It`s a nice way to live, weather permitting.
Surrounded by all the comforts of home, you can watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan and set over the Chicago skyline. You can listen to the lake gulls` calls and relax to the quiet, rhythmic whoosh of the waves. You can swim, fish or go for a cruise any time you want, and still enjoy great restaurants and entertainment just minutes away.
All you need is a boat for your abode.
Bob Nelson, director of harbors for the Chicago Park District, estimates that about 500 Chicagoans live on their boats full or part-time during the summer, in the area`s harbors and along the Chicago River.
”There`s no question that a boat can be a great vacation home,” said Nelson. ”I know people who even set up an office and conduct their business from their boats in summer.”
Some have large sailboats with cozy cabins, while others prefer big power cruisers with larger interiors. In any case, their quarters often are comfortable, convenient and cleverly designed. However, most are not for the claustrophobic.
”Living on a boat is a lot like living in a doll house,” said Nelson.
”There`s not much space, so everything folds up or out to make the most of what room there is.”
Still, those who live on boats seem more than willing to trade spacious interiors for great views, fresh air and laid-back living on the water, rain or shine.
Here, three Chicago families describe what they like about having a home- sweet-home that floats.
King of the harbor
Raoul Allesee has spent 42 consecutive Chicago summers living on a boat.
”When I first got out of the Navy, I had a sailboat for a year. But when I decided I actually wanted to live on the lake, I got a powerboat because they have more living space,” said Allesee. ”Over the years, I`ve had nine boats.”
His current cruiser is an impressive 53-foot fiber glass Hatteras. Semiretired from the trucking business, Allesee regards his boat as a summer home first and recreational craft second.
”I have a condo in the city, but my wife and I move onto the boat in April and don`t leave until mid-October. We don`t go back and forth,” said Allesee. ”This is our home. We don`t just come for a boat ride.”
Allesee, a past commodore of the Chicago Yachting Association and its 1991 Yachtsman of the Year, says living on a boat is not much different from living in an apartment.
”We lead our normal life on the boat. We entertain friends, shop, go to the office . . . ,” he explained. ”The harbor is our neighborhood, and there`s a sense of community among the boaters here.
”We have everything we have on land, but we feel like we`re a million miles away,” he said. ”The city`s right behind us, but you can`t even hear the cars from here.”
Raoul and his wife, Joan, a marketing and exhibition consultant in Chicago, have a slip in Burnham Harbor, where they`re hooked to electricity, water and telephone lines for all the conveniences of land-based living. When they want to take a cruise, they just ”disconnect” and they`re off.
They have taken one-week or longer cruises to ports on Lake Michigan, but usually stay closer to home, going out a few hours or a day or two at a time. Raoul usually is at the helm, with Joan taking over occasionally.
”I`m really a city girl, but I`ve learned to appreciate nature through boating,” Joan said. ”Plus the water is so relaxing.”
Joan has decorated the boat with comfortable, contemporary furnishings for a light and airy look. ”I`ve learned to keep things simple,” she explained.
The main cabin, in light blue and beige, has all the appointments of a family room-carpeting, sofa-bed, chairs, tables and TV. But it also features a wood-and-brass ship`s wheel and captain`s chair in the wood-paneled helm. The boat can be steered from here or from the bridge on the outside upper deck.
The main cabin-about the size of a traditional family room-opens to an enclosed patio in white and beige. There the couple spend many of their leisure hours and eat most meals. The specially designed cocktail table folds out to serve eight.
The fully equipped eat-in kitchen, or galley, is on the lower deck, as are master and guest staterooms and a forward bunk room. The boat sleeps eight comfortably.
Joan recalled one stormy trip to Racine, Wis., early in their marriage when ”everything was flying around below.” Immediately afterward, she redecorated, getting rid of extraneous objects and gluing down lamps and other furnishings to avoid mishaps.
”There`s less clutter in your life on a boat, which is good. I don`t want to have to fuss over things when I`m here. This is my haven from the fast and furious pace of the city, and I just want to relax when I`m here.”
