17th May 2019 – I went to see the boat. I didn’t take any pictures but the inside and outside were dramatic. Several parts of the floor were rotten, the interior was falling apart and there is some humidity on the inside. I don’t think there is anything I can salvage from the ship. It has to be a total rebuilt.
These are the pictures I took last year…
14th May 2019 – I’m planning on buying another ship. There are more reasons not to buy her then to go ahead with this project. A short note on her history will make you understand why I’m having interests in this ship. Besides she was once owned by a good friend, it is a small ship with a rich history. She still looks traditional and might become a historical ship in no time. Her interior is rotten and the engine had has the best of its life. There is no hull survey and she is full of water….
If you read the earlier posts on this weblog, they all talk about Carpe Diem. This is the name she carried the longest period. I have known the ship now for eight years.
8th June 2016 – I finished work on the ‘Op Hoop van Zegen‘ and went to my car when I noticed the Carpe Diem was listing badly. I had a closer look and it certainly didn’t look right. The owner is someone I know, so I called him. He would come tomorrow, but I explained to him it was a matter of hours as she was listing. He came 20 minutes later. There was no water visible on the floor, but when the hatch near the bulkhead was open we noticed a lot of water. After pumping for halve an hour, I called another friend with a better pump. In the meantime, the outlets for kitchen and sink were under water. I took a dinghy and went in the water to seal them.
7th April 2012 – I went to have a look at the Carpe Diem and how far Andy was in making progress. He had to insulate the ship, build a bathroom and put in electricity. The ship was still using gas lights.
4th February 2012 – Some pictures of the Carpe Diem in the snow.
23rd November 2011 – Eurvine delivered the Carpe Diem to Beernem. He had to unload a cargo, but couldn’t take us any further. Andy had painted the ship, but since there was no paint available on the journey, he used the paint he found: water based paint. The ship looked quiet good from a distance but it was hard to undo the ropes since the deck was still sticky.
During the journey we discovered some cooling issues with the engine and at some point one of the belts broke. We made it to the Houtkaai, but the engine needs a good check.
19th November 2011 – We left Amsterdam at 7 o’clock in the morning. The ship was moored in the Prinsengracht. After one hour we were near the Scheepvaartmuseum. I spent most of the time watching around and taking pictures. The Carpe Diem was designed to fit underneath every bridge in Amsterdam.
At 9 o’clock we were picked up by the kempenaar Harte Aas that would bring us to Rotterdam. Later that evening we arrived in the Merwede harbour.
16th November 2011 – In the evening, after my work, we drove to Amsterdam to visit a ship Andy had seen on Marktplaats. It looked special to me. A low profile ship of nearly 20 meters.
The parking in Amsterdam was expensive, but the boat looked good. A very traditional Dutch interior, a bit like the Watergeus. A finish with t&g. The owner started talking about the history of the ship and how his family had it for over 50 years.
