S/V

[DaBod]

Does a boat need to be officially registered with the Coast Guard to carry the S/V designation in front of its name? Some boats here in OK carry the designation, and I am fairly certain they aren't registered vessels. I see a lot of things on boats here that aren't necessarily proper in the nautical sense, so I thought it was worth asking.

Thanks!

[Kettlewell]

I don't believe it has any relation to Coast Guard documentation. Anyone with a sailing vessel can use it if they want to.

[DaBod]

Thanks! I've been asking what are probably stupid questions on here lately, and appreciate the patience and help. In life I see a lot of people who don't ask the stupid questions doing stupid things.

[Stingo]

I am under the impressions that s/v = sailing vessel and m/v = motor vessel.

[Kettlewell]

As far as I know, no state regulates what name you can put on your boat or how you have to do it. State registration just governs the numbers that must be put on the bow, but they allow you to put anything else on the boat you want to in terms of names or hailing ports. The Coast Guard has rules on how big the name must be, where it is placed, etc. A lot of state-registered only boats don't even have a name on them, but it is handy to have so people can more easily call you on the radio.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Stingo

I am under the impressions that s/v = sailing vessel and m/v = motor vessel.

r/v = research vessel
f/v = fishing vessel
s/y = sailing yacht
m/v = motor yacht
SS = steam ship
MF = motor ferry
TS = training ship
ULCC = Ultra Large Crude Carrier

[bobconnie]

I aways figured if it had sails it was a sailing vessel. have things changed ??

[Tomm0]

Here SV would normally mean it's nationally registered (ie it can go overseas and come back), as opposed to a state registration which doesn't include that.

[jeremiason]

The designations have nothing to do with registration or documentation and there is no world wide standard for designations. For instance, civilian vessel can identify themselves by the type of vessel or their type of propulsion, so the same ship could be referred to as a Steam Ship or a Motor Vessel. Even the abbreviation is not clear as it is sometimes written with a slash between the letters and sometimes not.

For all you ever wanted to know about vessel designations go to this link:
Ship prefix | Ask.com Encyclopedia

[jim_thomsen]

Meanings can vary by country. We are from California and telling friend we have a s/y - a Sailing Yacht sounds like you are bragging, so most Americans say s/v. But we spent a year sailing around the Netherlands and had one harbor master say:"You Americans, you want to sound like you have a huge ship so you say s/v - Sailing Vessel. You just have a small sailboat and it just a sailing yacht - s/y." So, being in Europe we switched to s/y Tenaya. If we return to the USA maybe we will change our cards to s/v Tenaya.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Bash

r/v = research vessel
f/v = fishing vessel
s/y = sailing yacht
m/v = motor yacht
SS = steam ship
MF = motor ferry
TS = training ship
ULCC = Ultra Large Crude Carrier

When I recently had a survey the surveyor used M/S (Motor Sailer) for mine even though it's an old racing sailer.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

When I recently had a survey the surveyor used M/S (Motor Sailer) for mine even though it's an old racing sailer.

That is the problem with vessel designations... There is no worldwide standard, which just confuses the issue.

In the last ten years it has become popular to place T/T "Your Vessel Name" on dinghies. Some even think that some how that will get them out of registering the dinghy. Most lists don't even have that designation.

[bobconnie]

You can put your vessel name on a dink like " BnC 2" without numbers if it's powerd by oars or sail with no motor ! At least in the US. We have done this for years ! even in FLA. works for us

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

You can put your vessel name on a dink like " BnC 2" without numbers if it's powerd by oars or sail with no motor ! At least in the US. We have done this for years ! even in FLA. works for us

That is not true in all of the US and is a state by state case.

In California for instance, all vessels over 8 feet are required be registered, with or without and engine, for instance Laser Sailboats.

[Kettlewell]

In most states it is true that non-motorized vessels need not be registered. In California you don't need to register if the boat is propelled by oars or paddles:

The following vessels do not have to be registered in California:

Vessels propelled solely by oars or paddles.
Nonmotorized sailboats that are eight feet or less in length.