Weeks 12 & 13 All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

Another 2 weeks working on the boat...

Last time I mentioned some rust...it was far worse than I had expected - and so the boat was launched and promptly pulled back out again!

Jacoba now has a new bottom! Most of the boat had already had a "double" skin - the hull is now almost 120 years old and so it has been very sound considering that it was originally rivetted - using rivets and tar! 

Robin and I took her out for a spin to try out the new strernthruster - but I checked the underbed area and found water welling up under the old concrete ballast! We put her back in the shed, where it was obvious that water was leaking OUT from yet another place! - so two holes, at least.

Our boat expert had just had his holiday to Majorca cancelled due to the caronavirus  and we had an extra week in the shed - so, another 2 days work and she was ready again - 

- or so we thought!

A brief dip in the water and it was found to be still leaking - along one of the welds at a weak spot - so another go with the welding - and yet another launch!

And so, today I was a bit nervous about the launch - but all was good and so we filled up with water and I did some cleaning up - to get all the grinding dust off. I redid the bed base and made a cuppa!

So here the photos - with some added explanation

The first launch...

The 4mm thick steel sheet - exactly cut in half lengthwise - half on each side of the keel.

Some of the old rivetted construction - welding over these can be messy as the tar inbetween starts to melt and burn - I was on "fire watch" inside the boat for most of the welding.

This was the bit that hadn't sealed properly - the black smudge is the line of the weld - the sheet could have been 2 centimetres longer - I'll have to keep an eye on it and maybe extend it next year - there is still some of the original hull that hasn't been "doubled".

...and from the outside...repaired

Bed base back in order...

Launch # 3

Finally got the new (but original) name in place...

and a replacement shore power connection...

It's only taken me 10 years, but I finally figured out how to get a shower from the water boiler - it will only be in good weather if we are away from "normal" facilities - simple garden hose fitting and a hose and shower rose through the porthole!

...and so the boat is ready...BUT at the moment there are a few Provinces who are continuing with the Winter timetable for bridges and locks - not at all a regular season for the "watersporters". Our own haven is only open to members and even then the toilet/shower block has been closed.

We have closed the Care Farm - but are continuing to have contact with our clients - it makes me think about just how important our role is for them - quite apart from the business aspects for us!

I've been cooking for 5 for the last 3 weeks as Ben is home and Robin and Joy are staying here - "out the back" is empty at the moment!

Robin and Joy brought a car load of Portuguese wine with them - they were for on the boat, but we have found them to be quite agreeable, given our current circumstances.

Week 11 Working on The Boat

Week 11

Johanna and Jacoba

The sternthruster arrived on Monday...

and was installed and operational by Saturday morning...

...thanks to our boat expert.

He also did some welding on Johanna and will be installing a heating system and boiler in her shortly. He seems to have an answer for just about everything and certainly knows his stuff!

The plan was also to do some painting repairs on Jacoba and a full paint job on Johanna.

Needless to say, the work seemed to expand to fill the time available - 3 weeks

I had to pull the aft beds out in order to get to a problem spot (a hole!!!) near the welding required for the sternthruster 

(aka "hekschroef").

 A few years ago, the aft porthole had been leaking and water had settled behind one of the ribs - I didn't know about it for quite a while so this resulted in a hole about the size of a pea. It is now welded closed and the rest of the metal seems sound, but I will have to keep an eye on it!

I treated the whole area with rustkiller and painted the underbed surface - with the thought that it might make it easier to see if there are any further problems. The piece of steel that was cut out for the hekschroef is remarkably thick, so I am hopeful if not confident...bearing in mind that the hull is well over 100 years old!

The patch right in the middle of the photo is a lump of concrete - poured onto the bottom as ballast, (presumably). 

I have removed some of it, due to the extra weight of the hekschroef.

Making the bedbase

I had to cut through some of the old lats, as they had been fastened behind the wall linings. I'm making a new structure with lift out panels for the batteries, rudder pulley wheel, and new electric switches and relays.

This involves a lot of going up and down the ladder!, but it is so handy to have all my tools in the workshed, rather than doing the job whilst the boat is in the water.

Coronavirus

It wouldn't be right to skip this increasingly important event.

Janny has closed the care farm - rather alarming given that we still have to pay our bills...

I managed to negotiate for two of our clients to keep "working" in sheltered conditions - one in the boat shed with me - and the other in the workshed at the farm. 

The Dutch Government on Sunday announced closure of many things, including schools, restaurants and "coffee" shops (marijuana houses). Not a mention of helping people to pay their day to day expenses if they are not working...

(yes, it worries me). For example; the parents of one of our kids both work in a bakery - and with the kids home from school, somebody has to look after them. Categories such as nursing and firefighters were specifically mentioned as receiving assistance for this problem, but there will obviously be many other similar circumstances.

Of even greater concern to me was that Paul and Heather were in Spain, with everything closing around them - they cut their (otherwise fantastic) holiday short and did a full days drive to Barcelona to catch a plane home (still in the air as I write).

Ben is also out of work - the Modelling Agencies also seem to have put everything on hold.

Random boat photos

Week 10 Woudagemaal

Week 10 

The Woudagemaal - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Robin and Joy are here to work on their boat - later this week, both boats go into the shed for painting and some welding work.

We had a "free" Sunday so we went to see the Woudagemaal Pumping Station in Lemmer.

"gemaal" means pump - and Wouda is the name of the principal Architect. There was also a principal Engineer who was responsible for the actual machinery - I think his work was more worthy of the naming rights...

The Woudagemaal in Lemmer - in the province of Friesland - was opened in 1920. It is the largest steam pumping station ever built and still in operation. It represents the culmination of the contribution of Dutch engineers and architects in protecting their people and land against the natural forces of water. Excess water was originally drained by windmills. The first use of steam for pumping away water happened in 1825 on the Arkelse Dam, near Gorinchem. The construction of steam-driven pumping stations reached its peak between 1870 and 1885.

The water management authority - Wetterskip Fryslan - is responsible for water levels in Friesland and part of Groningen. A large part of this area is below sea level and would be continually flooded if not for the pumps.

Interestingly, water can actually be pumped back the other way in times of drought. We saw this in 2018, when low water levels were in danger of damaging the integrity of the many dikes.

Almost 1000 pumps are used to manage the water levels. We have just had the wettest February on record and so the huge steam pumps were brought into operation. They are only used when absolutely necessary - and so we were lucky to be able to see them in operation.

They were built just after the first world war. Electricity was considered but the network was not yet sufficient to meet their needs. Diesel was also considered, but there was an acute shortage due to the war. And so steam...originally coal-fired but now using bunker fuel - and diesel for the first start-up.

At that time, the pumping station was on the edge of the Zuider Zee (The South Sea) and so there are huge wooden gates protecting the pumping station from severe storms and ice floes. In 1933 the Afsluitdijk (Closing Dike) was completed and so the doors never had to be used. They are, however, maintained as part of the UNESCO requirements for the site.

Around the farm...

I think I spent the whole week just removing stumps...

from trees that were blown over in January, 2018...

The largest stump was too heavy for the (mini) tractor, so we had to get Ankie to drive while we put weight on the front (I got off just to take the photo)...all in a days work....

Ben is back home, but all his travel plans are in tatters with the Corona Virus. Paul & Heather were also heading to Milan but will now have to change flights, if at all possible.

Boat News...

My sternthruster is "being shipped" - hope to see it early this week. The boats go in the shed on Tuesday for painting and welding work.

It "should" look like this...