To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the story published Jan. 21, “All-Island Planning Board adopts regional approach to create housing,” and information about a houseboat in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
While the AIPB/HWG has good intentions, the answer does not lie in Vineyard Haven Harbor, or with houseboats in general. Most marinas, harbors, and mooring fields in the Northeast do not allow houseboats and want nothing to do with them, for good reason. In addition to the aesthetics, they have no propulsion in case of an emergency, and potentially create environmental, sanitary, and live-aboard concerns. The fact that we now have a houseboat in the middle of Vineyard Haven Harbor is unbelievable to me, and this lifelong boater would like to see an Islandwide ban on the mooring of any vessel with no propulsion.
Don Pescione
Oak Bluffs
