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Pleasure Craft : Origins : Transport : Fowling & Thatching : Today A punt is a flat-bottomed boat which does not have a keel, and is propelled by means of a long pole. After the introduction of the railways, when the rivers became less crowded with barges and trading boats punts began to be used as pleasure craft. By Edwardian times punting had become a popular pastime along the River Cam. Punts were developed in Medieval times to provide stable craft which could be used in areas of water too shallow for rowing conventional craft. Because the punt did not have a keel and was propelled by means of a long pole, they were ideally suited for this purpose. In the area known as the Fens, the marshy flatlands north of Cambridge, punts became integral to local trades such as eel fishing and reed-cutting, until they died out in the late nineteenth century. Punting has been an integral part of English culture for centuries. Before the railways most trade in England relied upon the rivers for transport. The roads would became mudpits each time it rained and much commercial traffic used canals and rivers. Trains only took over in 1845, their advantage being speed. Transport by barges and punts was slow but very economical - a punter can push well over a ton along with no more fuel than a few cheese sandwiches and a pint of Guiness. It would take considerably more effort on dry land to move such an amount. Punting in Cambridge was influenced by its proximity to the fens where the flat bottomed punts were perfect for moving through shallow waters. The punts were originally used for fishing and hunting and the broad base allowed the punter to take the jolt of the gun and not fall in the water. With its narrow draft and the use of the quant (pole), the punt could be manouevered within shallow fenland stretches of water. Thatch could be harvested from the reed beds, transported on the punt and used for roofing cottages. Duck hunters also found the punt useful as it was possible to sneak up on the birds very quietly then lie horizontally in the punt and shoot large numbers of birds at once from close range using a wide bore shotgun. (Charming and very sportsmanlike!) Even after the introduction of the railways, the Cam river in Cambridge was still in use to transport flour from the local mill. Large punts were used for this purpose. Nowadays, punting in Cambridge is purely a leisure activity. Incidentally, punting became particularly popular in Cambridge because of both the shallow draft of the River Cam and its gravelly rather than muddy river bed. This meant that the quant would not suddenly disappear over a deep stretch of water and it would not get stuck in the mud on the riverbed. copyright © Barking Boaters 2007
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