27th May 2011 – She was lifted out of the water onto a truck.
I wish to thank everyone who supported me with the bakdekkruiser the last six months and the work they did today!
Category: MJ Escapde
26th May 2011 – They will take the Escapade out of the water on Friday. Since I need to work, and can’t have a half day off, I moved the boat this evening. Everything was against me: time, wind, and current! If only I could have done it yesterday…
Since both my neighbour, mother and girlfriend were helping, I didn’t take any pictures.
24th May 2011 – The bakdekkruiser has been sold. It is hard to maintain one boat by an individual. Having two boats is become more difficult, three is a disaster. She was one of my favorite ships, but I had no time to finish her.
Since I’m working on the Snik in Sluiskil, it was becoming to expensive to work on two projects at the same time, while still maintaining the Watergeus.
I hope the new owner will convert her and put her back in original condition. I wish him good luck with his new ship!
The short period I was the owner of the Escapade, I learned a lot on bakdekkruisers, yachts and diesel engines. People having questions on bakdekkruisers can always contact me. I have a large collection of information, books and pictures!
23th May 2011 – I was in the Netherlands the last couple of nights. I noticed the cover was blown away. I fixed it again, so no rain can enter the boat.
26th April 2011 – I started removing most of the items from the Escapade that can be reused for the Hornblower. Once this job was finished, I filled up my car with tools, pumps, ropes and other useful items for Antwerp.
6th April 2011 – When you buy a yacht, you need to have the correct paperwork, especially with older boats. If you can’t prove the boat is a registered as a pleasure craft before 1998 in Europe, you need to have a survey done. This is a very expensive happening.
Some of the documents, when I bought her, were not correct. Since I had an old registration number, they found her back as a yacht. I now have a Vlaggenbrief and Immatriculatieplaat. This means I can finally move around with the Escapade.
In the end it took me nearly a month to get the paperwork right!
15th March 2011 – The boeisel on the front at starboard side has been painted. Since the Escapade is moored alongside, it was an easy job.
The remaining of the evening, I was planning how to rebuild the Escapade. The picture I received last week makes me think. I really want a back accommodation to sleep. I have seen it on many yachts and the Escapade had it as well. I will have to raise it a little more then it once was, since the new ribs are taking some space.
6th March 2011
2nd March 2011 – The first sunny day in weeks. It is now two days the Escapade is completely dry! So I now for sure there is no leak on the bottom. I’m still cleaning and removing some little pieces of wood that were still glued on the ribs.
28th February 2011 – I traced a previous owner of the Escapade. I finally know where she was built and when! He even has some older pictures of her. I can’t wait to see them.
The Escapade was built in 1937 at the shipyard Van Lent en Zonen in Kaag.
27th February 2011 – I was looking for a few metal drilling bits when I noticed some water under my engine. First, I taught it was rain water, but very soon I noticed it came from a different area, the propeller. Friday afternoon, I ran my engine for an hour,so I know what caused the leak. Only it didn’t stop. Looking closer, I noticed the belt of the automatic grease pump was broken. I now quickly used the manual pump, but water continues to drip. I’ll have a look somewhere next week.
A bit more positive news on the Escapade, even with the heavy rain from last night, not much water had come in. I now properly sealed most of the holes on deck.
Thinking of what needs to be done this year, painting the outside of the Watergeus, going to the yard with my two boats, building a new upper structure on the Escapade, I realize it will be a bit to much for one person.
First of all, I want the back accommodation to be finished, so people can rent the area. Whenever the weather permits it, I must paint the outside of the Watergeus. It has now been three years and without maintenance it doesn’t look good anymore.
If the Escapade stays dry, I’m not in a hurry converting her. She will take a large amount of my budget.
25th February 2011 – In the morning I filled up my water tanks, a job that takes four hours. While they were filling, I cleaned one of my storage rooms. Since I need to break down the bedroom in the Escapade, all my tools and stuff that was located there needs to get to the Watergeus.
The afternoon was completely spent on removing paint on the Escapade.
22nd February 2011 – Another evening spent aboard the Escapade, cleaning bilges and removing rust. The ceiling of the bedroom was removed. The more wood I have removed, the more I discover. Melted insulation, burned wood and a black metal with some paint left. Cause of the fire must have been the electricity.
21st February 2011 – As usual on a boat, one of the first job I always do is cleaning the bilges. It was no different with the Escapade…
Different then with other barges, the Escapade was filled with led as ballast.
19th February 2011 – Again some water was visible in the bilges, while I cleaned it earlier that morning. It had been raining so much that I could fill a 12 liters bucket. The sooner I find all the holes in the side and roof the quicker I might get her totally dry.