M5, an interesting sight in Portland harbor (Maine)

[maine-cruiser]

The SV M5 was anchored here in Portland harbor last week and spent a few days docked at my marina loading up supplies, fuel etc. Evidently the largest single masted sailboat in the world. Wherever it falls on that list it is quite an amazing sight. We saw her yesterday leaving the harbor under motor with a harbor pilot on board no less. Would have loved to have seen her sailing.

Bill

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by maine-cruiser

We saw her yesterday leaving the harbor under motor with a harbor pilot on board no less.

Portland Harbor, ME requires a harbor pilot for any boat drafting more than 9 feet or is over 350 GT.

[GordMay]

The “M5", formerly “Mirabella V”, has a lifting keel, to reduce draft.
Length: 77.60 m (254.6 ft)
Beam: 14.82 m (48.6 ft)
Height (Air Draught): 88.5 m (290 ft)
Draught keel down: 10.20 m (33.5 ft) maximum
Draught keel up: 3.80 m (12.5 ft) mimumum

[CaptTom]

Ok, this one keeps gnawing at me...

The word for how deep a boat's structure penetrates the water is "draught" (or "draft," since I'm in the US.) We say, for example, "The boat has a draft of three meters."

But when you want to use it as a verb, I've always heard it as "The boat draws three meters." I think of it like "Please draw me a draft beer."

Yet lately, more and more, I'm hearing "The boat drafts.." instead.

That sounds strange to my ears. I wouldn't say "Please draft me a draft beer."

Thinking about it, I can actually see the latter usage. For example, we might "draft" a memo. Our rebel US ancestors "drafted" a constitution.

So, which is right in your area? Is it just me?

[Tupaia]

Saw her, Mirabella, go aground when she was launched from the Thornycroft yard before her mast was stepped. Also saw the spreaders, that are truly massive having remedial work done. She is one of the ugliest sail boats I have even seen.

[Madehn]

An average size man can walk in the track in the boom. The sides come up to about shoulder level I believe. I think I saw this boat in Ft. Lauderdale few years back although that may have been the Mirabella IV.

[TrentePieds]

CaptTom:

Disregard for grammatical niceties is universal.

The established use of "draft" and "draught" is location and culture specific.

If you are talking about what the Germans call "Tiefgang" and the Danes "dybgående" (both of which are unambiguous and mean the distance, where it is greatest, from the underside of a ship's keep to its waterline plane, it is spelled, in English, "draught", and in American, "draft".

If you are talking about drawing a "picture" such as the lines drawing for a ship, or the construction plans for a house, then the act of doing it is, in English, "draughting" (rather than "drawing"), and in American "drafting" (rather than "drawing") and the man (or woman, these days) who prepares the drawing is, if s/he is English, a "draughtman", and if s/he is American, a "draftsman", "draftswoman" or "draftsperson". What s/he produces is "drawings" or "plans".

If you are talking about a piece of writing such as a book or a technical treatise that the writer does not yet consider completed, you are talking, if you are English, about a "draught", and if you are American, a "draft". The act in which the writer is engaged is, if you are English, "draughting" and if you are American, "drafting".

As an American you already know that the verb "to draft" and the noun "draft" (most particularly "the draft") has less constructive meanings.

Cheers!

TrentePieds

TrentePieds

[GordMay]

Using one part of speech, as another; such as using a noun [draft] as a verb [drafting/drawing], is called verbing, conversion, or denominalization*.
For example, the word "Google" was, originally, just a noun, referring to the search engine.
But, it has now become common to use it as a verb, referring to the act of searching, as in "I'm going to Google it".

See “Understanding the phenomenon known as “verbing”–where nouns are turned into verbs” ➥ https://daily.jstor.org/in-which-we-...ause-language/

* When a noun becomes a verb, it is a denominal verb.

[CaptTom]

Yeah, I get that nouns can be "verbed."

It's just that this particular one didn't seem to be in common usage, and when I first heard it I assumed it was a mistake on the speaker's part. But now I've heard it 2-3 times and I'm wondering if it's starting to work its way into the language in some areas.

I was hoping someone would come back and say "sure, everyone around here uses it that way." Not seeing that, I'm still leaning toward calling it a grammatical error.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Yeah, I get that nouns can be "verbed."

It's just that this particular one didn't seem to be in common usage, and when I first heard it I assumed it was a mistake on the speaker's part. But now I've heard it 2-3 times and I'm wondering if it's starting to work its way into the language in some areas.

I was hoping someone would come back and say "sure, everyone around here uses it that way." Not seeing that, I'm still leaning toward calling it a grammatical error.

I hear it occasionally, and I'd say it's become a bit more common recently. But I agree, it's not the conventional way to say it and it bothers me a bit when I hear it.

[GordMay]

First they came for the verbs, and I said nothing, because verbing weirds language.
Then they arrival, for the nouns, and I speech nothing, because I no verbs.

Since I am generally intolerant of intolerance [as I am opposed to value judgments, because value judgments are bad], I decided that I just needed to relaxify myself, and open my mind to the post-modern [in fact post-everything, because I just named it] concept, of verbing the nouns.
If I can get my spellchecker to see things the same way, then all will be right with the world.

[CaptTom]

I try not to get uptight about language. It evolves whether we want it to or not. But like it or not, people do judge us on how we use it.

I think there's an evolutionary advantage for humans to develop a sense of "right" and "wrong" ways of speaking. Those who can convey thoughts to the rest of the tribe most effectively are more likely to thrive.

Think about how children get upset when we don't re-tell their favorite stories exactly how they're used to. Or how we prefer the original versions of the songs from our youth. Before written history, the only way to pass knowledge to the next generation was through stories and songs. Getting them exactly right might mean the difference between life and death.

[Jim Cate]

Stepping back from the pedantry and addressing the M5: a clear winner in the "my pee-pee is bigger than your pee-pee" wars of the super rich.

A jewel of engineering, a blight on humanity.

Jim

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I try not to get uptight about language. It evolves whether we want it to or not. But like it or not, people do judge us on how we use it.

I think there's an evolutionary advantage for humans to develop a sense of "right" and "wrong" ways of speaking. Those who can convey thoughts to the rest of the tribe most effectively are more likely to thrive.

Think about how children get upset when we don't re-tell their favorite stories exactly how they're used to. Or how we prefer the original versions of the songs from our youth. Before written history, the only way to pass knowledge to the next generation was through stories and songs. Getting them exactly right might mean the difference between life and death.

A bit like I drug my anchor, I always understood that the anchor could drag, without the addition of any drug.

[ChrisPuget]

Verbing.....the opposite of a gerund, which is the name for "nouning".