Common sense tells us to dress in warm layers for winter.
But that didn’t stop folks from stripping down for a hot tub boat ride on the Chicago River.
“Is it summer? What the hell?” one woman on the Chicago Riverwalk asked as the boats floated by Friday.
Setting off from near Marina Towers, two of the first boaters enjoyed a 90-minute self-piloted cruise.
“I’ve driven a boat, but I’ve never driven a hot tub,” said John Hailer, of Geneva, on the first day of hot tub boat rentals by Chicago Electric Boat Co.
He and his wife enjoyed the tub, some drinks — and a respite from their children.
Chicago River scene: a group of friends sit in the water of a hot tub boat as a person wearing a winter jacket passes by on a ferry Friday. Chicago Electric Boat Co. is offering 90-minute rentals of the boats that are themselves hot tubs.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
“We have three kids, so we don’t always get a chance to just talk. So we talked and had a drink,” Chantel Hailer said.
The new boats drew gawkers from the Riverwalk and atop bridges, curious about the low-profile crafts that show its passengers’ heads and arms sticking out only a few inches.
“It’s hard to miss,” said Eric Rosenberg. “We’re walking and see what looks like a couple of heads and no one’s driving.”
Rosenberg wouldn’t hesitate to try the hot tub boat himself. But Terry Ann Cunningham, who was walking with Rosenberg, considered the affair “a little exhibitionist.”
“People are staring,” she said.
The first two boating groups said they reserved tickets after seeing promotions on Instagram. They were the first paying customers after Instagram influencers took rides earlier, one employee said.
For those wanting to take a hot tub ride themselves, trips are booked through the middle of January, but will be available through March.
Rentals range from $278 on weekdays to $350 on weekends and up to $418 on holiday weekends. The electric hot tub boats each hold up to six passengers, and the tub water can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Gabrielle Nolan, who took the first Chicago tub cruise with three friends, was grateful the weather Friday was comfortable, with temps in the 50s. Some passengers in her boat actually perched on the edges of the tub, above water.
John and Chantel Hailer, of Geneva, say their hot tup boat cruise Friday on the Chicago River gave them a respite from their kids.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
“It’s a great easy way to spend time with friends,” said Nolan, 22. “I think if it was snowing, we would have been fine.”
Nolan’s friend Delaney Langston, visiting from Birmingham, Alabama, appreciated the views of architecture.
“I haven’t been to the city in the while, so to cruise around is awesome,” she said.
Hot tub boats have been on the market since as early as 2012, but it’s only been in the last few years that they’ve shown up as rentals in urban areas, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Portland and Seattle.
Contributing: Pat Nabong
John and Chantel Hailer cruise on the Chicago River while sitting in the water of a rented hot tub boat Friday. “I’ve driven a boat, but I’ve never driven a hot tub,” John Hailer said.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
