What is the demarcation line for boat, yacht, ship?

[flagger]

When does a boat become a yacht and when does it become a ship as far as proper reference is concerned.

[TEXASMUNK]

A boat will fit on a ship. When the ship is sinking, you look around for a boat.

 

A yacht means you have someone else do all the work and you find a way to use it as a tax write-off.

 

Hope that helps.

[bostom]

When does a boat become a yacht and when does it become a ship as far as proper reference is concerned.

 

Sometimes looking it up isn't that much help...

 

Boat:

 

1: A relatively small, usually open craft of a size that might be carried aboard a ship.

2: An inland vessel of any size.

3: a ship or submarine.

 

Yacht:

 

Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels, generally with smart graceful lines, used for pleasure cruises or racing.

 

Ship:

 

1: A vessel of considerable size for deep-water navigation.

2: A sailing vessel having three or more square-rigged masts.

3: An aircraft or spacecraft.

 

all definitions as per dictionary.com

[Sky Sweet]

When does a boat become a yacht and when does it become a ship as far as proper reference is concerned.

 

People who own boats consider a yacht to be a personal vessel that is substantially larger and more luxurious than most cabin cruisers. For example a 45' cabin cruiser is a boat, while a 125' personal vessel is a yacht. A ship is used for commerical cruises/ocean voyages.

[Outlanderssc]

A ship is used to move goods and passengers from port to port as a commercial venture, hence the term "shipping".

 

While fishing boats and submarines may be very large, even larger than a ship, they generally leave from one port and return to that port. They don't move material from one port to another - hence they are boats.

 

A yacht is a private pleasure craft big enough to require a crew to sail her. This means a sailing yacht may be much smaller than a motor yacht as it takes more hands to run rigging and bend sail.

 

Pleasure craft small enoough to be operated by the owner are boats, no matter what the sales brochure may say.

[alolewis]

When I bought my 36 foot boat the broker said typically they use the word yacht for boats over 40 feet.

A boat will fit on a ship (i.e. lifeboats).

Look at the official name will help (ss Titantic - ss stood for steam ship, MV Knot Nautical - my old Boat, MV = Motor Vessel, GTS Coral Princess - Gas Turbine ship), etc.

Not an exact science!

A personal note, it irritates me when people on a cruise refer to the Ship as a Boat.

[Sky Sweet]

When I bought my 36 foot boat the broker said typically they use the word yacht for boats over 40 feet.

A boat will fit on a ship (i.e. lifeboats).

Look at the official name will help (ss Titantic - ss stood for steam ship, MV Knot Nautical - my old Boat, MV = Motor Vessel, GTS Coral Princess - Gas Turbine ship), etc.

Not an exact science!

A personal note, it irritates me when people on a cruise refer to the Ship as a Boat.

 

Was the broker trying to convince you that if you bought a slightly larger one you would have a yacht instead of a boat :)

 

I agree that it is somewhat subjective to determine when a boat becomes a yacht. When I was growing up, my parents owned boats in the 40 foot range, but we never thought of them as yachts. We didn't even consider the 56 foot boat in the adjacent slip to be a yacht. However, almost everyone agreed that the 88 foot beauty with multiple levels, at the same Marina, was a Yacht :)

[mafig]

I seem to recall from a Coast Guard boating class I took a few years ago, that when you hear the term "small craft advisory," it is for vessals 60 ft. and under.

 

I thought a boat became a yacht when there was an enclosed sleeping area, enclosed head and galley. However, not to sure about that.

 

I'm sure somewhere in the Coast Guard guidelines it has the demarcation sizes.

[Mercruiser]

. . .

A personal note, it irritates me when people on a cruise refer to the Ship as a Boat.

 

I guess we can credit or blame the "Love Boat" TV series for that.

[JLC@SD]

When does a boat become a yacht and when does it become a ship as far as proper reference is concerned.

 

Boat, swimsuit is the usual attire because you could end up in the water

 

Yacht, the hardest of the three to spell, so it is the most formal, dress like a wealthy person

 

Ship, all kinds of attire is possible, except jeans on formal night....:)

 

 

 

Now a Sailboat is: a vessel in which you get wet and sick....... while slowly going nowhere..... at great expense.......;)

[goldminer1951]

I think they must become yachts at 22 feet, as the data plate on my old Catalina 22 says "Catalina Yachts." Althought it is not much of a yacht, it does sail nicely but is too slow to water ski behind (full speed ahead at 5.7 knots). By the by, the International and Coast Guard Regs change out of the small craft range at a length of 20 meters/65 feet for what thats worth. Ships do carry boats. In general, I think any boat bigger or faster than mine is a yacht. :rolleyes:

 

'Miner

(Captain of the Sea Squirrel, CAL22 #358)

[joramrose]

What floats are boats.

 

Nuf saidl

 

love

joan

 

OK. To break it down --

If it floats, it is a boat.

It it ships, it is a ship.

If you have to ask how much it costs, a yacht it is not.