Boat or Cruiser

[sailorboy1]

Do you have a boat, or do you have a cruiser? Now a cruiser is a boat, but a boat might or might not be a cruiser. What makes you think you boat is what it it is?

[FamilyVan]

I guess the real difference might be intangible, and that is both the actual and intended use. Here is a list of what in my opinion makes my boat a capable cruiser.

-seaworthy and sea kindly design
-privacy, separate cabins for adults and children
-stout design both hull and rig
-tankage 1/2 ton of deisel and 1 ton of water
-50 hp deisel keeps her motoring in the rough stuff
-lots of redundant safety systems (4 bilge pumps, fixed fire fighting, 3 compas's, nice new AIS receiver)
-autopilot strong like bull
-canvas enclosure for wind, snow, rain, sun
-dedicated workshop
-dinghy
-vast amounts of storage space
-Shallow draft (5')
-comfortable interior with heating
-good ground tackle including lots of chain and 4 anchors
-dry inside and out

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but that's a good start.


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[Hydra]

My boat is a cruiser because I cruise (mainly coastal) in her.

She isn't really "blue water" (insufficient food storage space and water tankage) but I sail between 3 countries, in moderate to rough seas.

Alain

[rwidman]

I suppose one could "cruise" on a pontoon boat. I once asked the definition of a "cruiser" and there was no consensus but a few insults. If there's no set definition of "cruiser", there can be no set definition of a cruising boat.

As long as the boat has a place to sleep, a place to prepare and eat food, a place to poop and a range of a few hundred miles, it could be called a "cruising boat".

[Sailmonkey]

I have two boats....each has it's own purpose.


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[boatman61]

I believe the Titanic 'was' a Cruise Ship...

[Dennis.G]

I am a cruiser.

I have a boat.

[RTB]

A boat is a boat....

Some obvious signs you might note of a cruising boat - It is anchored 1000 miles from the home port shown on the transom. Usually will have some solar panels visible. Maybe a wind generator. A dinghy for sure. A manly sized anchor on the roller. Plenty of canvas for shade. A good chance of some jugs on deck if a sailboat. Anyway, to me, my boat is a boat.

Ralph

[MonaOnR3]

About 10 years ago I wrote an article about just such..
We were tied to a dock in Coos Bay Oergon, and had recently purchased our 42. And we had the funds to spend so we equepted the boat with everything we thought would be needed for cruising, the newest electronics avalable including a new autohelm..
so we're setting at the dock and a 27 foot something pulled in across from us, A man, his wife and their dog..
And in talking with him , I found that his boat had no motor, seems it went bad a few years earlier, and at the cost of a rebuild, they could stay out cruising for a couple more years, so they opted to take it out and use the space for a water tank.. they propelled the boat with a sculling oar.. They had No electricty, and their nav lights were oil.. Very simple but had been blue water for years and had a mas amount of information to share..
and we're across from him, with a 42 foot boat, with every option for cruising avalable, we're having a cup of coffee, actually his was black coffee and mine was Late with a little foam atop..
but as different as our boats were, we still had the same mindset when it came to cruising, our discussion was of the places and people we meet, and the greatest place to find Ice Cream and a good Greasy Hamburger..

there is a little known fact about the cruising life and lifestyle, And that is, It dosen't matter what type of boat you have, or what you have in it. and that many boats that would be thought of as NOT being sea-worthy are being sailed all over this world..
And only on this forum is it lead to believe that you have to have a special type of boat to go cruising.
The term "BOAT" is a nown
The term "CRUISING" is action or a verb.. any boat can be a cruiser in the proper hands..

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by MonaOnR3

.. any boat can be a cruiser in the proper hands..

Aye. It's like defining art. If you hang a piece of metal on the wall because you like the way it looks, it's a piece of art. Might not be to somebody else, but it's the users intention that defines the article. Take a piece of fibreglass and go cruising with it, well....