DIY: CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS HAVE BEEN TOTALLY REBUILT

When we purchased the Thunderbird she had a small V shaped berth deep down in the hull at the bow of the boat.  It went from wall to wall and you had to crawl across it, to lay down.  If you slept with your head toward the bow, your heads were crowded together, and if you slept across it, you had room for your head but, one of you always had to crawl over the other to get out of bed.  And that was usually me, becuase Dan need to be on the outside, because he was the tallest.  The only other thing in that area, was a small water tank under the berth and a very large vanity and sink.  Plus there was a large storage area, under what was the helm above in the Pilot house. 

After spending our first summer aboard we decided we needed to improve this area.  After taking many, many measurements, ( I even measured Dan from a sitting position to the top of his head, so that I knew how high up we could make the top of the bed, so that he could sit up in bed without him hitting his head on the ceiling.)  Like I say I looked at all the possibilities .  

I knew that a standard double bed is 54" wide and 72" long.   I also knew that the higher up we came, in that area, the wider the hull got, which would give us more width in the finished room.  So I made a wish list.  I wanted to be able to walk up each side of the bed to make it.  I wanted a second toilet and sink down there.  We also wanted some cloths storage areas and a larger water tank.  That was my wish list.  I sat down to re-work this sleeping area and I came up with a design. 

Now, having a design was one thing being able to translate it to Dan was something else.  I can come up with the design, and I knew it would work, size and shape wise, but he is the one that has to make it work structurally and mechanically.  He has to figure out where each piece of board is going to go and what he is going to attach it to and make it solid enough so it will all hold together even in rough seas.



So we plunged ahead.  And in the fall of 2004 we started ripping everything out of the entire area forward of the windshield and helm.  We stripped everything back to the steel ribs of the hull, except for the ceiling and 18"of paneling that came down from the ceiling.  When we opened up under the helm we realized there was such a huge space there that we could add a huge black water holding tank to the boat.  We had already taken the measurements for a new much larger water tank that we were having custom made, to fit down into the V of the hull, so we measured this other large area and decided to maximize our holding tank as well.  So we ordered two custom made tanks at the end of our fall work season. 

When we arrived back the following spring with two new tanks, we really had our work cut out for us.  The hardest thing to do in the nose of a boat is to set the levels we wanted for the floor and the bed.  OK if that is the level at which I want the floor, where do I tie that to?  And if the bed is going to be at that height what do I attach that to.  Of all the building and house renovations we have ever tackled, over the years, that was the toughest job we have ever had to do. 



In the hull of a boat there are no straight walls, nothing to use a square against.  Even the laser level, we purchased for this job, didn't prove to be the help we thought it would.  The only thing that proved to be of some help was a plumb line. 

It was a lot of work, with a lot of cursing and swearing, but we got it roughed in with a quick coat of primer in time for our launch that spring. 

We even managed to pick up our new custom built mattress just prior to having guests arrive for the Canada Day long weekend.  It wasn't all that pretty, but it was functional. 











The following year we put in all the finishing touches.  My Mahogany, my trellis dividers, my tiny sink, new flooring on the bathroom walls, etc. etc. 





We put a shower curtain up to enclose the en Suite if you felt the need for privacy. 









We even installed a drop down DVD player on the ceiling for watching movies in bed at night.








I had to get an interior decorator to pick the paint colour for me.    ( I painted this area twice and hated it both times, then turned to a professional to pick the three different beiges I have on the boat. )  Now the colours are perfect. 




So now I have everything on my wish list.  I can walk up each side of the bed to make it.   I have my en Suite toilet and sink.  I have a huge storage area under the top half of the mattress, open compartments under each side of the bed and two drawers and a cabinet in the foot of the bed, as well as a small hanging closet, behind the bathroom wall.  I even have a small vanity shelf below a large mirror for hair and make up.

THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS ARE NOW PERFECT