Tag: Sluiskil

Watergeus – Mooring Posts

Posted on 2 March 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

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!

MS Watergeus

Bruges, missing my friends, power cable, Sluiskil

Watergeus – Last day in Sluiskil

Posted on 26 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

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…

MS Watergeus

fire, Sluiskil, Watergeus, welding

Watergeus – Sealing the windows

Posted on 24 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

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.

MS Watergeus

mounting windows, silicone, Sluiskil, Watergeus, windows

Watergeus – Filling up the ballast tank

Posted on 23 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

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.

MS Watergeus

ballast tank, mounting windows, painting, Sluiskil, Watergeus, welding

Watergeus – Painting the entrance

Posted on 22 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

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.

MS Watergeus

Arma, painting, Sluiskil, Watergeus

Watergeus – Fusebox

Posted on 19 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

19th February 2007 – Today, my electrician placed the fusebox and the 380v 3-phase connectors on my boat.

In the afternoon, my dirty water tank was put into position. it took us one hour and six people to get the 1 ton heavy tank in a small space in the back of the ship.

MS Watergeus

fusebox, shore power, Sluiskil, Watergeus

Watergeus – Pump

Posted on 18 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

18th February 2007 – My ballast tank and my pump were delivered to my barge.

I swapped my old 1 cyl. Lister for a 1 cyl. Hätz with waterpump. Since I have a crane on my boat, I decided to put my crane into action and put the engine on my neighbours boat.

MS Watergeus

crane work, Hatz, pump, Sluiskil, Watergeus

Watergeus – Ballast tank

Posted on 17 February 2007 by frederic - Updated 30 August 2020

17th February 2007 – When arriving on my boat, the tank was nearly ready.

We drilled most of the holes for the screws of the windows. Over a two hundred holes were drilled! In the meantime the last places were welded on the tank and an inspection hatch was created.

MS Watergeus

ballast tank, Sluiskil, Watergeus, welding

Watergeus – back on her mooring

Posted on 11 August 2006 by frederic - Updated 11 August 2023

11th August 2006 – The ship has been moved under her own power from the yard to its mooring a bit further in the dock. She is now alongside my neighbour Harte 1 and ready for a further conversion.

My neighbour did the job while I was away. I wanted to be there, but sometimes you need to work to earn some money or just have a boss that will not allow you to take half a day off…

MS Watergeus

Harte 1, Kanaalzicht, Scheepswerf De Schroef, Sluiskil

Watergeus – First time visit

Posted on 27 December 2005 by frederic - Updated 15 April 2018

27th December 2005 – Andy, a friend of mine, was looking to buy a new boat for conversion into a house boat. Since, I knew the area and spoke the language, I looked for several places, most of them were scrapyards. A few exceptions were places were a lot of boats were being converted privately.

We first stopped in Ghent at the scrapyard. They only had one barge, the Avrachain. It was already completely stripped and used as a fuel barge. Disappointed, we drove to Sluiskil. There was a small fishing boat, the Z. 501 Tac Horne. People told me it was the property of the yard, so I went to the yard and asked if we could visit the boat. The told us that they also owned an old Luxe Motor at the other side of the dock, the Watergeus.

We had a look at both ships. The Luxe motor looked nice, so we went back and offered them a price. They wanted more, so we asked their price and agreed straight away. We made up the paperwork, which took us three hours.

After the paperwork, we got the keys for a first visit of the inside. Here are some pictures taken on 27th December 2005: