8th May 2007 – The storm went down in the morning but was in the evening again as worse as yesterday. It might not have been necessary for me to put an extra rope at 2 o’clock in the morning.
After getting back from work I made a temporary floor for the people coming on Friday to help carrying in the wood. It took me a small hour to shift some plates and lay them down, stable enough to walk on.
7th May 2007 – A big storm is coming up an when i got back from work I noticed it. I certainly moved backward a 40cm. If the weather continues like that I might even start changing the ropes.
I also checked the cargo hold for possible rain but only two places were leaking, porthole that wasn’t closed to well and a window or a small leak in the filler. Not sure yet. At the other hand, it really didn’t rain that much.
6th May 2007 – Mainly enjoyed the last day of nice weather. April was dry, so were the first days of May. No rain at all!!! But tomorrow it will change, they say. I found this a good reason for relaxing outside…
Since I was feeling guilty I continued in the bilges and removing some more of the original floor. The whole kitchen living room and corridor are clear and cleaned.
When I start my generator, normally I can’t, I need to give myself completely and after a few times trying she starts. This time, I turned the handle once and she started. I nearly hadn’t enough time to remove the handle. I think the air filter is the problem. This time I sprayed the start pilot straight in the middle and not through the air filter. I let her ran for an hour. Why? Since those fishermen at the other side don’t give me any privacy.
5th May 2007 – Last week I contacted several wood stores to check their prices for the wood needed for the floor. Today I visited the two cheapest ones. Since the first one changed his prices from the one discussed over the phone and because they have always been so friendly I went to the other shop and ordered the wood straight away. It will most likely be delivered on Friday.
I estimated, and so I planned the budget, that the floor would cost me around 3000 euros. At this moment, is nearer the 4000 and I still haven’t everything…
Again several boats have passed since I was aboard. I’m thinking of creating a section on this website called ‘boats spotted along my barge…’. I’m not sure yet.
In the afternoon I cleaned the cargo hold and made some free space for the 75 wooden studs that will be delivered. In the meantime my parents painted the inside tube of the big portholes. We took white as colour so the light can easily shine through and give more light. They also finished the holes between the deck and hatches. The whole process of closing this holes will be written in a separate article in the near future.
4th May 2007 – In the late evening the floor of the back accommodation was cleaned with a special wood product, so it shines again nicely.
1st May 2007 – Finally, the electricity has been finished, taking up some more hours then expected. A small light in the kitchen and two more sockets were placed today.
In the afternoon, we finished closing the holes between the hatches and the den. After Pe and polyester, we closed the remaining gaps with some kind of filler.
29th April 2007 – Cleaning the cargo hold is a boring job, but it needs to be done. In the afternoon the electrician came for finishing the electricity.
29th April 2007 – Cleaning the cargo hold is a boring job, but it needs to be done. In the afternoon the electrician came for finishing the electricity.
28th April 2007 – Last weekend we filled the holes between the hatches and the den with PE. Today we continued on the other side. From the outside we added polyester to make sure everything is nicely closed.
In the afternoon I cleaned some more of the cargo hold. In the evening I placed a chain and a door bell on the gangway.
In the evening I ran the engine for about 15 minutes. it’s good to run your engine from time to time, unfortunately I had stop since wooden planks were drifting to the propeller.
28th April 2007 – Last weekend we filled the holes between the hatches and the den with PE. Today we continued on the other side. From the outside we added polyester to make sure everything is nicely closed.
In the afternoon I cleaned some more of the cargo hold. In the evening I placed a chain and a door bell on the gangway.
In the evening I ran the engine for about 15 minutes. it’s good to run your engine from time to time, unfortunately I had stop since wooden planks were drifting to the propeller.
26th April 2007 – Today we continued working on the electricity. Since I wanted a lot of changes and additions, it might even take some more time.
While the electrician was working, I decided to continue to clean the cargo hold for making the floor.
24th April 2007 – My electrician came in the afternoon to provide the back accommodation with decent 220v power system and a new fuse box. He place the fuse box and prepared all the sockets.
22nd April 2007 – Completely broken, I didn’t do that much. Cleaned some part of the cargo hold, where the floor will be created. The wood of the gangway was protected and I visited some friends.
21st April 2007 – Since I didn’t work on my barge the last couple of weeks, I made an effort and worked from six in the morning till nine O’clock in the evening. The roof is finished and one side has already been closed with pe-sprays. Instead of the gangway, we made a nice entrance in wood. Further, the area for the bathroom was cleared and a trial model of the floor was created.
I repaired my extensions cables, since most of them had their best life behind. It’s getting time to by some new ones. The water pump was moved from the inside to the outside. Always handy to have it ready.
8th April 2007 – A heavy night yesterday forced me not to work on my boat. I placed a table on deck and tighten the boat to the mooring posts that were placed last month.
A few people came by and started talking with me. There used to be an old boat in Bruges, a German built spits barge. it sank multiple times and believe what, it was on my mooring. We then did a measurement to know the depth under the boat. it is around 1,5 meters. I do remember some information on that German Spits. She was built as a war compensation in 1919. She was raised and scrapped in Antwerp. This must have been 7 years ago. I’ll try find a picture of that boat.
