May 15 - Making Texas Pearl Our Home

Rockport Harbor

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” —Maya Angelou

We’ve finally had a chance to spend more than a few days on the boat. In the last few weeks we've taken care of a lot of small projects, but it's been hard to get started on things like painting and pulling the washing machine out for repairs. This week we finally had time to get to those projects. I'm not a clean freak by any means, but I don't like living with other people’s dirt. This boat is 34 years old and the wallpaper in the dinette, hall and stateroom head is the original paper. To say the least it's faded, stained and unappealing. I'm a big fan of paint...I love paint. It's inexpensive and in a matter of a few hours it can make anything look refreshed and revitalized. The original wall paper is the basic vinyl paper found on most older yachts and definitely well stuck on the wall, so all I had to do was add two layers of fresh color to the top of it...the difference was amazing. We also replaced some of the old dirty almond electrical receptacles with new white ones that match the Corian countertops. Small changes can make a big difference, the Texas Pearl is beginning to feel more like home every day.

To be able to paint the hall we needed to pull out the stairs that lead from the salon to the staterooms. This also needed to be done to remove the wall in front of the washer & dryer. The washing machine hasn’t worked since we had the survey done last September, so it was a perfect time to look into that project too. The good news is the washing machine only needs a new belt, an easy fix that will make me a happy and spoiled girl. Having a washer and dryer onboard is such a luxury. We still have more interior projects to complete, but we are getting closer. We’ve chosen the tile for the galley floor and know which sofa we want to order for the salon…soon everything will be in place. Then Stan can start working on projects in the engine room and projects that will make the boat less dependent on shore power. It’s a boat…there are always projects to work on!

Pictures of the main stateroom. We still have work to do on the mid-stateroom and v-birth.

I looked for a long time for some kind of afghan to add color to the bed. I finally bought one in Jacksonville and then found this sarong at Wal-Mart...who would have guessed. It's just what I was looking for. 

The stateroom head before and after paint. 

The pictures don't show it's color very well, it's a pale yellow. I still need to add pictures to the wall.

Before and after pictures of the receptacles in the stateroom head.

An inexpensive fix that makes a world of difference.

Mid stateroom

The day head

This is the picture of the dinette that was in the listing for the yacht when we bought her.

This is our new look. I will use the striped pillows on the flybridge.

Before paint....

After paint

Even the galley got a few pictures to brighten it up. The new tile will make it look even better.

34 years of dirt in the cabinets.

Aww...much better. Did I mention, I LOVE paint?

The back deck is our favorite place to hang out.

You can see other improvement to Texas Pearl at the following links. Back deck, salon & small projects.