Category: MS Stern - page 16

7th May 2020 – My initial plan was to move her tomorrow, but  I was already thinking of moving her this evening. Just do it by myself. At the start of the Covid period I even had a plan of moving her at night.

I arrived at five o’clock in the evening, filled up the fuel tank, started the engine and unloaded my van.  I had some tools with me, but very limited. The spare battery was still on Tordino and I had no generator.  I had all the official equipment with me like lifejackets and some spare oil. A VHF, paperwork and my own documents were aboard the Watergeus. This was the first time I started a journey so badly prepared. It reminded me of the time when we moved boats with Andy.

A friend wanted to join, so I called to check if he was available and he arrived one hour later. We left Ghent at 18h30 and arrived in Beernem around 21h30. A nice trip, nearly no boats, a lovely sunset and most of all: a good running engine!  

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6th May 2020 – I gave a second coat of brown to the mast. The top was painted white and the foot light brown. I started making a new pennant for the mast. It will be in metal so it lasts a long time.  A friend gave me a thin sheet of metal. I will cut it tomorrow. 

In the evening I gave a third coat of oil to the namesigns on one side.

I am also planning on moving the ship on Friday to Beernem. Not sure yet, but next week the weather is not looking good.  I will need fuel, oil, lifering and tools. A lot to do in a short time….

5th May 2020 – I gave a coat of primer on the mast, then I went for a cycle to the marina and in the late evening, I gave a first coat of paint.

3rd May 2020 – I had the mast of the Arma in storage. These are the kind of items that can always be used at some point. It is a small mast, three meters long and extremely light. The foot is heavy and at least 2 cm thick. I cut the foot in half and welded both pieces with a different angle. Paint was removed from the mast and the foot.

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2nd May 2020 – The first attempt of building a namesign as no success. While I was in Oudenburg yesterday, I brought a nice wooden plank with me. Today I cut into 5 namesigns, one big one and four small ones.  They received one coat of oil.

1st May 2020 – After waking up depressed, I continued working on the big namesign. I gave it a first coat of oil, I don’t know what the result will be. In the afternoon I was at friends in Oudenburg. They had some nice wood left, I will use it for smaller namesigns on the bow.

30th April 2020 – I could finally register the Stern under my name. At the beginning of the year, the registration was 150 EURO, since April 1st it is 50 EURO. The application to register wasn’t working since they had to reprogram it. Once they fixed it, they could not publish it because they were waiting for the price change to be published official. 

So one step closer in moving the ship to Bruges…

28th April 2020 – The whole idea of converting the Stern is to make her look as traditional as possible. Working on the outside, once the Corona measures are over, is priority one. I already have a wooden skylight, but I also want to have boxes for the navigation lights. I drove to Tordino to pick up some metal. On the way back, I received a message on Facebook about existing lightboxes for sale. 

In the evening, I started looking for model and sizes. If the buyer doesn’t accept my offer, I will make them myself tomorrow. 

17th April 2020 – I received an email with pictures from one of the previous owners of the Stern. The ship was called Paulien. It is nice to get some closer to the history if the vessel.

Can’t wait to move her and start working on her.

15th April 2020 – While I’m still not allowed to go to Ghent, I started welding a frame for the skylight that arrived last week.  It took me a few hours, but I’m happy with the result.

8th March 2020 – While searching for ideas, I found the Colvic Watson 26. A nice model of a ship ith nearly the same dimensions. The ship is wider then the Stern, but I can try make it look similar, certainly the interior. The idea is looking good, but I need to study a little more in this type of ship and the options I have.

4th March 2020 – We moved the Stern to a temporary mooring. The previous owner has to move his big ship to my location. I will come alongside tomorrow evening. We pulled the Stern by hand. She was a bit heavier then expected. With her cover and sad condition, she fitted with the other ships down the road….

29th February 2020 – Bad weather again. It is getting annoying I can’t do much. I hovered out the bilges and that’s about it. On one side, I removed some paint, so people notice a difference. Now it is waiting for the weather to become better so I can put a new roof on the ship. When I had a look at the prices for metal, it will cost me some more then expected. Boats….

24th February 2020 – Another day of breaking down the interior. I had to use electric tools to cut away the walls and parts of the kitchen. The kitchen was looking good, but it was totally rotten. This was the only area I doubted keeping…

The construction of the upper structure was well done, but the wrong materials were used, so it lasted it maximum lifetime.  The plywood of the roof was joined with an aluminium strip. It leaks through this strip. This is the main reason the bathroom was rotten.

The insulation and the ceiling is gone. Now I still  need to remove the sides and the bench. A job for Wednesday.

23rd February 2020 – I was aboard the Stern today. Bilges were dry and the engine started immediately. When I started breaking down the interior, most of the metal was in a good condition. I filled up one van with wood. Tomorrow I continue.

While breaking down, I discovered some of the history of the ship. It was converted in Ghent, as had been told. Old brackets for rowing and lowering the boat in the water were also found. There is no proof so far it was built in the 30’s.