Punt (boat) facts for kids
A punt is a special kind of boat. It has a flat bottom and a wide front. Punts are made for using in small rivers or other shallow water.
Punting means riding in a punt. The person steering, called a punter, uses a long pole. They push the pole against the river bed. This push makes the punt move along the water.
Punts were first built to carry things, like a small cargo boat. People also used them for fishing or hunting birds. Today, punts are mostly used for fun trips. You can see them on the rivers in the famous university towns of Oxford and Cambridge in England. Punts are also raced in summer events called regattas on the Thames.
The Punt Pole
The poles used for pleasure punts are usually made from spruce wood or aluminium. A typical pole is about 12 to 16 feet (4 to 5 meters) long. It weighs around 10 pounds (5 kilograms). In Oxford and Cambridge, you might see even longer poles, up to 16 feet.
The very bottom of the pole has a metal "shoe." This is a rounded piece of metal that protects the end of the pole. Sometimes, this shoe is shaped like a swallow's tail, which is a cool design!
Images for kids
-
Punting in Cambridge, England
-
How a Thames pleasure punt is built, without seats
-
The Cherwell Boathouse, a place in Oxford that has built punts since 1904
-
A Thames punt changed into a pedalo
-
Three punt pole shoes, showing different levels of wear
-
Punts and people in Cambridge, England
-
The punt rollers at "Mesopotamia" on the Cherwell
-
Two racing punts, which are 2 feet wide
-
Two best-and-best punts, with 2-foot punts in the background
-
A punt used by Deutsche Post (German Post Office) in Lübbenau, Germany
-
Punting on the River Avon in Christchurch, New Zealand
-
Makoro polers in Botswana waiting for hippos
-
Stocherkahn racing in Tübingen, Germany
-
Summer on the Cam
-
Punting in summer on the Cam
-
A person showing punting technique in Cambridge
-
A punt tout (someone who offers punt rides) with a possible customer
-
More relaxed punting at Grantchester
-
The Olympic torch being punted down the river during the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay
-
A punt being pulled up rollers between two levels of the river
.jpg)
