22nd August 2016 – I wanted to start building the frame in the wheelhouse, when my neighbour arrived with his small boat. I jumped aboard and went for a drive.
Category: MS Op Hoop van Zegen - page 2
20th Augustus 2016 – The handle is a bit hard to move. I welded a strong support to bolt the steering system. It now works nicely and it looks good. A wheel, a forward and reverse handle. What else do you need for a journey? Standing in the wheelhouse now makes it possible to start dreaming.
19th August 2016 – I knew it would become a busy day since I had to go Antwerp. There was one job I wanted to do, cutting a hole in the engine room to have access to the wheelhouse. When I broke down the previous wheelhouse, the panel for the engine room wasn’t disconnected. it was lowered in the engine room and now I had put it back. So I made hole big enough to fit it through. I also pushed the forward/reverse handle through that hole.
17th August 2016 – I painted the boeisel around my ship. Eleven meters on each side, looks simple and easy. I didn’t want to bend over the side, so I used a small boat to do the paint job. People would describe it as a nice and warm day. I was sitting in a black boat with the sun shining on me. I was boiling. The little wind helped a bit, but I was cooked like a lobster.
16th August 2016 – The roof and sides needed a second coat of paint. I want the metal to be protected and looking good for a longer period. The green is not exactly as expected. it is to flashy and did hurt my eyes while painting. It should have been a more traditional colour.
In the evening, I painted the boeisel on one side. Halfway, I had to stop since hanging over the side with paint isn’t that great!
15th august 2016 – Just painting brown and green…
10th August 2016 – Drilled some holes in the metal frame of the wheelhouse. I will bolt a wooden frame and put insulation in the wheelhouse. I want her to look as authentic as possible.
6th August 2016 –
31st July 2016
26th July 2016 – I continued welding the wheelhouse. A few hours later and two corners were filled, some ribs mounted and some holes closed.
25th July 2016 – A wheelhouse without a roof doesn’t look right. I went to the shop, bought two sheets of plywood and some aluminum profiles to go around them. The shop was able to cut the sheets the right size; Saved me a lot of work and time and their service was free. The aluminum profile has a U-shape. I fill the gap between the two legs with silicone and puss the side of the plywood into the gap. If it rains, water can’t get to the side of the sheets. Plywood can be used outside for a while, as long as the sides don’t get into contact with water.
24th July 2016 – Another day of welding. In the late afternoon, five friends came to help me mount the wooden part of the wheelhouse. I had an idea of doing it with two people, but I certainly needed all five. Sadly enough the wooden wheelhouse didn’t fit the frame. It took me three hours t make something acceptable. I have to adjust metal and wood, probably a few extra days of work…
23rd July 2016 – The engine room entrance is an old hatch, just about my size to get in. In case of a fire or I need to lower something bigger, it is to small. I can always open the big skylight, but this takes two man and time. I built a construction with a bigger entrance to the engine room. Compare it with a very small back accommodation.
21st July 2016 – A National Holiday, but not to me. Time to start with the wheelhouse. After a whole day of working, I managed to get the metal frame nearly ready. It looks big, I hope the shape and proportions will be right. A wheelhouse attached to a back accommodation of a den looks smaller then one built stand alone.
11th July 2016 – Every wooden panel that is linked to the bathroom needs a coat of paint. The bathroom is about to be tiled, but in case some water might get through the joints, the wood will at least be protected. I painted a few panels.
The next job was to mount the fusebox and to mount the power connector on the outside of the ship. It took me most of the day to get this job done.