Man lives in 14 foot Canoe in Boston Harbor | The Woodsman Hut | Forums

Interesting story

BOSTON — Michael Richard Smith is a man without a fixed address, someone who leaves it to the wind and tide in Boston Harbor to help decide where he'll dream from night to night.

Michael Richard Smith lights a cigarette while speaking with members of the media on a wharf in Boston Harbor on Tuesday. On Monday night, Smith tied up and slept on a floating dock about 100 yards offshore from the New England Aquarium.

With his possessions packed in a 14-foot canoe, the wiry, mustachioed man paddles to small offshore docks after dark to pitch his tent and sleep. He wears his brown locks long and tucks a pink silk rose into the brim of his canvas explorer hat.

The 49-year-old's salty lifestyle is a means of survival, but Smith detests the word "homeless" and describes himself as just another "fellow citizen."

Smith said this week that he's been bunking down in metro Boston waters for about two months now. Authorities said that they're keeping an eye on the unconventional camper, but that he isn't breaking any laws.

When necessary, the Maine native uses duct tape to patch his 40-year-old aluminum canoe. Smith said he feels most secure when he sleeps in the harbor and lists his biggest worries as the wakes of fast ferries and drunken boaters.

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