8th June 2016 – Half a year ago, I got metal from a neighbour. He raised the den of his spits barge and cut some holes for windows. Those pieces were stored on the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’ for some time now. I cleaned them for welding since they were cut with a torch and the sides had some sharp edges.
7th June 2016 – Wood was delivered in the early morning. I loaded it on the Watergeus before going to work. In the evening, I moved the construction wood to the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’.
6th June 2016 – Half of the hold is now cleaned and painted.
2nd June 2016 – To avoid any more water from getting into the ship, I sealed any possible opening in the ship, starting with the portholes and finishing with the air vents. It doesn’t look right, but it will keep my ship dry.
31st May 2016 – I had another look at my ship in the evening. It had been raining and had no idea if any water came in. When I opened the hatch, I noticed my bilges had been filled up with water, around half a meter. I didn’t know what to do.
My generator was still dry, so I went home, changed clothes and started hovering. The generator was running in the accommodation and I had to be on my knees to get to the bilges. Because of the smell and fumes, I nearly turned away. A friend came to help me and the generator was moved into my car. At least I can now work silently and without having to breath exhaust fumes.
Later I would discover the water came from two open portholes, an open skylight and a few leaking seals.
25th May 2016 – We finished the entrance and the last porthole is now mounted.
21st May 2016 – I often buy paint in big quantity when there is a promotion in a DIY store. The problem I found last week was that this only had 6 tins of paint. So I drove around several shops from the same company to get some more paint.
17th May 2016 –
16th May 2016 – I finished the paint on the upper part of the hold and the ceiling. It looks nice in one colour. Late in the evening, I built the wooden frame and supports for the new ceiling.
15th May 2016 – Still struggling to solve my generator, by disconnecting the sensors, it worked. Not the right way to do it, but I had to drill several holes for the bolts that will hold the porthole. I can barely lift the porthole, so I have to make sure they are thick enough.
The rest of the day, I went shopping for paint and continued removing rust from the ceiling and sides. By the end of the evening, some bits were already painted.
14th May 2016 – The windows on port side still needed replacing. The three plastic sheets of glass will be replaced by two RAFA windows and one brass porthole. It took me over one hour to remove the previous frames. It was glued to the metal and I haven’t seen such a strong glue!
My generator didn’t want to start. Thankfully a neighbour in one of the houses gave me power to continue working. After several hours, port side was done. I got a frame for a porthole, and two windows mounted. It was a successfully day and a another step forward. Now I can start cleaning the hold and paint it.
13th May 2016 – I made preparations for the job tomorrow. Even the old interior is totally gone, the hold is stuffed up with wood and other items I salvaged. To work a bit more efficient in such a small area.
6th May 2016 – While cruising around on the water, some pictures of the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen’:
14th April 2016 – My neighbour in Beernem is cleaning his ship. He had an old small lifeboat. Instead of cutting it up, I took it with me. Hope to use it this summer to make some fun on the water…
18th March 2016 – I had the assistance of some friend to remove the remaining part of the wheelhouse. In the meantime, I started building the entrance. A had two metal doors and a sliding hatch from another ship. It looks traditional, but there is a lot of work to make it fit. At some point, I started doubting whether I should use it or not…
