Water We Thinking

B ring O ut A nother T housand boat:  [boht]  noun/ 1. a vessel of any size used to for navigation on water.  2. a hole in the water you throw money into. The two best days in a boat owner's life: The day he buys a boat and the day he sells it. These are the types of things that everyone likes to remind us of.  There is always something to do, and it usually involves money.  Lots of money.   When we talk to people about our adventure they love to hear all the juicy details and much of that includes costs.  When you buy a house people don't immediately ask you how much you paid, it's impolite (that's what Zillow is for). They don't ask you what your electric bill is, or what setting you keep your heat/AC at.  When you own a boat, especially one you live on, it's different. People somehow think there is a familiarity that goes with boats and that includes what it costs.  We don't really mind, it isn't like we are super rich or super ...

Last night was stormy. Colette heard a little rain as she got up to turn the A/C off, but Kevin slept through it. It was early this morning that Kevin got up to use the bathroom and noticed something wasn't on the level.  Cygnet was listing to starboard.  The phone rang and our friend J.R. was on the line letting us know that Cygnet wasn't looking good.  Over the night, where parts of Chicago got almost FIVE inches of rain, the river rose significantly.  We were about four feet higher than normal, see the before and after below. Actually this normal photo is even a bit high but you get the idea. Normal, notice the dock behind Cygnet Cygnet's getting high We've been instructed by our marina management company to tie to the white posts at our dock, not the cleats that boats normally tie to. We've been disobedient (so has almost every other boat in the marina) and have been ignoring that and tieing to the few cleats that are available. We still had one rope...

When Cygnet first became ours we knew that the interior needed some updates. We also knew there are some things outside that need work, see our last post about the swim platform. We are working on making Cygnet feel like ours, and match our style. We get closer every day. Take a look at some of the pictures of the new salon and you get an idea of what we like. We love warm woods, leather and great textures and patterns. This is how we always pictured Cygnet and we're very happy to have the salon almost complete. All we need now is a painting that's in storage at Kevin's Mom's and a couch height replacement for the teak table. Looking good! This weekend we were happy to play host to our dear old friend Alan and his wonderful girlfriend Felicia. They are on an adventure even greater than us and we were thrilled to have them stay aboard Cygnet. We worry about the guest accommodations since the forward berth (bed) is a bit narrow, but Al...

Thirty-nine days after dropping Cygnet at Chicago Yacht Yard we are back in the water.  Is everything fixed?  Nope, but it's getting there.  We have parts on order for the forward head (toilet) and it turns out the transmission isn't an issue but the oil pan on the starboard side needs a new gasket.  The washing machine is in limbo still but all these things will be repaired by the yacht yard while the boat is in our slip for the same cost as if it were at their shop, no slip call fee. For now the forward head will have to suffice.  It's not ideal but living with two working toilets is better than one and the forward head being for guests is most important.  Maybe if Kevin lost a little weight the bowl size wouldn't be an issue. Hey Bro, eat a salad once in a while. For loyal readers you might remember that the slip was incomplete when we first got to River City.  Well, now it's done.  They added these large and somewhat unsightly...