As we settle into Sundown, she’s becoming quite comfy. Sure, there are daily projects in the mission-critical, boat building category that must happen for her to be safe and sea worthy. That’s what Clay very good at; I help as much as possible and am learning a lot as we go along. What I contribute, however, is a keen sense of ship-shape organization (to those who know me, I hear you laughing!) and homey touches.
For example, I finally made my way through the piles of equipment manuals stashed here and there, and registered all of the products I can at this time. Now the manuals, along with corresponding purchase receipts, are alphabetically filed together for quick reference. Eventually, we’ll probably ditch the paper manuals since most everything is online, but for now, we have hard copies to which to refer.
I also have our important boat and personal documents stored in a waterproof Pelican case and other papers, mostly related to my work, filed in yet another storage box. All fit neatly in the cabinet below the chart table/desk.
We’ve also hung coffee mugs above and behind the stove, just above a little cabinet Clay added that we access by lifting a custom shelf. We hung a net inside the cabinet, which perfectly cradles soft goods, like bread, cereal and chips. I love all this type of organization!
To make Sundown a comfortable living space, we had new cushions made for the settee (couch) and dining areas. Townsley Upholstery did a wonderful job and I highly recommend them. Graham’s Flooring made custom carpets for the main walk way; they feel luxurious. I ordered three round rugs for the head (bathroom), aft cabin and galley from Stroud Braided Rugs. When I did so, I explained I was in a hurry as we’d only be in Colorado for a couple more weeks. They expedited my order at no extra charge and the rugs fit perfect.
As we’ve unpacked, Sundown has the added comforts of a hand-knit throw, a beautiful quilt my Mom made for us, specially made s/v Sundown fleece blankets and lots of pillows. Clay teases that we should rename the boat, “Along Came Polly,” after the movie starring Jennifer Aniston who seemed obsessed with pillows and making sure they were positioned just so. Whatever.
We brought with us from our former land-locked home special pieces of art (at least the ones which Sundown’s limited wall space would accommodate); all the pieces are now hung up, including a painting by Jeff Colquhoun, a Camden, Maine, painter who Clay worked for when he rebuilt Jeff’s boat, Senta. The painting is of Senta and one of the people on the boat is Clay! A new addition to our collection is an abstract acrylic of the sea, given to us as a parting gift by Wendy Foster, owner of The Fine Art & Frame Company in Fort Collins. A traditional Boston ship’s clock, which came with Sundown, is ticking away and a little nautical bell hung below it just looks quaint.
Our window treatments are really cool. I didn’t want anything permanent as the bronze port lights are just too beautiful to cover up full time. I scoured Pinterest and the Internet in general for ideas to no avail. When I explained to Clay I wanted curtains that were easily removable, he designed and crafted curtain rods out of bronze brazing rod (intended for welding). I cut, sanded and stained dowel rods which hold up the flat panel curtains I sewed.
Last night, I worked on tailoring our pullman berth mattress cover and bottom fitted sheet. Wow! Did that project kick my butt. I have no photos to share as it was pretty ugly. Both items fit our wonky-shaped mattress much better now, but neither are much to look at. I’ll get another chance to hone the process when I tailor the mattress cover and fitted sheet for the aft cabin’s bed. Stay tuned!
Kim – It is so comfy looking, especially the rug for stepping out the shower 🙂 I see a couple good places to tuck and knit.
Thanks, Jacqui! Knitting is on my list of things to do. Not quite there, but Clay could use a nice Celtic sweater for sure and I must finish the sweater I started last spring. When I have time to explore the knitting stores here, I’ll post about it.
how exciting! we did some sailing in Alaska and I could picture our friends boat that we went out on all the time. The hammocks for the soft goods. storage challenges, making the most of every inch. I am loving your blog!
And we love that you love it! We’ll try to keep the updates coming as we embrace this new life!
I hope you will enjoy it when you are actually on water. Avie
So far, so good, Avie! We’re on the water, but only tied to a dock until the mast is put up. We should be sailing soon, though.