Watergeus – Second hand stuff

17th March 2007 – In the morning I went to a second hand shop to look for some more storage,but couldn’t find much, actually nothing that would suit in my technical space. I prefer buying stuff second hand, first of all the price but secondly in a second hand shop you often find the good old furniture hand made with a lot of charm and strength.

In the afternoon, I painted my waste water tank and the floor around. It is an old metal engine room floor I reused. There was some paint left, so I used it for painting the support of the engine. That little bit of paint makes my engine room looks much nicer.

Watergeus – Sorting out bolts and nuts

12th March 2007 – In the morning I started sorting my nuts, bolts, screws and nails. For every type I used a glass of jam. Whenever I need one, it will make it easier to find one.

My power cable is expensive, so It was locked through an opened window with a chain. A very secure system, only when it was raining, water came in through the window. Therefore I drilled two holes with a metal piece to hold my cable. It is more secure and I can keep my window closed…

Later I hovered out the bilges of the cargo hold. It was very sunny yesterday, so it was today and will probably be tomorrow. When most water is gone, the rest can evaporate.

In the afternoon, I had visit of a girlfriend who plans to buy a boat. We talked on some boats. Later I painted my future bathroom and corridor. I stopped painting when the paint was empty and the sun had gone under. A perfect timing. I just didn’t have enough for the railing of the stairs, but I’ll figure something tomorrow.

Watergeus – Help for the hold

11th March 2007 – My family came today for solving the problem of leaks through the gaps. I started working on the railing for my boat. When they arrived they finished the job. With what was left of that railing, it was to big, we made a small space for putting the rubbish bins.

In the cargo hold there is the big red stairs in metal. Since we were working on the railing anyway, we decided to  make one for there as well.

Since we didn’t have the right stuff to close the gaps, we decided to do it next time.

Watergeus – A good night with a concert!

4th March 2007 – Went with Andy to a concert last night of a group called ‘The John Lennon’s Rifle Club’. It is a retro-punk group with some very good songs. It made me forget the mooring troubles I have.

In the afternoon, we placed some curtains in the wheelhouse. It looks much nicer, not only having some more privacy, but it know shows it’s a real house boat.

Watergeus – Cleaning the back accommodation

3th March 2007 – Didn’t sleep well at all, at the other hand we had a very bad storm, one of the worst in the last couple of weeks…

We cleaned the back accommodation in the morning. In the afternoon I had some visits and my mother continued working on the wheelhouse. I started cleaning the front of the boat and making an inventory of what I have left.

Watergeus – Mooring Posts

2nd March 2007 – My first night at my new mooring. Whether I should put this online or not, no idea. Again my gangway ended up between the quay and my boat. One day it will be in the water. I called this afternoon to hear more about the mooring posts on land and it seems obvious, I will have to pay for them, a 1000 euros each! Depending on how I will sleep the following couple of nights I might place them!

So when I arrived I had to make a power cable from the front of the boat to the back. In the front there is the fuse box where the 380v arrives. It is split up in two 220v plugs. All my cables are German type of socket  with no hole for the earth. After looking I managed to create 26m  cable by taping several cables together. It was already dark so tomorrow I’ll try to make something nice out of it! At least I had power in the back accommodation.

It feels relative strange, knowing that in Sluiskil my neighbours were there to help me. I now need to cook for myself, look for food and find something to keep my busy. Working on a computer is, since my accident in December last year, relative hard. I am starting to feel lonely here in Bruges!

Watergeus – Gangway and electricity

1st March 2007 – In the early morning I went to Bruges to pick up some stuff for Sluiskil. There had been some heavy storm the last couple of days, so the gangway had fallen of the concrete wall pushing my boat from land. It took us some time to solve the problem.

In the afternoon we went back, since the electricity would be connected to the boat.

Watergeus – Last day in Sluiskil

26th February 2007 – In the late morning / early noon I started making the last preparations for the sailing. Realizing a lot of the the bulkhead needed to be welded, I started doing it myself.

Between some welding sessions, I helped moving a boat by hand and celebrated somebody’s birthday.

In the evening, the welder came to finish what I had started.

Taking goodbye of the people I’ve lived with, we decided to sit inside my neighbour’s ship and drank a beer. Half an hour later we heard somebody shouting their was a fire and when going upstairs, smoke was getting out of the pusher next to us. Together with him we extinguished the fire. There was a lot of damage. After an hour everything was under control and the fire had gone out. Cause, a diesel heater. So I ended my last day in Sluiskil in a very sad way.

By the time it was two o’clock, I went to bed, realizing a few hours later we would set sail with the Watergeus to Bruges…

Watergeus – Sealing the windows

24th February 2007 – When windows are placed, between their frame and the steel of the den, there is always a small gap, just enough to let water slowly enter the boat. Therefore you can make use of packing or silicon. It took us some time to fit the windows nicely and close them with silicon.

In the afternoon, the pipes for the toilet, shower and exhaust were placed on the waste water tank.

A lock was created to close the door from the outside and the inside. Later that evening some more welding was done on the bulkhead.

Watergeus – Filling up the ballast tank

23th February 2007 – I had prepared everything for the trip (see article), but forgot about putting weight in the back, so the propeller would be under the water, not halve above. If the propeller is above water, you can’t sail backwards! Therefore I filled the new waste water tank with canal water.

 

The deck was painted on the side visible in Bruges. This will make her look nicer for when we arrive somewhere next week.

The holes for the portholes of the bedrooms and corridor were drilled, those of the kitchen and bathroom re drilled.

Some more plating of the watertight compartment were welded.

In the late evening the preparations for the trip were discussed, while drinking some coffee and beer.

Watergeus – Painting the entrance

22th February 2007 – In the morning, since the weather was dry, I painted the main entrance in black, according to the rest of the boat’s style.

 

While the first coat of paint was drying, the windows for the kitchen and bathroom were placed. Since I couldn’t drill with my hand, which is till not healing, the holes could not be re drilled to match the windows.

In the afternoon, I made a trip with Rinus’ new boat, the 1929 build Arma. She is a maatkast built on the dimensions for sailing through Friesland. It was a small but relaxing trip.

While sailing on the Arma, the welder started working on my bulkhead, the last thing that needed welding before leaving Sluiskil.