Week 246: Habemus nomen!
For the record, Karina doesn't like my pun for "We have a name". Good progress this week finishing off parts of the external painting and sticking up the new names on Delfine...
It's one of those weeks when I'm not sure what we've done, but I know we've done a lot! I have to go back through the photos to remind myself of where we were at.
Monday morning, we were on Delfine meeting with Kristof and the architects (Eva and Emile). Kristof was there to measure the space under the stairs, ready for production. There were a lot of discussions about some of the finer details of the fit out, but things are going well. The big news from Kristof is that the builders have started on-site assembly of some of the built-in furniture they will be installing on Delfine.
Built in furniture is being assembled out at the builders workshop. The "L" shaped piece is the sofa, and the other photo is the dining bench seat.
In the afternoon, I returned to Simon's workshop, fitting the insulation into the roof panels. This involved measuring, trimming and then sticking down the insulation. Not a complicated task, but one that required some precision and took longer than I expected. Karina worked on prepping the sides of the wheelhouse for painting, but came around after four to help with the insulation.
Fitting insulation and stacking the panels into the van.
Tuesday morning, we popped out to Simon's, prepped the last two roof panels and loaded them all up into the van, ready for him to bring them around later in the afternoon. Back on Delfine, the Artestuc bathroom guys were finishing up the final layer of varnish on the finish in the three bathrooms, and that afternoon, we wished them farewell. It was a little sad, we've enjoyed having them on Delfine, and the company has been great. That said, the process was also quite messy, so we're not unhappy that we can tidy up now!
That afternoon, Simon came around and we put the roof panels back onto Delfine, where they will stay. He's now off working in France this week, but next week he'll be back for a couple of days, and we should be able to complete all the finishing tasks to tick that job off the list. We took the chance to borrow a van from the shipyard and cart a load of rubbish out to the recycling park, including the old roof panels. It felt good to eliminate some of the stuff that's been accumulating!
I'm not sure what we did on Wednesday! It was probably some form of painting. We've been focusing on the sides of the wheelhouse. At some point, we got a primer layer onto the sides of the wheelhouse and also up the front onto a patch in the hull (where paint was burnt off when the bollards were boxed in). Karina ordered some furniture – a table and chairs for the dining area, which were supposed to take several weeks for delivery, but instead, will arrive next week! Too early (we'll have to store them off-site for a bit).
Karina also did a lot of admin work during the week. Part of preparing to move apartments also meant relocating the company address. That involved her heading into Securex (a company that handles a lot of company admin like this) and having to sign six forms!
Dining chairs and tables. We've found a fun student bar, Broei, we've been stopping at on the way home.
On Thursday, we completed the final finish coat on the stern cabin exterior, which looks fantastic. We're thrilled we removed all the weird bits of stainless sticking out and patched those holes; it's a much smarter-looking boat. Then it was the "between layer" on the side of the wheelhouse and up the front on the storage boxes.
One thing I love in Belgium is that all the trade stores (like Polar Paints where we buy all our paints) have coffee stations for tradespeople, so we can grab a free coffee. A local bakery had a pastry sample station too, so that was delicious!
Friday, Jeff returned to continue working on the electronics. He hooked up the VHF and worked on the nav lights. The system for the navigation lights is more capable than what we've used previously. Unlike Matilda, where the lights were on or off, this system sets off an alarm if a globe is blown or a light is missing. There's still further work to complete the electrics, but it's getting close now. Hopefully, it will be done in the next week.
We've mentioned the ESTRIN several times, our European Waterways Certification for Delfine. We're now very close to having all the final items complete. I did a big push on Friday morning to knock over as much as possible! I hung the fire extinguishers and mounted signs that say "Crew Only. " And the big one: We put the name and port on the stern and bow of Delfine! She's beginning to feel like a real ship now. We also painted the top of the bollards/bits a contrasting colour (white) and added grit to the paint to make them non-slip.
Mounted fire extinguishers, guard on belt for the hydrophore, warning signs and gritting the bollards.
On Saturday, we got the first of the finish coats onto the sides of the wheelhouse, and I painted the bits at the front of Delfine blue.
This week it's back to just us on Delfine, perhaps with Martin and Jeff for some of it. We will continue with the finish coat on the wheelhouse and get that completed. Touch up the roof panels on the overhangs. Finish the front storage containers and the bits, and if we have time, start either on the railings along the side of Delfine OR inside the wheelhouse. We also pick up the keys to our new apartment on Thursday and move in on Saturday, so we're looking forward to that too.
The process of installing the name. It's quite stressful, although as Karina pointed out, I think this is the fourth time I've done this now, so it is getting easier.
Until next time,
Tim & Karina