Liveaboards Around The Waterfront

Barb, a reader of the blog, asked me a while ago If I could do a little piece about the liveaboards around the waterfront.

Most folks don't know that there are several people living on boats year-round here on Nantucket. Today I took a walk around the docks and took pictures of the boats I know people are living on this Winter. Here are the boats-

Bob and Roz Rank live on this sailboat. I've known Bob and Roz for a long long time. Nice people. Bob is a master carpenter and scalloper. He also goes commercial striped bass fishing during the Summer. His wife, Roz, is a nurse. They have a little dog named Fisher. Bob has been living on boats here for as long as I can remember. Roz and Bob were married this Summer on their boat.

Next is the Mud Onion-

Several people have lived on this interesting houseboat. I know Lowell Whitford and his wife lived on it years ago. Now a couple and their three or four dogs live on it. Not sure who they are. They are newcomers to the liveaboard world.

Next to the Mud Onion is this boat-

A guy named Mike lives on the boat. He runs his own carpentry business.

And just around the corner we have-

A guy also named Mike lives on this boat. We all call him Wiskey Mike. Mike has lived on boats for almost as long as Bob Rank has. Mike is a carpenter. Years ago he used to bay scallop out of a 19' wooden Bristol Boat. Mike is a very talented guy. He can fix and build anything. He used to live on an old Chris Craft boat. One day several years ago when I was visiting Mike in his boat, he was in the process of rebuilding the engines. It was funny to see the engines torn apart in his living room!

Here are four more liveaboard boats-

From left to right: Freddy Singleton lives in the little black Seaway boat. It's only 24 feet! Fred has lived on small boats in the past. His last boat was a small sailboat which he sold last Summer. Fred is a painter and a handyman. He is also a very meticulous person. He keeps his little boat in top notch shape. Nothing is out of order. Next to fred is a 36' Albin Trawler. I can't remember the guys name who owns it. He lives on the boat mainly during the Summer months but comes down a few weekends during the Winter and stays on it. Next is a 49' Grand Banks Trawler. Rick Porteus owns her. Her name is Shelia G. Rick is a teacher for the school system here. He lives on the boat during the week and goes to the Cape on the weekends where he owns a house. Next to Rick is another Grand Banks. This one is a 42 footer. Chuck and Melissa Colley own the boat. They live on it only during the Summer. Chuck teaches wood shop at the school and his wife, Melissa, is a bartender for the Atlantic Cafe.

I also lived on a boat several years ago for a very short time. I bought a 38' Marine Trader Trawler down in Florida and had a couple guys run it up here for me. I never caught on to the liveaboard lifestyle and ended up selling her. I thought I would enjoy living on a boat but I couldn't get used to it. It's not for everyone. Anyway, here's a picture of the boat I once owned-


That was just a small sampling of the liveaboard community here. There are several more people who live on boats during the Summer.

[EDIT] I left out one liveaboard. His name is Joe Dooley. He keeps his boat at the Town Pier during the Winter. Joe lives on this boat, year-round, with his five, yes, FIVE dogs. He is a bay scalloper and also crews with Matt Herr on his conch boat during the Summer. Thanks for the heads up on that, Blair.
Here's Joe's home-