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Chicago liveaboards

17K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  jzk 
#1 ·
We may be transferred to chicago, does anyone know of any good live aboard marinas, just north of the city? All help is appreciated.
 
#3 ·
BTW, SailorTJK1 is all one word... :)
 
#4 · (Edited)
How far North do you want to go and where will you have to commute to and from?<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

North from Chicago the First in line is Wilmette Harbor. It is a very small harbor and probably not live aboard friendly. I think there is very lengthy waiting list to get in there.
<O:p</O:pSheridan Shore Yacht Club
<O:p</O:p

Next is Waukegan. Its a very nice harbor with nice faculities, but located in a somewhat industrial setting. The harbor is in a nice park area, but the view from the lake is somewhat to be desired in my opinion. It's also a long haul to drive back and forth to the city from there, only about 45 miles each way, but the traffic is terrible. 45 miles is not very far, but I am sure the commute would be well over an hour.
Waukegan Harbor
<O:p</O:p

Next in line is North Point Marina at Winthrop Harbor. This is a very nice marina and a very large marina. They claim to be the biggest Mariana on the Great Lakes with over 1500 slips. Now you are probably over 50 miles away from the city and still stuck in the same traffic.
North Point Marina - Located on Lake Michigan in Winthrop Harbor, IL
<O:p</O:p

Going further North and into Wisconsin are Kenosha & Racine both very nice facilities but now you are well over an hour drive each way in rush hour traffic.
Southport Marina
Skipper Marine - Wisconsin : Skipper Marine - Wisconsin

<O:p</O:p

Chicago itself, for as great as a city that it is, is not very boater friendly. If you're looking for a nice, quiet, clean, showers, laundry, etc., I cannot recommend anything in the Chicago Harbor System. Others may disagree. If you want to try Chicago proper, Belmont, Montrose, & Burnham Harbors would be your best bet. They will also have a long waiting list. Facilities will be less than appealing. Monroe Harbor might fit you in, but there you will be on a mooring can. Chicago does have its appeal and is a great city to sail in and around with a magnificent skyline as your backdrop, but not a good choice for living aboard.
Chicago Harbors - Westrec Marinas
<O:p</O:p

You might want to look at going East from Chicago. Michigan City, IN and New Buffalo MI are very nice friendly areas with a lot to offer. Be careful with draft if looking at New Buffalo. These two communities are about 60 and 70 miles from downtown Chicago but the commute is much easier in my opinion.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
 
#5 ·
I think that the Chicago city marinas have a very definite mooring window. Are you asking about year around live aboard? If so, I think that will be very tough to find.

Try posting to the Lake Michigan email list here on sailnet. Even though it is a very quiet list this time of year, you should get some responses. Good Luck.

By the way, in my opinion, Chicago is one of the best large cities in the US. It lacks very little other than year around sailing. That ice is hard stuff to cut through.
 
#6 ·
thanks for your replies,

My hushband may transfer jobs to Mundelein IL. Same company he works for now but new location. I think it is about 25 miles northwest of chicago. So any liveaboard marinas within driving distance to Mudelein would be good. Friendly is nice:)
To bad to hear chicago is not so into sailing as much as it is the city life. I was looking at north point marina in winthrop harbor. Not sure about the liveaboard cituation there.
 
#7 ·
Winthrop Harbor to Mundelein would not be very bad at all.
You could even look into Racine and Kenosha as well.
Mundelein is about half way to Milwaukee.
I have also added some links to my previous post, check em out.
and forget what I said about Mich City and New Buff, too far from Mundelein.
 
#10 ·
It's about 15 miles south of Chicago, but you might want to check out the Hammond Marina (hammondmarina.com/). After spending some time looking a the surrounding options this is where I wound up. There is a good community here, though my wife and I are some of the few (new) full time liveaboards. They have nice facilities, a beach park and bird sanctuary next store and a helpful staff. You can winter here as well (they have a bubbling system). Downside is that the area is fairly industrial and not close to the city life if you're into that. The South Shore line train station (nictd.com) is about a 12 minute drive and is a quick (~35 minute) ride to the city center (the loop). I'm writing from the laundry room here... and am pretty happy about it! The party scene is present on the weekends (good folks though, just wild enough to be fun) but weekdays are ours. Good luck!
 
#11 ·
Ya know it gets 20+ below zero here in the winter. Brrrrrrrrr! Oh yea and the water freezes, that might be a problem.:eek: If you are just wanting to liveaboard during the sailing season Monroe Harbor is your best bet and most affordable, I know cans are available. You will be on a mooring can, but they have a good tender service pizza delivery A Binkys liquor store that will deliver to the marina. You will defiantly want a dinghy, so you don't have to depend on the tender service to get you ashore as well as a good battery charging system. If I didn't have 2 dogs I would liveaboard in the summer I work about 2 blocks away. Chicago Harbors - Westrec Marinas
 
#16 ·
I lived aboard for a few years in various Great Lakes ports. My advice would be to pull the boat right before the freeze and live on the hard. Bubblers and stuff are great but with a lengthy cold snap they can be rendered useless. Not to mention if heat fails while you're at work you can obviously have problems. At a minus -10 degrees you'll have about an hour before water lines start bursting. I know from experience.

Marinas won't have a policy for living on stilts (or for allowing it) but if you charm a marina manager he/she will likely let it happen.

I'd winterize the boat. Shrink wrap it. And hang weighted tarps from the toe rails to minimize wind sheer against the hull. Makes it much easier to heat. Have your drinking water and stuff aboard but shower in the marina building. One year I got a YMCA membership just so I could shower and I ended up losing pounds since I started working out and swimming. Not bad for a few bucks a month.

Around Chicago there are lots of commercial yards that just might entertain your prospects. But if it's anywhere near where there is tug traffic you'll get crushed. Areas that haven't froze in 25 years got sealed over this year. Any commercial boats running in ice will have no concern for The plastic boat over in the corner. Ice compression is a concern.

Anyway, hope that helps.
 
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