On 10 Jan 2010, at 14:22, Andrew Dyke wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> A recent letter in a magazine we get monthly makes reference to the
> 'steering from the cant'. Which bit of the boat is the cant?
Captain Beeky wrote
Just for starters . . . I thought the "cants" were the upstanding
bits around the counter, and quite possibly the same kind of things
along the upper surfaces of the bow as it tapers to the stem.
Perhaps the letter writer inferred steering from the counter (often
deemed a bad thing), rather from in the hatch, a definite good thing.
Hi Beeky and all,
That's what I thought. The letter (in Canal Boat Magazine) is titled 'A
special sort of snobbery' and says' .....One doesn't need to go far before
passing a boat being steered from the cants rather than the hatch. Some go
further and perch precariously round the corner on the side deck. Why do
they do it? I believe they are infected by a special sort of snobbery that
pervades some of the posers that inhabit the cut these days'..........
The writer (Graham Vine, Nb Slow Worm, Surrey) then goes on to complain
about mop handles in Buckby cans, roses and castles, dummy rivets, painted
canalware and rubbish boating tradition. He finishes with '........Steering
from the cants fits them and their attitudes admirably'
Anyone know this gentleman?
Regards,
Andrew
