Punt (boat)

A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers and shallow water. Punting is boating in a punt; the punter propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. Punts were originally built as cargo boats and as platforms for fowling and for fishing, such as angling; whereas now punting is boating for pleasure.

The term punt also refers to smaller versions of regional types of long shore work boats, such as the Deal galley punt, a square-sterned, lapstrake open-boat rigged with a single dipping lugsail, used for salvage and rescue work off a beach. In coastal communities, punt refers to any small clinker-built, open-stem, general-purpose boat.^[1] In Canada, the term punt refers to any small, flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, regardless of navigational purpose, building material, or means of propulsion.^[2] In Australia, the term punt is used to refer to cable ferries. In Maine, Punt can be used interchangeably with dinghy.