15th February 2011 – The interior of the Escapade is now gone. In 30 minutes, a friend and me removed the whole interior. Why? Well I discovered around 15cm of water in the bilges last night. I first tired hovering it out, but was to much. Once the interior was gone, I could estimate the amount of work needed to get everything clean.
Once the bottom was visible, I noticed the condition was better then expected.
14th February 2011 – Most people will think that it becomes easier after a few boats to always do the same jobs. Well in some cases it is true.
Unfortunately, the Escapade is not easier at all. I’m even afraid it might become a bigger job then the Watergeus. If she had the same size of the Watergeus, the amount of work would be to much. Every day I’m discovering new problems. It seems like it doesn’t stop!
12th February 2011 – In the late evening, I put a new cover over the Escapade to prevent rain from getting in. Doubtfully if it will work, but anything is better then it is now! Covers often mean the end of a ship. You hide the disaster from the public. Once the cover starts to disintegrate, you put another one on top of it. Doesn’t look right, but it gives a false feeling of ignoring the problem.
10th February 2011 – I removed the water tank from the Escapade. I now have complete access to the bilges at the back of the ship. It is a 220 liters RVS tank. Heavy but useful. The bilges underneath don’t look that good. Some more work to add…
6th February 2011 – I just discovered there is some more water under the engine. I makes me think I might have another leak somewhere… Doesn’t feel good. I can handle leaks from above, but not from underneath.
I used some black rubber to seal the small leakage in the joint. I hope it will stay dry.
Recently I had removed some metal from the Escapade. Since I only had half a day to work I cleaned the remaining parts at the back of the yacht. I did some measuring as well and removed some more rust.
5th February 2011 – There is some water at the back of the ship. It is no rain water and the shaft isn’t leaking. The joint between the bottom and the back is leaking. Small rivets and a lot of rust. I wonder if my cutting and hammering last week didn’t make it worse. I did cut out some old structured metal, and probably the best part of the ship…
29th January 2011 – I’ve started cutting at the back of the ship. I want to remove the welded construction and reveal her decks again. Once finished, I noticed how bad they are. Needs replacing as well in the near future…
In the meantime I used some liquid rubber to stop the leaks at the back.
23rd January 2011 – In the late evening I did some more demolishing work on the Escapade. The whole back area is now clear. It gives me an idea what work needs to be done.
17th January 2011 – To have an idea on how to convert the Escapade, I removed some rotten paneling from the sides. I now have a clear view on the ribs, side and bottom plates. Rivets and ribs are in a remarkable good condition.
11th December 2010 – Today I did a quick paint job on the yacht. I removed most of the rust and painted her. Not the perfect weather and certainly not cleaned enough, but it is important for the boats to look good, certainly over here.
11th December 2010 – Today I did a quick paint job on the yacht. I removed most of the rust and painted her. Not the perfect weather and certainly not cleaned enough, but it is important for the boats to look good, certainly over here.
In the morning I finished the tiling of the shower aboard the Watergeus. That area is now nearly finished.
3rd December 2010 – Imagine a foggy day with temperatures up to 13°C below the freezing point! Well that was our journey to Bruges. No snow and no wind, that was what I remembered that morning on the weather station. Temperature would even go to 2°C above freezing point.
When we left Wachtebeke, after a few minutes fog came up. It was so thick we could hardly see the bow of the ship. Barges moored along the canal and land was invisible. We sailed slowly and decided to wait till the weather was better before crossing the big canal Ghent-Terneuzen.
2nd December 2010 – The whole day I was nervous. It was extremely cold, all the roads were dangerous. I didn’t want to take the risk of driving anywhere.
A neighbour brought a new battery for me. Thanks Jan!
I went to the shop looking for anti freeze, start pilot and other tools. Tomorrow is a big day.
1st December 2010 – I’m away tomorrow, sailing on Friday and I haven’t prepared a single thing. I need fuel, gearbox oil, food, tools, paperwork and a lot more.
27th November 2010 – I went cleaning the yacht in Ghent and made her ready for the big trip tomorrow to Ghent. She is a small ship but the amount of work that needs to be done is huge!
While cleaning, I managed to flip the fuse of the electricity several times. A hoover or a water cooker were to strong. I’ll be glad when I can leave this mooring.
