17th April 2017 – After a relaxing day in Vreeswijk, it was time again to work. One of the experimental items on my planning was the ceiling of the Library. Still not convinced whether it would hold, I started building the ceiling. I will have to strengthen some parts, but it looks good, very good!
The watertanks are now in position. I had to do this first before extending the frame.
14th April 2017 – There is an old lifeboat in the hold. It will be used as a piece for the permanent exhibition on the inland waterways. Last week the outside was put in primer and the inside finished with some good paint. The boat was still in the middle of the hold.
Since the weight is at least 300kg, I couldn’t move it by myself. I put a small trolley under the stern of the boat and lifted the front to walk around with it. It went surprisingly well and she was in position in no time. Just to turn her, I called the neighbour to help.
Wood was delivered in the afternoon. It took the three of us some time to get it aboard. It wasn’t much, but it was heavy. Once the wood was stored aboard, I took a shower and went! Enough lifting for one day
11th April 2017 – Friends of mine are moored in front of me. We had a chat and a few beers. Later that evening, I started working on the t&g in the Library room. It is starting to look more finished every day!
4th April 2017 – Exactly one month after putting the first support for the Library, it is now half way. I drove to the shop to get some more plywood. I’m surprised to see how much wood fits into a small Library room.
3rd April 2017 – While I continued working with wood, my mother painted the lifeboat and my father the hold. It goes much quicker with an extra pair of hands!
29th March 2017 – Just did some more wood construction. Slowly getting there…
27th March 2017 – A lovely day for sitting outside, having a drink with friends and dream. Just what I’ve done this evening. I lifted a few sheets of plywood against the wall, but that was it for the day.
26th March 2017 – While my father started insulating the library, I cut the holes in the wall for the portholes. Since it is a maritime library, I want to give the feel and look of a ship.
Nice to have a working system. I check my generator once a week. While I was in the engine room, I noticed she had no oil left. I filled her, but it took some time before I noticed there was oil in the carter again. When she ran, oil ran out of the filter. There was a serious crack in the case of the filter. I replaced the filter and she ran again nicely. All the batteries were flat, so I will have to check more often!
25th March 2017 – My water containers arrived in the late afternoon. They were a little more heavy then expected. It was getting time since I couldn’t close the wall behind the Library. After the tanks were in position, I continued building the frame for the wall.
22nd March 2017 – The frame is nearly finished. A few more pieces to strengthen the four walls and I can start to insulate.
Insulation arrived today, 25 roles. Looks a lot until I opened a few packages. I hope to have enough for the Library room.
18th March 2017 – Still recovering from yesterday, I didn’t do that much today. Finished a bit of framing in the hold and helped a friend in Bruges fixing his wheelhouse.
17th March 2017 – Getting up early, driving to the yard, loading a wheelhouse, driving back and waiting for the crane and the toilet unit to arrive. This is briefly explained what happened today.
16th March 2017 – While I had to order a crane for the wheelhouse, it came to mind to order my toilet unit as well. This means I only had to order a crane once. I drove to Temse to have a look for these units. I found one at the right price and ordered it. They could still deliver it the next day, which was perfect. Talking about good service!
I drove to the yard where the wheelhouse was stored. I did some extra measuring to make sure it would fit on the transport. The cabin was 8cm longer then expected, but this was not a major issue to my driver.
Most of the afternoon, I was painting the hold to clear my mind and stop worrying whether everything would work out as planned.
15th March 2017 – Time to be constructive again. I built the back wall for the Library room and mounted a heavy beam to the ceiling. This will server as support for the fake wooden hatches. It took me some time to lift an 80kg beam by myself. I’m happy the frame was holding the beam. I’ve strengthened the frame in the meantime to have no accidents.
13th March 2017 – Planning is important. This evening I had a small meeting with the craning company. I wanted to make sure they understood what my plans were and if the ground was strong enough for the weight and pressure of their crane. Communication through mail is one thing, but talking to each other and showing photos makes it totally different.