Taking inspiration from our good friends Matt and Val we figured it was about time to explain why we are committing to an aquatic lifestyle. Essentially, Water We Thinking? Many friends and family have asked the same question and it is something that is difficult to answer in a few sentences. So, if you've wondered why we have this crazy idea please read on.
Unfortunately Two Wrights had a pretty bad failure at the end of the season last year. A universal joint broke at speed, partially due to Kevin's aggressive driving. As of now Two Wrights is in the barn, but we have plans to repair her and get her seaworthy again. So how did we make the jump from thinking about a weekender boat to a live aboard? We were talking about what we needed to do to the house, we even had a contractor come out to give us an estimate, and realized we just couldn't afford to do the work now, or in the near future. After dealing with falling walls for five years it wasn't much of an issue, we'd wait. But when a good offer came in on the house we talked it over, called our realtor to ask his opinion and the immediate "sell" from him reaffirmed our decision.
'71 Sea Ray SRV 220 Cuddy Cabin
For those of you familiar with the boat in the picture above, you know we love the boating life. Kevin has struggled to keep Two Wrights running the last few years and in the summer of 2013 we started looking for a replacement. We were still a couple years away from making the commitment to a larger vessel, and since Kevin finally got Two Wright running pretty well at the end of the summer we were happy to do another year or two. We also considered putting Two Wrights in the barn for a couple years and saving the money we normally spend on the slip, gas, and repairs and put that toward a down payment on a "new" boat. The reliability issue of Two Wrights isn't the only reason we wanted something else, we also wanted very much to spend more than an afternoon or evening aboard. Two Wrights was not a vessel designed to sleep aboard. You could in a pinch, and First Mate Don has done that before when Two Wrights was a fishing vessel in Racine. For the two of us to spend the night would be kind of silly. So we started looking for something in the 28-32 foot range, something that could go fast, hold a lot of people for a party, and we (and potentially another couple) could sleep aboard. That was the goal.  |
Our Top Choice for a Weekender Boat
Falling Walls
At first the idea was to look for a place in Ukrainian Village, West Town, or another area that we liked that is closer to our jobs. We love Lincoln Square, but it's a long commute for both of us. We realized quickly that the neighborhoods we liked were already too expensive for us to look at. We thought about renting for a while since we have some friends that have found great deals in these locations. We figured we could take a long time and wait for the right place to go on sale. It was during these conversations that the thought of living aboard came up.
Amsterdam Canal
Way back in 2004 we took a trip to Paris for the first time and saw people living on the Seine in converted barges. We thought that was quite novel. But it was Paris, and everything was novel. When we were back in 2007-08 we saw the same thing, but also saw people living aboard in Amsterdam and Strasbourg. It really intrigued us. When we returned to Chicago in 2008 we started looking into the possibility of living aboard here. We did a research trip to the Chicago Historical Society, bought some books, looked through historical documents and realized houseboats had been a part of Chicago's history. One of the most famous areas of Chicago is named after a corrupt barge captain whose ship ran aground in the lake and he tried to declare the newly formed garbage patch around it an independent country. That didn't work out too well, but after decades of dumping landfill around his barge and allowing gambling, prostitution, and other vices on the land that he and his cronies created, the area of Streeterville was born. There were live aboard boats on the Chicago River as late as the 1980s, but the city eventually banned them.
Streeter's Paradise
Chicago historical society/ Encyclopedia of Chicago
We contacted the city shortly after purchasing our house and found the person to talk to about the possibility of the water life. Having just moved into a house we were excited about, we quickly lost the interest in pursuing this further. Six years later and we got the bug again. We'd talk about it here and there, we've even talked about it with some of you, but the house that was still our main focus. We loved the house, warts and all, and the neighbors were great so what was the rush to move? When we decided it was time to go, we began imagining a life on the river and it was clear that we should try a boat first. Building or buying a floating home would be too expensive, and the City of Chicago might not even go for it. We can legally live at the marina. So for now the experiment starts. We will spend some time on the boat. If we love it, the next step might be to petition the city to allow houseboats or floating homes on the river. We may be starting a revolution in Chicago living!
In the Shadow of Riverview
Chicago historical society/ Encyclopedia of Chicago
There were five liveaboards at River City this past winter, and we expect more in the summer. All the lakeside marinas will be hopping with people living on the water this summer. River City is, as far as we know, the only place in Chicago to stay in the winter. All the marinas on the lake close in November. Marina Towers is a possibility, but it's too exposed to the river and living under the building might be too depressing.
So, water we thinking by living on a boat in Chicago? We are thinking that this is just the beginning. We think it could turn into a wonderful life, one that we hope others will learn to appreciate too. We hope the city's renewed interest in the river will help spur the development of river homes. We hope you all will continue on this journey with us!
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