A peek inside...

"True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Since the day I bought this boat (back in March), I have been looking forward to the day when we would start building.  There was so much demolition that needed done.

Now the building is well underway, and I am beyond excited!

I wanted to take a moment to look back and compare how things look now with how they looked the first time I walked through the boat.

Let's look at the stairs between the galley and the salon.  Here they were as I first saw them:

And here they are now (stained mahogany):

The treads of the stairs lift up to allow for additional storage.  In the old stairs, this was wasted space:

Here is a side-by-side comparison:

This is a view standing in the salon and looking down toward the galley.  We  are using birch for the walls and ceiling, and mahogany for the trim.  We aren't finished yet...we haven't put the finished floor in (it will be mahogany), and the dinette is still very rough (it will be polyurethaned on the outside, and the seats will be upholstered (maybe in black?), and the ceiling will be coffered with mahogany.

A closer look at the ceiling...the old ceiling was covered with those white, plastic sheets you often see on shower walls.  Many boats have white ceilings, so it was a traditional look done inexpensively.  It was moldy and looked cheap:

And here is a close-up of the old air conditioners:

And the new ceiling (not finished yet).  We used birch to cover the ceiling.  You can see the holes and wires that are ready to hold my new stainless recessed can lighting.  Also, the ceiling will be coffered with mahogany beams (there is a pic below that shows what it will look it):

Another angle of the ceiling:

And here is the nice, new air conditioner.  In this pic, you can better see the seams of the wood sheets.  These will all be covered with the coffered beams, so that the birch will be divided into 6 sections.

This is the "vision" pic.  It is NOT my boat, but it is the look we are going for.  You can get an idea of how the ceilings will look once the mahogany beams are in place.  The floor of my boat will be a solid color (mahogany), not the striped look of this teak and holly floor (maybe someday).

And these are the light fixtures that will be installed in the ceiling:

Here is another before shot.  The counter tops were white formica.  The panel was dark, warped with moisture and moldy.  The floor boards were rotted through.

In this pic, you can see the condition of the paneling and the floor (looking at these pictures now I just shake my head that I actually took this project on):

And here is the same area.  New everything.

The progress on the boat is happening fast now, and it is very exciting to see it all take shape.  I know that I have recommended my contractor several times in this blog already, but bear with me as I do it again.  If you have need of a contractor (not just for boats, but your home, office, etc.), I do highly recommend Jerry Williams with twin hills construction, LLC:  513.293.7744 or jwilliams209@cinci.rr.com.

Seeing her restored to a beautiful condition is very exciting.  While this has been (and continues to be) a huge project, it has brought me lots of happiness--doing the job well and bringing newness to her is very rewarding!