In most stories a boat is often a symbol for someones journey through life but in the short story 'The Boat' by Alistair MacLeod what symbol has replaced the boat and why?

The boat is a symbol for the mother, for her traditional, conservative views. So the boat represents tradition. The story really comes down to a confilct between utilitarianism and aestheticism; how "utilitarian" and practical the mother is, how she rejects the father's more "aesthetic" view of life, that is, in his books and his desire for education. The boat is utilitarian, is has a real, set purpose of bringing in money, and it holds an entire community. When reading the story, you should notice how the father is described much more than the mother, his physical features are given, his bedroom is described a great deal, where as the author doesn't really use any sensory imagery to describe the mother, this really enforces the idea of utilitarianism and aestheticism. Sorry, I have kind of ranted and gone a bit off topic, this is just what we discussed in class this week! Hope this helps!