Living afloat

The story of the Luxe Motor MS Watergeus, the Groningse snik Hornblower and how to convert a Dutch barge into a houseboat.

Conversion of the Watergeus

7At this moment, the Watergeus is being converted to a houseboat. This work will take some time. Any progress will be published in this section. It also contains some of my personal notes!

To find more about converting a Dutch barge in general, click here.

The whole story started on 27th December 2005 when Andy an I drove to Sluiskil to have a look at a small fishing boat for sale...

2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012

2005

• December 2005: Discovering the boat

2006 - Yard and outside work

• January 2006: Cleaning the boat and running the engine
• February 2006: Painting the boat and building a wooden roof
• March 2006: Painting and preparing he for selling
• April 2006: I bought the boat
• May 2006: Dry-docking & survey
• June 2006: Cleaning the boat
• July 2006: Repairing the boat at the yard
• August 2006: Cleaning the engine room
• September 2006: Removing the wooden roof
• October 2006: Building the den and cabin
• November 2006: Building the den
• December 2006: Finishing the den and placing the hatches

2007 - Outside work

• January 2007: Placing the windows
• February 2007: Building a waste water tank & sailing to Bruges
• March 2007: Finishing the roof & putting electricity in the back accommodation
• April 2007: Cleaning the bilges for a last time
• May 2007: Building a floor
• June 2007: Building the floor
• July 2007: Designing the roof and doing some smaller jobs
• August 2007: Preparing to build the roof
• September 2007: Building the roof (part 1)
• September 2007: Building the roof (part 2)
• October 2007: Finishing the roof / cleaning the boat
• November 2007: Doing it a bit slower: planning
• December 2007: Replacing exhaust and adjusting back accommodation

2008 - Starting the hold

• January 2008: Planning and starting the hold
• February 2008: Putting the watertanks in
• March 2008: Starting in the hold
• April 2008: Working in the hold, insulation and crane
• May 2008: painting the outside,hatches and wood work on the inside (part 1)
• May 2008: painting the outside,hatches and wood work on the inside (part 2)
• June 2008: Inside work
• July 2008: Inside work (part 1)
• July 2008: Inside work & lifeboat (part 2)
• August 2008: Inside work and new windows
• September 2008: Electricity and the inside
• October 2008: Batteries, engine room and office space
• November 2008: Sleeping room and electricity
• December 2008: Sleeping room and living room

2009 - Continuing on the hold

• January 2009: Bulkhead between tanks and living area
• February 2009: Wood work, corridor and frame around the windows
• March 2009: Finishing the main wood works & Control panel for the engine
• April 2009: Finishing the living room
• May 2009: Plumbing and living room
• June 2009: Living room
• July 2009: Living room, kitchen and sailing trip in the Netherlands
• August 2009: Living room and bathroom
• September 2009: Central heating and painting
• October 2009: Kitchen and painting
• November 2009: Decorating the living room
• December 2010: Mast

2010 - Outside work

• January 2010: Front area
• February 2010: Collecting pieces
• March 2010: Deck
• April 2010: Dec, crane and hatch
• May 2010: Deck
• June 2010: Another boat, another story
• July 2010: Bilge cleaning on the Frantsis and front cabin of the Watergeus
• August 2010: Outside work on the Watergeus
• September 2010: Converting the back accommodation
• October 2010: Plumbing the back accommodation
• November 2010: Back accommodation
• December 2010: Back accommodation and the yacht Escapade

2011 - Back accommodation & MJ Escapade

• January 2011: Back accommodation
• February 2011: Back accommodation and Escapade
• March 2011: Plumbing and kitchen in the back accommodation (part 1)
• March 2011: Plumbing and kitchen in the back accommodation (part 2)
• April 2011: Snik Hornblower
• May 2011: Snik Hornblower
• June 2011: Nothing at all
• July 2011: Not much!
• August 2011: Deck and outside work
• September 2011: Front cabin: finishing the front

2012 -Yard visit for the Watergeus

• January 2012: Thinking about a yard visit
• March 2012: Generator and big cleanup
• May 2012: Going to the yard
• June 2012: Yard visit and painting the ship