Water We Thinking

  For six and a half years we've been living aboard Cygnet, a 42 foot Carver 4207 Aft Cabin Motor-yacht in Chicago.  We've also been writing this blog on and off and have been featured on local news and other programs.  We've had fun but it's time we transition to another format.  Originally we wanted to write about our experience and felt that a written blog was the best way to do it.  But times are changing and we've seen many boating channels on YouTube become massive.  We have no desire to become full time YouTube Vloggers but we know people like video.  They say a picture says a thousand words, what do thousands of pictures have to say?   See you on the Small Screen, Cygnet. We've seen the writing on the wall because many of you haven't seen the writing.  Due to us only occasionally posting, and other factors, our once thriving blog has dwindled into triple digit readership.  It's time to get people excited again!  By transiti...

Well it took almost six weeks to restore power to River City after the flood of Sunday May 17.  In addition it took almost two months to get internet back.  That's why we haven't uploaded any new videos, our iPhone hotspots work, but 4K video takes a whole bunch of bandwidth.  Now that we have the ability to upload at will here is the latest installment of "What I Did on My Covid Vacation." Enjoy!

On May 17, 2020 we had a flood.  River City, which sits on the South Branch of the Chicago River rose more than seven feet and the marina and building attached to it were flooded.  The building was evacuated but we on our boats were fine.  It took a few days for the water to return to normal but because the building was flooded we lost power and water. We've managed to get a temporary water solution by using the city pressure water from the spigot at the building on the weekends when they aren't using it for cleanup.  We also have a 250 gallon tank sitting nearby with water just in case we need it.  In fact as we write this we've been told we won't have availability to water for a few days at least.  Thankfully we have 150 gallons on board plus about 20 gallons in the hot water tank.  We can last a couple weeks if need be.  We've definitely upped our Solo cup and Dixie paper plate budget this month. Power is a bigger issue for us at the momen...

If you saw the last video of Kevin's painting fail hopefully this installment will redeem his skills in some of your eyes.  As we continue to work through Shelter in Place we've been working on lots of little things.  Right now it's a bit harder to do anything around here since we haven't had power or water for 12 days. On Sunday May 17 we had what can only be described as a deluge of rain.  We'd had big storms a few days prior and everything was pretty saturated and the river was a bit up but not too bad.  But when it started raining Sunday it was serious.  We've seen River City Marina flood before with water over the docks but it went another couple feet above that and the Chicago River spilled over the wall and into the River City Apartments building.  This knocked out power to the entire building and marina, flooded the parking garage including about 25 cars, and they were forced to evacuate the building around 10PM Sunday night. We fared better...

Summer is fast approaching and we're itching to get outside and see friends, go to restaurants and bars, and at least go to the lakefront but we're still under Shelter in Place orders in Chicago.  So what have we been doing for the last couple months?  Colette is working from home and Kevin is working on our home.  All those little things are getting done and some bigger ones too. After years of looking at a pretty bland bathroom we decided to spruce it up a bit.  We had such a small area to paint we grabbed a sample in a lovely shade of blue and Kevin began taping around the teak to give us a pop of color in the Master Stateroom Head.  So, how'd it go?  Take a look at the video below to see. Oh, and we have more project videos coming soon so subscribe if you'd like to see 'em.

Whether you are already living aboard a boat full time, do the part time lifestyle, or dream of one day living aboard there are sacrifices to make.  Many liveaboard boaters have nothing but their boat as a place to escape the pandemic that is COVID-19.  We are such people, mostly.  Now, we are also very lucky in that we have a marina with a yard, a building with a bodega next door, and live in a neighborhood that is easily walkable with most essentials very nearby.  Many people living aboard don't have the amenities we have and they are stuck in a very small space indefinitely.  Certain parts of the country and world are coming out of shelter in place orders as of this writing in early May 2020.  Illinois is not one of those states, at least yet. Ready to go out in the world We have begun Phase 2 of shelter in place which means a bit more freedom but we are still a long way from getting back to "normal" or at least getting to whatever will be the new...