Asked if she`s able to relax on board in a storm, Joan said she`s gotten used to it and has only gotten queasy once, when she went below in rough seas. She says keeping the horizon in view usually helps ease seasickness.
”The boat doesn`t roll much, so it`s not as bad as people might think,” Raoul said. ”I`ve never had to get off yet because of a storm.”
Everything`s shipshape
Shortly before Joel and Bobbi Scheckerman were married in 1966, he bought a 19-foot sailboat without discussing it with her.
”He knew I hated boats and figured he`d have a better chance of having one if he came to the marriage with one already in tow,” recalled Bobbi, laughing.
Joel was right, and love eventually conquered all-including Bobbi`s dislike of all things nautical. Now, three sailboats later, she`s as crazy about sailing as he is.
”My love for boating grew with the increased comforts each boat brought us,” Bobbi said, noting that they traded in their first boat for a 25-foot boat and later upgraded to a 35-footer.
The couple bought their current 42-foot Tayana sailboat in 1988, and they live on it on weekends and during vacations, April to October. In addition, they regularly dine on the boat after work on weekdays. About once a week they entertain friends there. Docked in a downtown harbor, the craft is a short walk from the couple`s condominium and quick commute from their offices. Joel has his own architectural firm and Bobbi is a self-employed personnel consultant.
”Some people drive hours to get to their summer homes. We just have to walk over,” Joel said.
Whenever possible, they go sailing. They may go out for the day, or on much longer cruises, their longest trip so far lasting 30 days. The boat sleeps seven, but with a few exceptions, the couple usually goes on overnight trips by themselves. They`ve explored many areas on both sides of the lake.
According to Bobbi: ”It`s so soothing. To us, the best vacation in the world is on a boat.”
Adding to their enjoyment are the creature comforts of the boat itself, many of which Joel helped design. The architect had many of the boat`s features changed to his specifications. They`ve worked out so well that the ship`s manufacturer has integrated some of Joel`s ideas into its standard features.
For example, Joel moved the ship`s wheel farther back on the deck, making it possible to steer while sitting and freeing more space for the fold-out table where most meals are served. Inside the cabin, he reconfigured space. The result: a bigger, more functional chart table with increased leg room; a longer couch/bunk to accommodate his tall frame; improved lighting; and greater headroom over seating areas.
Aesthetic changes also were made that added warmth and interest to the cabin, which has chestnut-colored spruce walls and dark brown teak trim. Instead of plain spruce, Joel specified that striped spruce and teak countertops be installed in the galley to add variety. He also had the cabin`s fold-out dining table custom-finished in a sunburst-patterned wood veneer. He also designed a curved window archway that separates galley and main cabin.
”Joel went over every tiny detail in customizing this boat,” Bobbi said. ”He improved the boat so much, and that`s why it works so well for us.”
She has added her special touches too. Every year, she strips and varnishes all the exposed wood trim and seating areas on the boat by hand. (So far this year she has applied nine coats of varnish for extra gleam and durability.) She also takes pride in keeping the craft sparkling clean and shipshape inside and out-so much so that the 4-year-old boat looks new.
”I hate doing housework, but for some reason I love cleaning the boat,” she said. ”It`s peaceful and fun, too. It`s like playing house.”
Inside she has brightened the gray-upholstered seating areas and two staterooms with colorful throw pillows. The ship`s mascots, a pair of large handmade sailor dolls named Billy and Molly, peek out from the bed in the master stateroom and add a lighthearted touch to the cabin. Shelves are stocked with books and tapes for ready entertainment on rainy days.
”We`re always doing something to make the boat an even better place to be,” Bobbi said. ”We`re passionate about it, probably to the point of overdoing it.”
”It`s also totally relaxing for us, better than a psychiatrist,” Joel added. ”No matter how uptight I am, the minute I set foot on the boat I`m relaxed. I look at it as preventive medicine.”
