Living afloat

The story of the Luxe Motor MS Watergeus and how to convert a Dutch barge into a houseboat

April 2006

7th April 2006

I have now become the new owner of the Watergeus. My first plans are to dry-dock her. Since I need a certificate before I can ask for a mooring in Belgium, this will become priority one.

My boat, a picture that I put at my desk at my work

9th April 2006

It was now to build a hatch in the same style as the roof, so I could lower my stuff in the cargo hold. This same hatch will become my main entrance.

Starting to make a hole in the roof

Creating the sides of the hatch

The hatch has been finished

Since the shop was closed and I didn't have enough roofing felt, I just painted the hatch. In case of rain, the wood would at least be a bit protected.

15th April 2006

Today, we've put the roofing felt on. I also started cleaning the boat. A lot of old metal was no longer needed. I put a floor in the foxhole and painted it quickly. That space is now clean and being used as a storage for my tools.

The freshly painted hatch with roofing felt

28th April - 1st May 2006

The first of a couple of long Weekends in Sluiskil. This weekend, marked by Queens Day and bad weather, was a success. A new generator was placed aboard and the back accommodation cleaned. My mother and her girlfriend cleaned the whole accommodation removing everything that had become useless or hopeless to clean. Most of the furniture was disinfected and the old mattresses were thrown away. I'm still sleeping the wheelhouse and will continue to do so till there is a new mattress.

With Queens Day, there was a street selling in Terneuzen. At 4 o'clock most people go home and leave their unsold stuff behind. Andy and me drove their and took what was usefully. In no time, I had some decoration stuff and several kitchen accessories, such a s bread box, a rack for bottles, etc...

The new generator is a Petter 1 cylinder air cooled, delivering 4.4kva. Its connected to the exhaust of the previously generator, which broke in January 2006.