Difference between boats and ships

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by JaaaPeee

When a boat has an ice maker aboard, it is a yacht.

Most working trawlers have icemakers on board

[StuM]

Originally Posted by stefnieman

A Yacht is an sailing vessel, everything else is a boat or a vessel������

Tell that to the sailors who crewed HMY Britannia aka "The Royal Yacht"

[StuM]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

And from the Australian Government:

https://www.amsa.gov.au/vessels-operators

“The marine order defines yacht as a vessel that:

is less than 3000 GT
is for commercial use for sport or pleasure
does not carry cargo
does not carry more than 12 passengers.

A yacht does not need to be designed to carry sail and may be a training vessel, sail training vessel or a short range yacht.”

That's the definition of a commercial yacht for regulatory purposes, which is a little different.


The marine order also has a definition for a "large yacht" which is different:
large yacht means a vessel that:
(a) is at least 24 metres long; and
(b) is:
(i) for commercial use for sport or pleasure; or
(ii) a training vessel; and
(c) does not carry cargo; and
(d) does not carry more than 12 passengers.

[geozeck]

Last I saw the USGC defines. Yacht as a vessel at least 24 ft. In length with a galley and a head. It might actually 26 feet.

[NPCampbell]

I remember getting busted by quads when I had a full boat. I ended up getting ship-faced.

[Sonny36]

It's pretty clear re: what is a ship, what is a boat. I think there is a problem with the word, "yacht." Do most of you tell those unfamiliar that you own a "yacht?" I think not. You tell them you own a "sailboat," or similar with a "trawler," a term also up for grabs among, well, "trawler" owners.



No, "yacht" has a certain connotation of expense, luxury, etc.

[secrabtree]

Hi - Jim. Sam Crabtree here. I can't say this is definitely true, but I have always (for the last 40+ years) understood that a yacht was a private pleasure surface boat of any size. And that many people consider a yacht refers to a large motorized pleasure vessel that they usually can't afford. But then there is the "El Toro International Yacht Racing Association". (For the uninitiated lurkers an El Toro is a cat rigged sailing pram 7 feet 11 inches in length.)

[Mickeyrouse]

The word “yacht” is of Dutch origin, and has always denoted any craft used for pleasure, as opposed to craft for commerce, research, and defense, usually for the use of its master-It does not denote propulsion.
The classic definition of “ boat” has been any vessel small enough to be crane-ifted and placed on the deck ( or hold) of a larger vessel. One exception to this “submarine”, which since its wide-spread introduction 125 years ago, is referred to as “boat” in most navies world-wide.
“Ship” at one time indicated “ ship rigged”, which indicated a sailing vessel of at least three fully rigged masts, each fully rigged with square sails, usually with a fore-and-aft “ spanker on the mizzen mast to assist in turning.
These days, “ boat” can be applied to almost anything on the warerm

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Mickeyrouse

The word “yacht” is of Dutch origin, and has always denoted any craft used for pleasure, as opposed to craft for commerce, research, and defense, usually for the use of its master-It does not denote propulsion.

Would you call a canoe, dinghy or ski-boat a yacht?

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by A CheeseHead

Dude, I am one of those three, can still look at a binary switch register and read octal. 52 years ago I had to, and still can. Now, why can I not find my keys?

Because the keys are the switches on the front panel you use to toggle in the boot loader.
Your keys are still in the computer room [emoji1]

[captain38]

Montanan, thanks for the great word smthing ! ⛵

[JimJohnston]

It's like pornography: I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Would you call a canoe, dinghy or ski-boat a yacht?

If it ain’t workin’, it’s yachtin’....


Obviously things have evolved since the 17th century. If we’re looking for “either/ or” it works. Clearing the term came to be synonymous with pleasure, privilege, and luxury, often meaning “the other guy’s boat.” Remember “Yachting” magazine? It was full of articles and ads featuring pleasure palaces, sail and power.
Clearly the term is hard to pin down, meaning different things to different folks. Various national racing bodies have “yacht” racing rules, which clearly extend to boats as small as prams and sunfish. And what kind of boats are owned by members of the local yacht club- if they have one at all?

[Cliffhanger]

We have a lovely local club called "The Little Ship Club". It has moorings out the front, many are less than 1m at low tide so definitely no Big Ships there.......

[Dolphin35]

Forgive my pedantry please,

Many of the above posts are true, valid and/or amusing (to me, anyway). However, based on 26 years service in the RN, the accepted definition is that to be a ship. a vessel must have more than one continuous deck above the waterline.

Hence submarines, and any other submersibles, are boats.

And to the original query, some of the larger motor cruisers/yachts out there would by this definition be "ships". Note though that the definition requires "continuous" decks, i.e. the full length of the vessel. A flybridge doesn't count!