Congratulations!  You made it through your first season with a boat but now the weather is changing and the high temperatures are in the 60s on a regular basis.  You've extended the season as long as you can but it's just getting too chilly to be out cruising around, and definitely too chilly for a swim.  It's time to put your boat into hibernation for the winter.  So, where do you start? We live aboard Cygnet all year so winterizing is very different for us.  But we had Two Wrights for years and took her out of the water every fall and put her back every spring.  Our winterizing routine wasn't much different than most.  What you'll read below is a general  winterizing program.  You may have a different requirement based on your boat and that should be found in the manufacturer's manual or online.  Don't take our word for it, find out from your boat builder what you should be doing.  It's a good idea to make a check list and use ...

What is all this crap? When you purchase a car you get the car and a set of keys.  You probably don't need anything else to use the car.  Put fuel in it, get insurance, turn the key and drive it.  You might want to get a toll pass and have a pair of gloves and a jump start pack but you don't really need anything to use the car. Boats are different.  Unless you are looking at an inflatable or something made of rubber you are going to want fenders.  If you saw a previous post there is a difference between fenders and bumpers, just like on a car.  Bumpers are built into a dock and fenders are movable balls or cylinders that you place between the boat and the dock to protect your very fragile fiberglass, steel, aluminum, or whatever your boat is made of.  You definitely need them and you need the right size and type for your specific boat and docking situation.  Cygnet came with four large cylinder style fenders and they work great most of the ...

Well, you gave it your best shot.  You thought owning a boat would be as fun as everyone says it is but decided that boat ownership isn't for you.  Now you have this thing and you don't really know what to do to sell it, at least in a way that you retain your sanity and a bit of its value.  Selling a boat can be like selling a car, but it can also be like selling a house depending on the type of craft you own.  Selling a boat also costs money, something a lot of people wouldn't really expect.  The bigger the boat the more it will cost you. If you have a small boat, maybe one with a trailer, you could probably put it in your driveway with a For Sale sign and you might find a buyer pretty easily.  Maybe a free ad on Craigslist is an option or an ad in the local BoatTrader magazine, or online site.  These things may work but you need to know how much your boat is worth in order to place the ad.  You can look at comparables on Craigslist, BoatTrader...

We've seen far too many new boaters make mistakes simply because of ignorance.  Not knowing what to do with a boat can have serious ramifications to the boat and your wallet.  If you're a car owner you probably know you need to change your oil regularly, keep your tires properly inflated and replace them when the tread is worn, and your brakes need to be replaced when they start squealing.  Well, boats also have their share of maintenance items but if you are new to the life they may not be as apparent. This is fun, maintenance isn't, but it's vital to your boat and the safety of your passengers. The regular stuff, yes there is a lot. If you have an engine (or two or three) you need to take care of it.  That starts with oil changes regularly, usually once or twice per year.  Boat engines aren't as easy to maintain as car engines since they are less portable and it's often hard to get into small engine rooms.  Unlike a car that you just drive up to ...

"Bro, I just got this sick new bowrider, bring your girl down on Saturday and let's party" This is a very common thing to want to do, show off your new toy.  After all you probably paid a lot of money for your new boat and you want your friends and family to see and enjoy it with you.  Boating is very often a social lifestyle and it's fun to spend time with people on the water.  But if you're new to boating you need to take it slow.  Just because your boat says it can handle ten people doesn't mean you should take ten people out on your first trip.  Cygnet legally holds 42 people but we've never had that many.  We usually cap it at 30 and prefer under 20.  Our 22 foot SeaRay was rated for ten people and five was comfortable, six was crowded. Family on board, including the departed Beverly and Steve. Now that you've spent a few days practicing with someone it's time to take a group out.  If this is a sailboat it will actually make thing...

Owning a boat is hard work and expensive.  If you start out with a great boat it can be easier and less costly.  If you saw our last post about what boat you should buy you hopefully have some insight into what boat you want and how to make sure it's the right boat for you.  So now you've made up your mind on what boat you want, you have the model, size, and year picked out, or maybe you have the exact boat picked out.  Now what?  Take a Coast Guard Auxiliary boater safety course.  There are lots of options at different times of the year and the cost is negligible. Check it out at http://www.cgaux.org 1.  I want it, how do I get it? You found the boat, and you had a survey and sea trial and everything looks great.  If you don't have the outright cash to pay for the boat you'll need a loan.  Your local credit union or bank may finance you but there are specialty banks that deal in boat loans like boatbanker.com or Google other...