While converting my ship I made several mistakes. Most of them were solved, but I’m pretty sure many people already made them or will make them during their own conversion. Here are a few of them
Buying a ship
- Price: If you are enthusiastic about the ship, try not to show it. Don’t be happy with the price they ask you. There is always a margin to talk about. Every EURO you save, means more comfort in your ship! And believe, you always pay to much when buying a ship.
- Cheap: There is no such thing as a cheap ship. I bought most of my ships at a reduced price, thinking I made a bargain. In the long run, it is often better to buy a ship with a survey and a good hull. There are many excuses in adverts like ‘being sold because of illness’, ‘family expansions’ or others… When somebody wants to sell a ship, it is often because there is one or more issues going on!
- Multiple ships: Maintaining a ship is a lot of work. Don’t underestimate the hours you will spent every year to keep the ship in a good condition. Owning two ships is even harder and it will take most of your spare time. Having more then two ships will kill you! I know what I’m talking about. I have my parents who come to help on a regular base. Without them, I don’t think I would be getting that far…
Construction work
- Floor: No matter what type of floor you built, always make sure you have access to the bilges! Build inspection hatches where possible.
- Power circuit: Don’t save money on cheap sockets and switches. It is the same amount of time to mount them, but you will have to replace them much earlier!
Water system
- Watertanks: I had the chance of receiving free tanks. They contained soap used to protect leather sofa’s. The amount of time I spent in cleaning the tanks wasn’t worth it! Therefore, buy cleaned tanks. They are not to expensive (second hand ones of course) . Also try to add as much water capacity as possible to your ship. Filling up watertanks is a boring job.
- Canal water: I used canal water to clean my tanks. Since my tanks were connected to the new water system I had the canal water entered all pipes and blocked the crane in the shower and kitchen. I had to clean the filters of the cranes and put a lot of chlorine in the water to clean my system. Conclusion: Don’t use canal water for this job!