Life in a Canoe

I read a little news story about a man who was living in a canoe in Boston Harbour.

He had all his personal belongings in the canoe and he would paddle around the harbour during the day and tie up to whatever was available for the night.  This story fascinated me as I began to picture how the whole thing could work considering the coming cold, freezing and rainy weather.  Living on the water is cold without a shelter and the only thing I could envision is covering up with a plastic sheet during those weather conditions.  But wind on the water would make the plastic sheet impossible to keep in place.  He might be able to sleep on a dock or a beach but owners of these would often object and call the police on the vagrant.
And what about obtaining food and water?  He would have to leave his canoe for these items and this would invite the theft of his possessions.

This kind of adventure might be workable for a month or so in the summer, but not realistic for the long term.