'Tis no secret that houseboats are a going concern in Greater Boston real estate (as are entire islands with lighthouses on them). Things get too stormy on land? Take to the nearby water for often better deals on more space and the opportunity to really smell your surroundings.
Still, the aquatic idyll can be upended: Dozens of houseboats at Piers 6 and 8 of the Shipyard Quarters Marina off Charlestown face eviction, due to crumbling infrastructure that has little to do with the houseboaters themselves—they are prawns, if you will, in a bigger game played by the state and the marina's owner. Per Nikita Lalwani in The Globe:
Boat owners were granted a small reprieve Thursday when Suffolk County Judge Elizabeth Fahey halted the eviction, which would have left 112 boats — among those, about 30 houseboats — without a home. Still, [the houseboaters] worry eviction remains imminent and have continued to search, frantically, for new piers to dock their boats. Another hearing is set for Monday. In the meantime, dockers like Michael Sullivan, who took to the water when he couldn't find a decent affordable Boston home on terra firma, face a scrambling end to what sounds like a very nice living situation:
The 36-year-old yoga instructor was first drawn to the marina by a sense of adventure — "It takes guts to live on the sea," he said — but over the years fell in love with everyday life on the water: the joys of backyard fishing, the rocking of the waves, and the eclectic houseboat neighbors who care for each other like family. Stay tuned.
· Charlestown Boat Residents Fear Eviction Looms [Globe]
· Come Sale Away! There's a North End Houseboat for $111K [Curbed Boston]
· Now We're Talking Serious Cabbage at the Graves Lighthouse [Curbed Boston]