Category: MS Stern

22nd August 2023 – The Stern is back alongside Tordino.

19th August 2023 – I made a small trip with the Stern and moved her alongside my neighbour. A big ship will more alongside tomorrow and the Stern needed to go.

15th August 2023 – I ran the engine, charged the batteries and cleaned out the ship. It is looking more tidy again and there is now space to go through the ship with the mattress.

14th August 2023 – I’m making a list of things I want to do on the Stern. It near the end of the summer and besides moving her occasional and cleaning her once, I haven’t done much.

• Putting the new mattress aboard
• Adding a new extension cable so I can use the LED lights at night when it becomes dark
• Removing the green mold from the outside of the windows
• Cleaning the inside: removing unnecessary tools and spare parts
• Mounting the toilet
• Sorting out the electricity
• adding a water connection from the water tank to the toilet
• rebuilding the engine room floor with proper hatches and plywood.
• changing the paint scheme on the outside of the wheelhouse
• finishing the silicone joint between the rubber and the deck
• Welding the railing where it came lose
• Adding a new coat of oil to the door and skylight
• Finishing the door
• Adding a new Belgian flag
• Painting the mast at the back
• Replacing the engine battery
• Checking why the AIS is not working
• Finishing the inside of the cupboards
• …

My idea was to do most of these things tomorrow, but the longer I start thinking about it, the less these things will happen. The Stern still needs a bit of love and care… So if it doesn’t rain, she should look a bit more like this:

21st May 2023 – I just added a few new ropes to the Stern. The way some idiots come along with their boats, I can’t take risk that her mooring lines would break.

19th May 2023 – I was surprised, the engine started straight away and I made a small trip. The idea was to move her by hand, but since the engine started, I made a trip of a few hundred meters and back.  I really hope to have some time for her next year…

30th April 2023 – Time to clean the outside of the ship. It wasn’t looking right at all so I spent half a day cleaning the outside of the ship. Added some new flags and removed the old LED lights from the mast that were broken.

I noticed the decks were extremely slippery. I nearly got in the water, so I was glad I never removed the railing around the ship.

23rd November 2022 – I wasn’t expecting it, but the bilges were dry. I think it dried out because of the wind.  This weekend I will seal the leak in the hatch. Not sure when I’ll be able to continue on this little boat… 

Priority 1 will be making a proper access to the engine room. 

11th November 2022 – I  checked the Stern and noticed there was some water in the bilges under the engine. Quickly I discovered, and honestly had it it in mind already, the hatch for the batteries is leaking. It was something I welded last year when I had nearly no time….

I bought a hover, since I ran out of them. They do break after a while if you start using them for oil. 

Bilges are dry again!

30th September 2022 – I’m planning on using the Stern for a project at the end of the month. I started the engine, but with a nearly flat battery it took some charging time to start. In the end it started an ran nicely.  What do I love Lister engines!

I was never happy with the floor I had made in the wheelhouse and the result today was obvious. I ended in the living room, head first… Another item on my todo list for the next couple of months.

3rd July 2020 – We mainly cleaned the outside of the ship and most of all the roof of the wheelhouse. I connected the solar panels to the wiring in the ship and moved the VHF antennas. Since I mounted a metal support for the search lights, the antennas could no longer be collapsed in case we were passing a low bridge.

2nd July 2022 – The day started relaxed by mounting the curtains in the living room and sealing the windows in the bedroom. Then I started welding the brackets for the solar panels, fixed the railing and mounted a small wooden mast. So far so good. 

I raised the solar panels and wanted to weld the bolted frame to the new supports. About ten seconds later, solar panel one started cracking into thousand pieces… 

Slightly frustrated, I removed everything and made a new smaller frame for one panel…

And I must admit, one panel is looking better then the two that were squeezed into the roof.

28th June 2022 – I filled the gaps between the windows and the walls. I used cheap silicon, but fille the whole gap to make sure it is solid and watertight if it would ever leak. I will do a finish with a more expensive silicone one the cheap one is dry.

21st June 2022 – I finished the joint of the windows in the living room and taped the desk of the kitchen and the windows of the bedroom. If it wasn’t for a visit of an ex colleague, I might have gone a bit further. 

19th June 2022 – I’m finishing the windows in the living room, so I can mount the curtains. The waterpump is connected, so when I fill the watertank, I should have water from the tap. The last light from the bedroom is connected to the 12v circuit. To finish my evening, I mounted a picture of a sailing boat. It was hanging at the entrance of the Watergeus in a previous life….