A Few Elegant Punts

The Dictionary defines a Punt as "An open, flat-bottomed boat with squared ends, propelled by a long pole and used in shallow waters." There is no mention of a definition relating to the use of the word in football terminology.

I used to own a big boat -- 20ft Glastron trihull I/O with a Chevy V-8 engine. I used it mostly for pulling water skiers. The few times I used it for fishing, it proved itself to be a real misfit. When the kids were grown and gone I got rid of that boat and set about redefining what I wanted for a fishing boat. Shopping around gave me a major case of sticker shock. I couldn't believe that a small jon boat with a 5-10 hp motor were going for over $10,000. My God, what has happened to this world!

During the summer of 2010 I took a long trip (that was intended to be mostly a fishing trip) to the northern rockies which included some of the world's most famous trout waters. I had no boat, so I did a lot of shore fishing and walk and wade. I knew then that I had to have a boat. I thought a lot about my requirements:
-- Small.
-- Light enough to be carried and manhandled by one person (under 100 pounds).
-- Carrying capacity in the range of 400 - 500 pounds.
-- Stable enough to stand up in so I can refresh the blood circulation in my legs without having to return to shore -- no canoes or kayaks.
-- Capable of being propelled by oars or a trolling motor.
-- Inexpensive -- in the water for less than $1,000

My initial web searches were discouraging to say the least. So I stopped searching for "boats" and started searching for "boat plans". It didn't take long to discover Harold "Dynamite" Payson. The cover of his book says it all "Take plywood, cut to shape, smear on glue, drive nails, stir paint, and presto -- you have built an Instant boat.

Philip Bolger, a smallcraft designer from Glouster, MA, and Dynamite Payson set about designing, building, and testing a series of small boats intended for the inexperienced builder whose fundamental desire is to get out on the water. They settled on designing a series of boats that required no lofting, no jig, and no material that could not be procured from a local building supply store. The result was the original fleet of six boats labeled "instant boats". Subsequently that fleet has grown to 35. The Elegant Punt is one of the original six and it caught my eye as a boat that would meet my requirements.

You can learn more about Payson and his "Instant Boats" here.

Here are a few pictures of the Elegant Punt as built by other people. Disclaimer: These are NOT MY BOATS NOR MY PICTURES. I have unabashedly stolen them from the web.