The Short Flatner on the water and on the ramp at Watchet harbour
Fans of the unique traditional Somerset flatner family of British flat-bottomed small turf, river and sea boats will be interested to learn that there’s a new baby among the fleet: the Short Flatner.
Watchet Boat Museum honorary curator John Nash developed and built her, so I’ll let him tell the story. But before he begins, I should explain that John Short was a well known local character and provided folklorist Cecil Sharp with a long list of great sea songs. There’s a list of the songs and a surprisingly large collection of photos of Short at the English Folk Dance & Song Society website.
I’ve heard that Short earned the nick-name Yankee Jack simply because he had once crossed the Atlantic by ship at a time when the world was a bigger place than it is today, but who knows what the real reason may have been? My old friend Tom Brown offers a talk on the topic.
I’ll let John Nash tell his story of the new boat his way: Continue reading “The Short Flatner is launched”
