2014-03-15 13.39.22Today, a team from the Lukas Church in Berlin was on board. They glued insulation, derusted the anchor locker and rudder locker, sawed wood, painted… in short, they accomplished a ton. Yesterday, Anne and Friedrich helped and with their united strength, the water tank for drinkwater was balanced in its place. Last week, a team of men from Treptow insulated the bilge in the seminar room – and  brought the tank off board to the boat manufacturer to shorten and weld it.

In addition, we derusted and sanded the roof, laid the floor in the seminar room, painted the tank lid for the dirty water tank, and did 1000 other small things.

I am unimaginably thankful for the help from one-time helpers but also for the loyal souls and strong supporters who regularly help for a few or many hours. I am also thankful that we can give some tasks to the boat manufacturer, like welding high-grade steel, when we don”t have the expertise and tools for them.

Despite all of the support, it is still going to be a little while before the ship is fit for action. I had hoped and prayed that we”d be finished by my birthday on April 24th. This is not likely to happen safely. One reason is because of the many delays caused by a previous boatbuilder not doing things or doing them poorly. In many places, a layer of lacquer was simply sprayed on top of rust, which then came back up, and we had to redo all of the work. This was pretty frustrating and cost a lot of time – at least four, probably closer to six, weeks.

On the other hand, because it”s just the way things are, many tasks are built on one another and are interconnected. So, the compost toilet had to first be ordered so that we knew the exact measurements for the foundation so that we could begin to weld. Then the corresponding water tank needed to be shortened and welded and it had to go in before the toilet, which sits over the tank, could be put in. The water tank had to be taken off board, which required 6 strong carriers. Then it had to be put back in (5 were enough). Then the steel foundation for the toilet had to be welded, then painted… now the big compost toilet cabinet can come onto the ship – when we have 6 people again who can carry it together… When the requirements are not being met – having 6 people who are there at the same time – things go more slowly.

I am very thankful… and a little bit impatient… I would have liked to be further… and sometimes I worry… a woman and a team of helpers signed up for April – but not until the end of April – and I still need one or more carpenters and sanitary engineers, electricians, ventilation engineers… and many who want to lend a hand with derusting and painting the exterior…

I will continue to trust. Day by day.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/vertrauen-lernen-auch-wenn-es-laenger-dauert/#sthash.CvVfSbV0.dpuf