25th January 2009 – I mainly worked in the corridor to the sleeping room. Tomorrow it will be painted, so I had to finish a few details.
Category: MS Watergeus - page 33
24th January 2009 – Again a day for the Watergeus, where further finished the entrance to the ship. while doing so, I decided to make a small storage room underneath the stairs. By finishing those little areas you realize work is nearing its end. At the other hand, you realize a lot of specific work still needs doing.
23th January 2009 – When I got home, I hadn’t seen my ship that high on the water. Looking closer, I noticed water level had raised with more then 40cm’s.
The engine of the Julie was started today and ran nicely. Two weeks of work, and she is ready for a big trip to the yard. In some way it’s good she is running and I can concentrate again on my ship, but at the other hand, I started to learn something about engines.
18th January 2009 – Instead of working on my own ship, I’m having the habit again of helping others instead. Why? I’m learning more when working on their ship then working on mine. At this moment all I have to do now is repetitive, on the other ships, everything is relative new to me and therefore more interesting.
17th January 2009 – We mainly worked on the electricity, finishing the kitchen and living room. All sockets are working now.
In the afternoon, I cleaned the technical room where the water tanks are stored. Somewhere next week, they have to weld a bulkhead, so I had to cover my tanks and create as much space as I could.
10th January 2009 – This night was one of the coldest, having around minus 11° C, and my main heating system went out, so I had to continue on my small electric heater. By the morning, all pipes in the engine room were frozen. It was a happy day, little sleep and no water. I wanted to have an inspection in the engine room, but the lock was frozen. No products helped opening the lock so I had to use a crowbar to get access to my engine room.
Why did I choose to live on a ship again?
The good thing was that we made some progress in the hold today. I didn’t work that quick as usual, but the entrance has a roof and insulation. The electrician can now finish his work on the entrance next time he comes.
7th – 8th – 9th January 2009 – The cold weather must not have been that good, since I’m ill in bed. When I woke up this morning, ice was all around the ship, the canal being nicely covered with ice. Yesterday evening, it was getting close, but now it is closed!
The next two days were identical.
3th January 2009 – We did a lot of work today. Not only has the furniture been mounted in the sleeping room, we also insulated the corridor to the living room and started the engine.
In the morning I started insulating the corridor, one of the last places with no insulation. The other one is the bathroom. In the afternoon, with the help of my parents, the furniture was put in position.
In the evening I put some anti-freeze in the engine and ran it. Why? Well it was not freezing today (around 6°C), so I could easily ran the engine. Maybe I should have taught about this last month…
28th-29th-31tst December 2008 – This is probably one of the coldest periods since I had the Watergeus. Ice on the water, frozen doors, temperatures of minus 6 °C, etc…. are just part of living on water I suppose. So far, I was able to keep the inside temperature of the back cabin at 12 to 14 °C.
27th December 2008 -+ Sleeping room is finished. Somewhere next weekend all the furniture will be mounted and then I can actually start living in the hold, if I wish so.
The wooden frames for the windows in the corridor were made, just like the remaining piece of framework for the entrance of the hold. Again a busy day.
21st December 2008 – An old photo of the Watergeus popped up on a site. It is a photo from Harry De Groot.
There are so many things this picture can learn:
- Engine room entrance was a hatch with a porthole, not a door like it is now
- Ship still had it’s kalfdekken
- Ship had his mast (removed in 50’s)
- Entrance to the fore peak was by a small door, not a cabin as it is today
- Back accommodation had three windows and a porthole, now only three bigger windows.
- The anchor winch still seems to be the same today
- Anchor crane has gone (is on my wish list)
- Bollards at the wheelhouse have been replaced
Once aboard, I started checking for remains of some of these items.
1
20th December 2008 – Mainly painted the sleeping room. In the afternoon, we finished the paneling of the kitchen, so all the walls are finished and the kitchen itself can be placed. I don’t have ordered a kitchen yet, so this area is now used as a storage space for furniture and tools.
The sleeping room is painted cream white, and the side paneling and door frame dark blue. While painting the first coat, it looked horrible, but after a while we got used to it, and now I start liking it. This isn’t the first time I’m wrong in choosing colours and most likely it will happen again in the future.
13th December 2008 – Completely worked on the port side of the ship’s hold, finishing the wood around the windows of the kitchen and living room and mounting some boxes in the sleeping room for the windows as well. Also started painting the pine wood in the sleeping room.
7th December 2008 – Continuing again in the hold, doing smaller jobs in the sleeping room, corridor and starting to think how to finish the living room. At least that was the idea for today.
In the morning I cleaned the hold, making sure I had several piles of old wood for some friends and neighbours. Once a while I remove the old pieces I no longer need.
In the afternoon, I worked on finishing a door list and putting some wooden t&g in the corridor.
During the evening I started looking for my Christmas decoration.
6th December 2008 – During the first part of the day I went looking for a kitchen, paint for the sleeping room and some Christmas decoration. The idea for a big tree in my mast will be an project for next year.
In the evening I went to a ship further at the moorings. They worked last weekend on the engine and so they did today. I was right on time to hear it running. You often notice quickly how people can change something when buying ship. In the beginning, a lot is changing, and I believe it is really heading the good direction for this ship!