September goal: Seminar room warm in winter

Firstly, things turn out differently and secondly, things turn out differently than you think. It's the same in shipbuilding as it is in life. You need a plan, but also the flexibility to adapt to current circumstances.

The plan for August was....

We had planned to continue building the seminar room so that coaching sessions and seminars could take place there from October. The fundraising campaign for the chairs had raised enough money to order the chairs for the seminar room... I thought: no problem to have the seminar room ready for use in a few weeks...

But firstly....the beautiful reality

The good weather was perfect for building a hatch to access the boat and finally installing roof windows in the entrance area and wheelhouse. That means: cutting open the steel or aluminium, enchanting, painting, sealing, building a frame in which the windows can be stably inserted and replacing the glass - I had been given the otherwise very expensive windows as a present, but the glass was broken....

The result is impressive. The entrance is beautiful, bright and can be well ventilated in future (above is the picture of what it looked like before).

And secondly... the less beautiful reality

Over the last few weeks, a musty odour has been spreading in the lower part of the ship. At first I thought it was from the food. But cleaning the fridge didn't really help. It was only after a while that we realised that service water had leaked through a hinge and was collecting at the lowest point of the ship. under had collected on the floor.

Floors in ships are laid floating to be prepared for such cases. One Sunday, I thought: „I'll just mop it up quickly!“ It took three hours because more and more water was flowing in from above. Water is still a nice description. I did take pictures of the „water“, but I'll spare you that.

So I hung upside down on my knees on the floor of the boat, threw rags down, pulled them out again and wrung them out... for three hours. Over the next few days we poured in fresh water and did the whole thing again. Phew. Troubleshooting and rectification took a few days of labour.

The „fun“ cost a few hundred euros for new pumps so that this doesn't happen to us again in future. Most importantly: a very small, flat pump in the lowest part of the ship that immediately pumps away any water that gets there. That always happens on a ship. All someone has to do is tip over a cleaning bucket - water always finds its way and collects at the lowest point. Condensation also drips downwards.

But now for real: continue building and stove 

The new pumps still have to be delivered and installed, but we still want to continue building the seminar room at full speed. So that we can reach our goal and the first seminars can be held here from October. Wood for the shelves and cork for the floor are already in place.

In addition to the doors that are still missing, the last major purchase is a Wood-burning stove. We do have a small oven, but it draws oxygen out of the room. That's ok when one or two people are working on the ship. But it's difficult or even dangerous when a dozen people are sitting in a seminar, breathing and consuming oxygen. Apart from the fact that a lack of oxygen makes you tired, which is somewhat counterproductive in seminars.

That's why we need a so-called ambient air-independent stove. They cost around 800 euros, with pipes and installation around 1000 euros. Phew. The next big chunk for which there is no money at the moment.

Of course you can help...

For example, you could sponsor a fireplace... 20 people helping with 50 euros would be a great relief. Or if that's not in your budget - maybe you'd like to give us a day of warmth. We already heat most of the boat (entrance, main room, bedroom, wheelhouse) with a large pellet stove. It uses about 1 bag of pellets in winter (a little more on very cold days). A bag of pellets costs approx. 3 - 4 euros. With 5 euros you are guaranteed to give us a whole day's warmth.

If you want to help us stay warm in winter, you can use Paypal (info(äääääät)down-to-earth.de) or ask me for the account number.

Another idea: treat yourself to one of our Online training courses, that strengthen you in life and faith. This is good for you and for us - the income from the courses naturally helps us to continue building.

We can do it. Really! 

THANK YOU!!!

And by the way:

There will be an open day on 11 September from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for anyone who would like to see the ship. You are cordially invited.