Water We Thinking

It's getting to that time of year when the leaves are changing and the nights in Chicago are becoming longer than the days.  That brings with the inevitable coolness of the season.  Now people are starting to get interested in how we're doing with the weather.  It hasn't been cold  yet, in fact we haven't seen the mercury dip below the magic 32 mark yet, but we've been close. Cygnet isn't insulated.  There is plenty of fiberglass, but it is all hard, not the fluffy kind in the walls of your home that keep you cozy on a December evening.  This kind actually transfers the temperature well, and can mean a night without a heater on can leave us cold.  We've been experimenting with different systems and so far have found a pretty good way to keep things comfy in the fall. Hot and Silent The space heater.  We have a big radiator style space heater that sits near the middle of the boat that keeps it pretty comfy when the temperature outside is...

As you may know, our first boat "Two Wrights" hasn't been doing too well.  She was in need of some parts that are not too easy to find given that she was built in 1971.  As much as we loved Two Wrights and wanted her to live on, we decided it was best to let her go.  We initially posted a for sale add on Craigslist, hoping someone looking for a classic boat project would sweep her up.  After a few months and no bites we looked into donating her.  We spoke to a few different companies and settled on Kars 4 Kids .  (You may be familiar with their commercial jingle.)  They came and picked her and her trailer up and now they'll get her ready to be auctioned off.  By donating we get a $500 tax write off.  They then sell her at an auction. If the sale price is greater than $500 we can write off the final sale amount.  The money earned then goes to the charity.  This is the standard operation of all these donation companies. Sail Away ...