Her Maiden Voyage - Captain Kirk's Enterprise

Captain Kirk's Enterprise - to boldly go where no

 boat has gone before!

One of our huge building projects for this year is done

(well, almost done!) and we had our maiden voyage

on her.  I had done a post about building a new

houseboat

and we did get it finished enough to have our first trip

on it.  

Captain Kirk and I held a competition to name the boat.

We offered a cash prize.  My 24 year old niece suggested

the Enterprise (as in Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise).

That ended up being the winning name!

I told you I would show you the rest of the 

houseboat when we finished.

This is the main salon, one of many spots where the 

whole group can gather.  

We are not big on television and movies when we are

at Lake Powell, but it will be fun to watch slideshows

and videos of the day's activities.

In the newer houseboats the main salon has been moved

from the front of the houseboat to the rear of the

houseboat with a sliding glass wall so that you can

enjoy the view of the water and the water activities

that are all located at the rear of the houseboat.

The other end of the room is the large kitchen with

bar seating for eight.  This was really fun when meal

preparation was taking place as it fit many cooks and

observers.

The kitchen features dark maple cabinets with brown

tone-on-tone glass tile for the back splash and 

Copper Canyon granite tops.  The Copper Canyon

reflects the colors of the Lake Powell sandstone walls.

A large hammered copper sink is great for

washing up and such a nice size.

This fridge and freezer were such a joy as they easily

fit in all of our food for the week.

Our very first houseboat had a small marine

fridge so we always had to use extra coolers.

One of the big needs for a week of houseboating

is ice and we have two clear ice icemakers.  They

were perfect.  We never ran out of ice.

This is a view back into the kitchen with the beautiful

stainless steel and glass hood hanging almost 

as a piece of art.  

The floors in the main cabin are all 

engineered wood which can withstand the 

wet environment.

Captain Kirk's quarters

are the most luxurious, as fitting

his status of course!

The tufted headboard features blinged up buttons

(as fits the taste of his First and Only Mate -

 that would be me!)

Along with the bling, the First Mate also likes some

 touches of animal print throughout the boat.

The houseboat is manufactured by Bravada Yachts

in Phoenix and Tracey, the co-owner had the most

wonderful sources for blinged up pillows and bedding.

The bedding came from Eastern Accents.

Tracey and Jim created the unique look of Bravada 

yachts and were so delightful to work with.

Needless to say, the bedding was love at first sight for me.

The master bath is connected to the stateroom.

It features Tyvarian, Whitewater's

newest bathroom products 

which are now being sold internationally.

The master has double shower heads and double

faucets in a textured bronze trough sink 

which was also manufactured

by  Whitewater Inc.

This is the second full bath also featuring Tyvarian on

the counter, walls and in the shower.  I chose beautiful

vessel sinks for the main bath 

and for a sink between two of the cuddies (lower

bedrooms).

The half bath turned out beautifully with a 

nautilus shell sink in brushed bronze also made

by Whitewater Inc.  

It is fun to have a project that I am designing that

they can then carry out my designs.  

The water spirals down the sink!

  It is undermounted in Tyvarian also.

There are six additional staterooms.

Each stateroom is individually decorated.

Four staterooms are on the main floor 

and two are down below.

But each of them have their advantages with the

lower cuddies having more space but only queens

while the upper staterooms have king sized beds. 

In addition their are two crawl-through cuddies for

children.

In the end we decided we didn't need quite that many rooms

even for our largest crowds so we turned one into a 

massage room complete with remote control 

electric candles and music.  

This room will have an electronic roller massage

bed, which is on order.  That way you don't have to find

someone willing to give you a massage.  For now, we have

a traditional massage table.

Now we move up to the middle deck which has been designed to

comfortably entertain crowds.  I found this super comfy piece

on Costco.com!  This looks out the back of the houseboat

at the lake.

Whitewater custom made this 7 x 7 foot table

that seats 12 beautifully.  It is also made out of Tyvarian.

Tyvarian is an 

imaged cultured marble product so you can

create any design you would like.  This is a faux wood finish

with interesting hidden details and I chose to add a vine 

pattern to it.  

Shaunna is the graphic's designer working with Tyvarian

to create the custom design.

At the last minute I chose to add a chandelier embellished

with shells to hang over the table.

We do a lot of outdoor cooking on the lake.  There is a

built in BBQ and side burners,

...a sink, dishwasher, ice maker, trash compactor and 

audio equipment.  Each bar is 14 foot long so it can

accommodate many cooks and many cleaners.

Past the kitchen is the driver's station where everyone

loves to gather as we travel up lake.

I included two wonderful lounges up by the driver's

station so that the whole group can gather there.

These and the dining chairs and barstools are all

manufactured by Tropitone.

The very top deck is open air and we love to gather here

in the evenings and stargaze.  These king sized day beds

are from Babmar.   The summer sky is amazing

at Lake Powell.  You can see the Milky Way so clearly

it almost looks like a cloud painted across the sky.

The special treat is to be able to see shooting stars.

Captain Kirk has put together a collection of 

stargazing music which includes music from

Celestial Soda Pop by Ray Lynch, Sam Cardon, Kurt Bestor, 

Enya and Kenny G.

Listening to this music and watching the stars

is one of my favorite activities at Lake Powell (after water sports!)

We have four king sized beds on this top deck.  They can also

be used for sun bathing and sleeping under the stars.

Dave Taylor owns Houseboats Unlimited and is the

dealer for Bravada Yachts.  Dave also builds the third 

decks in Page, AZ.  He manages the boats and provides

services for Antelope Point Marina and Wahweap Marina.

It is amazing that they can provide any service you need

during the busy summer days and can do it with a smile!

We post the weekly menu.  Everyone onboard 

becomes a guest chef.

I also have to include a picture of this 

Enterprise shaped pizza cutter 

that my daughter got Captain Kirk for Father's Day.

Captain Kirk is now including Star Trek music to listen to 

as we leave the slip.

(Still left to be done - screens on the second deck, logos

for the boat and some artwork.

This is one of the art pieces that Captain Kirk designed and

 that shows the map of 

Lake Powell and pictures of our family and guests

over the last 20 years.  It will also be made out of Tyvarian.

While it has been a lot of work

to go from this

to this - we know it will bring many years of 

family togetherness and time spent with friends.

All we need to add is family, friends and some 

H2O!

You can see the video of the houseboat produced

by Destination America here.

(Jim, the owner of Bravada Yachts

is featured on the video with his family

and I have to admit that I thought

some of the prices were overinflated

in the video - but you know how

these things go!)

I will be posting this with

Metamorphosis Monday

Making Space Monday