On 10 Jan 2010, at 14:33, Captain Beeky wrote: > On 10 Jan 2010, at 14:22, Andrew Dyke wrote: > >> >> 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? > > 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.
This is my understanding, that the cants are the raised sections around the counter, (originally made of wood, even on steel boats?) and, by extension, those around the bow, so steering from the cants would indeed be a bit precarious. (though I often put one foot there when looking down the side of the boat to line up on a bridge hole or lock.) I too assumed that the writer meant the counter, or of course "round the corner" on the gunnel, although that's more often a position adopted by trainers. There are lots of pictures of the Idle Women being supervised in that way. At risk of branching the thread: 1) I don't subscribe to all this panic about the danger of steering from the counter when going ahead. The chances of anything getting past the prop to knock the rudder sideways is minimal, and on a long trick it's good to vary position by moving out of the hatches onto the counter for a bit. Going astern is very different, and staying ahead of the tiller very wise. 2) I thought this month's letters page of the mag in question particularly infested with people laying the law down about this and that, mainly from a position of clearly limited understanding. All the best Bruce, nb peoplewhothinktheyknoweverythingarereallyirritatingtothoseofuswhodo! Follow the building of Sanity Again at http://sanityagain.blogspot.com/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
