Not your typical liveaboard...

Ever seen the movie "The Money Pit"? It's about a young couple. The pair buy a dream house only to discover that it needs work. A lot of work.

When I first proposed living aboard my boat at the marina where I worked (I have been a sailing instructor since I was 15,) my boss, who I didn't know very well at the time, said, "Why?" in a very incredulous tone. It was almost the summer, and, having tasted freedom, I didn't want to move back home, was fed up with communiting and ready for the simple life. He asked questions: Did I know there was no electricity, that I would have to carry all my water? Did I know how unbearably hot Baltimore was going to be in August?

Of course I knew. I grew up in Baltimore without air conditioning. It stayed light until 8 p.m. and I had a lantern. Of course I could do it. And if not, maybe I would just move home. No harm done.

Through my first storm trapped inside a stifling boat to the harrowing storm-filled trip from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., I was able to live with it and even enjoy it.

Fast forward to November. Today. It is cold in Washington. And I don't have a fridge, don't have a stove, haven't winterized and can't seem to make my battery charger work well enough to allow me to use the cabin lights. But you know what? I still love it. How do I manage? Well you'll just have to keep reading, won't you?