Water We Thinking

We've talked a fair amount about what we do in winter to prepare Cygnet for the coldest months and to help keep us warm as the temperatures dip to inhumane levels.  When someone new hears about our lifestyle they still most often ask about what the winters are like, how it's possible to live on a boat through sub-zero temperatures.  If you're a regular reader you know a lot about how we prep and cope, but this year we did make some changes which have been good and bad.  One of the issues with preparing for the cold is we often can't change what we've done halfway through winter, the weather doesn't allow it.  For example the tape we use for closing off openings in the hull and for sealing up windows doesn't stick well when the temperature is below 50ºF (10ºC) and the nearly constant Chicago wind means removing or adding plastic sheets can be a challenge. So what did we do different this year?  The number one difference is the plastic wrap on the outside ...

We've passed the four year anniversary of living on Cygnet and one thing we've realized in that time is that she's is too big.  We don't mean she's too big for living aboard, she's just about perfect for that, but for taking her out for a casual cruise.  We've done trips with just the two of us before, like our trip to  St Joseph, Michigan , but those cruises are generally because we are doing something special and we don't have a crew available.  Having a third person aboard makes a huge difference in what we can handle.  If you are thinking about living aboard as a single or couple you need to be aware of this. Docking is a challenge.  Our home slip is a pain to get in and out of since it is a very small marina. We have a boat about 40 feet in front of us and about three feet next to us.  The way the marina is designed we actually have to back out of it, something we don't recommend but there isn't enough room to turn around.  The river can b...

Remember the character Jack Klompus from Seinfeld?  He was the guy that Jerry's dad Morty was always having problems with in the Del Boca Vista retirement community.  No matter what Morty said, Jack always said the opposite.  He was the type of guy that nobody could get along with, someone who thought that -no matter what- he was right, and even if he had an inkling that he was wrong would never admit to it. Jack Klompus We have a Jack Klompus at River City Marina and it makes life shitty.  Many of you reading this probably have a Jack Klompus near you, whether you have a guy or girl as part of your condo association that's always mucking up the works, or a neighbor who likes to cut his tree branches down and leave the mess in your yard.  Maybe there is that guy at work that you just can't stand dealing with because he's such a pompous ass.  Our Jack is a guy who thinks he's the king of the marina, someone who is involved in every aspect of the place ...

First of all, we are very sorry for taking so long between posts.  We won't bore you with the details, but just know it has been a very busy and difficult couple months in our work and personal lives.  So again, sorry. ______ Oh shit it's winter again!  Well, at least it seemed that way this past weekend when we got our first snow of the year.  After learning so much last winter we are doing some things differently this year, not everything, but some things.  We aren't wrapping the boat until January.  That has the most to do with the fact that we want to take Cygnet out for New Year's Eve.  You see, this year, Chicago is premiering a  New Year's Eve  shindig like NYC.  It just so happens that it is based on both sides of the river near Michigan Ave. which is a short ride from our marina.  Hopefully the weather holds up and we can have a front row seat for the "star ascension" without dealing with any crowds. Once we wrap we wi...

The weather has broken and we are warming up nicely.  It's been a couple weeks since we had frigid temperatures in Chicago and we've even seen one day in the 70s.  If you're reading this in a warm climate and thinking 70 isn't that warm, let me tell you that after a winter in Chicago 70 is amazing! The sun is heating us up quite nicely during the day and the heaters are keeping us toasty at night. The first day we had over 50 was a sunny one and out of habit we left the heaters on when we went to work.  With the warm sun the wrap acted like a greenhouse and got the unheated rear deck up to 105! The interior of the boat was at 100, which we both agreed was a bit high. 1. Outside  2. Rear Deck  3. Engine Room  4. Interior Of course it's a bit early to take the wrap off the boat as the weather has gone back down to more seasonal levels this week.  We shut the heaters off on warm days and leave the zipper door open to the wrap to let in some fresh ai...

Hello and welcome! Many of you have come to check the blog after seeing the video on WGN or Facebook, and we're glad you did. Here is a LINK to the update video in case you missed it. Please explore the blog and check out the great information we have up. Feel free to ask questions, comment, tell us we are crazy or awesome, or whatever! Here are some links to posts we've written that you might find interesting: HERE  is a post about the cold and problems we've had this winter. HERE is a post about some of the updates we did to Cygnet when we first got her. HERE is a post about what is costs! HERE  is a poop ular blog we wrote about the problems we've had with marine plumbing. HERE  and HERE are posts that show a good idea of the type of problems and maintenance involved. HERE is an interview Colette did on Your Chicago Podcast. It's full of information if you have the hour to take a listen. There is more to see, so explore and have fun.  Ask...

When around boats you can always find something to fix.  There are many things that we want to replace, repair, upgrade, etc.  But often we have things that take priority, as you've read in this blog previously.  This time it's the water.  As we wrote in our "Power Hungry and All Wet"  post we had a leak at a T fitting that runs the fresh water throughout the boat.  We applied more and more epoxy to fix the leak since we couldn't reach it in the tiny space it was located.  We fixed the problem, or so we thought, until about 45 days ago. Colette is the thin one, so she gets this task. We noticed lately the fresh water pump running a bit more than it should so we investigated.  We're unsure if it's due to the pipes getting colder and shrinking or just due to age or pressure but our leak has reappeared.  Kevin tried to epoxy it again, but to no avail.  The T itself is about the size of two Sharpie markers intersecting (and the same co...

Just want to say hello to all our loyal readers and let you all know we'll be at the boat show this weekend and would love to trade stories with you.  We will be at the River City Marina booth A121 on Saturday from 10-2.  Of course if you can't make it during those times but are curious about the life you can always stop by and talk to our neighbors in the booth at other times.  Plus after 2pm we'll be wandering around and checking out the great vessels and RVs.  We love this show and plan to spend the whole day there on Saturday so if you see us say hi! Details: Chicago Boat, RV & Strictly Sail Show Dates & Location Wednesday-Sunday , January 14-18, 2015   McCormick Place—South Building  - NEW LOCATION!!! 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60616 Show Hours Wednesday:     2:00pm–9:00pm Thursday:        11:00am–9:00pm Friday:             11:00am–9:00pm Satu...

Now into our first winter living aboard we were invited to the annual River City Marina Rat Party. Every year in the beginning of December those of us brave or dumb enough to have a boat in the water through the winter (and some of the summer folks) are invited to a party in the marina to celebrate our curious way of life.  The party is more of a boat "crawl" where we start on one boat and visit all the others with a finish on the largest of the winter dwellings owned by Dr. Doug.  This year we had a great turnout, we invited a few non-boating friends to join and everyone had a great time. Night and Day  The evening started with a cocktail aboard Cygnet as our friends arrived, then we en-masse went to Castaways, owned by Captain Pat to join the rest of the crews.  On a calm and relatively mild early December evening it was packed.  Castaways is no little runabout, it's a big boat, about the same size as Cygnet, but it was packed to the gills with our nei...