A '''boatsteerer''' was a position on a nineteenth-century whaleship. One of the most responsible members of the crew, a boatsteerer's duty was to pull the forward oar of a whaleboat until reaching within striking distance of a whale. He would then harpoon the whale with an iron while the boat-handler (mate) guided the boat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whalingmuseum.org/library/heros/harpoon/boatsteerer.html |title=Harpooners & Boatsteerers |accessdate=2008-08-13 |last=The Kendall Institute |date=2001 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121052537/http://www.whalingmuseum.org/library/heros/harpoon/boatsteerer.html |archivedate=2008-11-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nantucketcommunitysailing.org/page/programs/whale_boat|title=Nantucket Whaleboat Adventure Rowing Club|accessdate=2008-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905203445/http://www.nantucketcommunitysailing.org/page/programs/whale_boat|archive-date=2008-09-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * History of Whaling
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Marine occupations Category:Whaling
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