Boaters Ride Out Frigid Weather In Charlestown
BOSTON (CBS) - With wind chills dipping well below zero, a boat does not seem the ideal place to spend the night, but at Shipyard Quarters in Charlestown, that is exactly what dozens of residents will do.
"I haven't seen a wind like this with this temperature in a couple years," said Roger McLelland.
RELATED: Frigid Temps No Match For One Boater
Ice is caked on boats and the wind is howling in Boston Harbor but inside McLelland's house boat it's a cozy 77 degrees.
"Got that heater over there and another couple heaters and I've got the gas going just a little bit," he told WBZ.
Throughout the marina, residents have found ways to weather the cold. Michael Sullivan says the hardest thing is the winter water that runs to the boats. Other than that, insulation is key.
"Everything's glass which is fantastic," he said as he showed off floating home. "But in the winter, it's tough to insulate so you see a lot of the boats here they shrink wrap."
Sully doesn't like to shrink wrap so he installed a heavy duty heater. Even as the waves crash outside, his boat stays toasty.
He says this is the coldest snap he remembers in Boston for a few years. But, riding it out on the water is all worth it for the view from his rooftop deck.
"It's a million dollar view for a song," he says as he looks past the shrink wrapped boats at the Boston skyline.
There's no shrink wrap for vendors just a mile away at the TD Garden. With the Celtics in town, they had to brave frigid temperatures for their businesses.
"I have three pairs of pants… two shirts, an under armor and a jacket and I have two pairs of gloves on," said Matt Doyle who sells t-shirts.
Bob, an attendant at a nearby parking lot hops up and down to stay warm.
"It's freezing. Cold, cold, cold!," he says as he waves a flag to draw in drivers.
Thursday night was their coldest game in a long time. And unlike the boat owners, their payoff isn't the view, it's the cash.
"I wouldn't make any money if I wasn't out here," says Doyle.
