Living afloat

The story of the Luxe Motor MS Watergeus, the Groningse snik Hornblower and how to convert a Dutch barge into a houseboat.
Also containing one of world's largest house boat gallery

February 2012

2nd February 2012: Ice

Ice was formed around the hull and inside the boat. On Monday I noticed condensation was frozen to the windows. I was more worried when I discovered there was ice in the cooling system of the engine. I quickly bought an extra heater to heat the engine room.

4th February 2012

It is still cold with temperatures of minus 9°C.

5th February 2012: Cleaning the back area

Since it is to cold to work on the engine or to weld the plates and ribs for the wheelhouse , I cleaned the back area where all the wood is stored. I want to measure the area and make some plans for the conversion. I put some more blankets around to keep the heat in the engine room.

7th February 2012: Measuring

I did some measuring in the bedroom and realised I barely have some space to put a normal two person bed. It was very disappointing...

8th February 2012: Ceiling

I started insulating the ceiling of the bedroom. I hope to keep the heat more in the boat. The bedroom is a small area, but with with a difficult curve. Everybody knows there is nothing straight on a boat, but this area is a real disaster!

9th February 2012: Wall

I've ran out of insulation, so I built the frame for the wall that will divide sleeping room from the back of the boat.

10th February 2012: Framework

11th February 2012: Cleaning, shopping and ceiling

12th February 2012: Ceiling

On the weather forecast they mentioned from today on the freezing period is over. Personally, I didn't notice much difference. Ice melted on the boat, but the canal was still frozen and I had cold feet while working!

I'm running out of wood, insulation and even screws. I'm a little short of money this month so I might have to stop working on the boat. There are still a lot of other jobs I could do, but it is still to cold...