went to Tordino. I lowered an extremely heavy porthole from the sunken lightship Westhinder into the hold. I did some scanning to change my mind.
In the evening, some friends came and we had a drink! A day well spent, despite missing a good friend!
13th May 2022: I noticed a first barge arriving for Oostende voor Anker…
13th May 2022 – Tomorrow I will deliver the keys to the new owners. I closed down the website watergeus.be and the Facebook page of Watergeus. The website Living Afloat which was intentionally built for people to follow the conversion of the Watergeus will remain online. I’m not leaving the water, still having the Stern and Tordino and living along the water in a canal house…
I will continue to help people with tips and tricks to live on a barge. And who knows, maybe one day I might just buy another one. All my tools are in storage, not thrown away!
For the followers of my blog, not much will change. I hope to start soon on finishing the Stern and in the meantime, you can follow the life on the canal and the museum aboard Tordino.
where it all started in December 2005
13th May 2022 – I did some scanning after a heavy week of moving stuff. In the late evening I still had to empty the entrance of the museum. I’m glad I will have some more normal weeks arriving….
12th May 2022 – Today I removed the bedroom furniture. These where the first proper pieces put in the Watergeus. I also removed the cactuses from behind the windows, they have been there for nearly 15 years! The bedroom will be reused as firewood and the cactuses will move to Tordino for a second life!
I took some nice pictures of a clean Watergeus, ready for her new owners.
11th May 2022 – In the evening, we removed all the old metal from the ship. It looks much cleaner now, less looking like a workshop and more looking like a houseboat again. In many ways a shame I have to throw away so much stuff. On the other hand, who will ever need rusty metal plates or a half rotten lifeboat…
Tomorrow I need to remove the bedroom and then the ship is ready for delivery to her new owners.
10th May 2022 – Probably one the last days of moving stuff. I just parked my car in the street to fill it. I don’t know where to store it, but at least the boat will be empty in time.
A friend came who could use some stuff. At least I’m glad I don’t have to throw it away. I had some old traffic lights, dating back from when I had the Brother….
7th May 2022 – I ran the engine for one hour and discovered the expansion tank for the water was empty. I don’t have a good feeling with this! Around 15 litres of water was added, we shall see how it goes next time.
A new metal bar was welded so the railing is looking more traditional again and my flower pots are nicely supported.
In the afternoon, I spent most of my time scanning documents and mounting old items like the namesign of the Ross Leopard and the Frantsis, which was stored aboard the Watergeus for years.
6th May 2022 – I just bought a metal bar to weld and repair the railing. In the afternoon I scanned some books.
5th May 2022 – We moved the flowers from the Watergeus to Tordino. It looks much more alive on Tordino now. I will have to do some welding to repair the railing at the back accommodation.
In the evening we had a meeting with the neighbourhood about the future of Plassendale.
4th May 2022 – I have a little more stuff then expected left on the Watergeus. I drove with a car full of tools and extension cables. Nearly there. Next Wednesday, a friend will come to pick up the some heavy metal parts and remove the scrap metal.
3rd My 2022 – I now have the ships’s bell that was hanging in the entrance of the Watergeus at the entrance of Tordino. Same spot, different ship. The old name signs are now also part of the museum collection.
3rd May 2022 – I drove four times to move stuff from the Watergeus, like my audio system, frames and paintings, pellets, LED lights and the big flower pots from the gangway. I still need to drive several times as far as I can see…
The more I clean the ship the less it feels like my boat. The Watergeus is losing it look and feel, but memories will stay! The end of an era is nearby.
1st May 2022 – We moved some more stuff from the Watergeus. I have some more space at Tordino, so I can continue moving stuff again. I also found a few nice objects that will be integrated in the museum.