Family afloat
Chuck and Patti Carrington and their children-Dylan, 10, Rachel, 7, and Jason, 2 1/2-have lived in their sailboat on Lake Michigan for as long as two weeks at a time. But more often, the hectic pace of family life usually limits them to one- or two-day weekend outings.
However, all that`s about to change. A lot.
Soon, the family of five will move out of their 3,000-square-foot Evanston Prairie-style home into their 42-foot Hallberg-Rasse sailboat, where they plan to live for the next two years.
But don`t worry about them freezing through a Chicago winter. Although the boat is now moored locally, it will be shipped to Seattle in the fall. The family will follow soon after, renting out their house here. They will live on the boat during the winter while making preparations for their adventure ahead.
In April, they embark on a two-year journey that will take them around much of North America and parts of Central America, with frequent stops at coastal towns and islands along the way. Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Yucatan, Florida, Chesapeake Bay and Nova Scotia are among some of their destinations.
It`s a dream they`ve been saving for and planning for more than 20 years. Chuck will leave his job in production management shortly before they depart, and Patti will close her day-care business in the fall to start packing and planning for the move.
According to Chuck, ”For years now, every time I`ve gone to buy something, I`d first think about how it would affect the trip. Would I use it on the boat, store it or have to get rid of it?”
Chuck is the master sailer in the family, and the dream started with him. ”I crewed on a sailboat for a family when I got out of college,” he said. ”We crossed the Atlantic, and also spent some time in Bermuda and swimming with whales in the Azores. And I crewed for another family for nine months in the Caribbean.
”My goal for my family now is that we see new places, and how other people live, while also learning to be self-sufficient.”
Patti added, ”It`s a lot about unity, learning to care for each other first and build teamwork.”
Patti hadn`t done much sailing before she met Chuck, but that changed after they were married in 1980. He and his brother went in on a 22-foot boat together, and they all spent many weekends and weeks on board. They bought a larger boat a few years later, then Chuck bought his current craft in 1989.
In preparation for their new life on the water, Patti is understandably concerned less with decorating the boat than stocking it with enough books, writing materials, art supplies and games to keep her children occupied on long cruises.
But for the record, the main cabin and master stateroom are cozy and comfortable, with mahogany paneling and white upper walls and ceilings, offset by sky blue curtains and upholstery on the built-in seats and beds. A few paintings and family mementos are on display. And the couple have also built a third bunk in the aft cabin, which the three children will share.
Is cabin fever a concern?
”I know there will be times when having five people in tight quarters will be frustrating-especially when there won`t be any TV, telephone or Nintendo on board. And I won`t really be getting away from work since I`ll be the mother and teacher of three kids,” said Patti, adding that the children will study through a correspondence school.
”But we`ll also be outside on the boat a lot, and we`ll stop to explore different areas too, sometimes for long periods of time,” she added. ”So it`s not as if we`re going to be cooped up together the whole time.”
”The nicest part will be having the total freedom to do whatever we want and go wherever we want,” Chuck said.
The boat has a gas-powered engine for use when necessary. There`s also battery-powered electricity for the radio, special navigational equipment, lights, kitchen appliances, a tape deck and the like. But televisions and computers are out, as they would be too big a drain on the batteries.
The family will collect mail at a few planned ports of call and phone or visit family periodically from shore.
”For the most part, we`ll be totally out of touch,” Chuck said.
The older children are beginning to grasp the reality of what is ahead and, for the most part, are excited at the prospect. But leaving behind their house and friends-not to mention TV-rate highest among their concerns.
”Some of their friends are beginning to say how totally awesome they think it is, so that`s helping a lot. And we will be coming back to the house,” Patti said. The family plans to sell the boat on the East Coast before returning.
As for for their adult friends, Chuck and Patti say some people express envy and admiration for what they`re about to do, while others think they`re crazy.
”Trying to picture a house that`s 40 feet long and 10 feet wide seems impossible to most people,” Chuck explained. ”But the fact that it`s open to the world means you never really feel cramped.”
