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Matt sachs · 21-07-2011, 12:27

New word for me....what is gunkholing??

oldjags · 21-07-2011, 12:44

On the web....

"Depends....

In larger boats, it means cruising while not stopping at marinas, looking for a gunkhole to spend the night at anchor. The term implies also that the journey is more important than the destination... sitting at anchor, cooking dinner, and enjoying the surroundings.
In smaller boats it just means tossing out your anchor in any old backwater spot and just enjoying what passes by. Picnicing and relaxing..."

Matt sachs · 21-07-2011, 15:01

That makes me a gunkholer, thanks.

eastendsailor · 21-07-2011, 15:15

I live in NYC and when mentioning to a friend that I'd joined a cruisers' forum had to further qualify that by saying it had to do with sailing and yachts!

Kettlewell · 21-07-2011, 15:23

Gunkholing to me means anchoring out in out-of-the-way or unusual places. It can be a subset of cruising, or it can be an endeavor all to itself. It is what I do when I want to get away from the crowds in the usual cruising destinations. In other words, when I'm cruising I sometimes visit Newport, which is fun if you like activity, but nearby I can be anchored in a nice little gunkhole (secret) where nobody usually hangs around past sunset.

**Hudson Force** · 21-07-2011, 15:32

Connotations of terms change with time, geography and culture. Most of those that share my definitions on the East US coast consider cruising as the adventuring in sailboats that is opposed to racing and gunkholing as a subset of cruising that involves exploring creeks, rivers and bays to the most shallow waters that their draft allows.

sailorboy1 · 21-07-2011, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamskiinasia

........... the old use for the word "cruise" was for single men looking for sex !! ??

I don't see any reason that still can not be applied when using a boat to do it. Other than it is outdated if it has to only apply to men.

Bash · 21-07-2011, 17:34

I came into this world as a racer, and to me everything that wasn't racing was cruising. A cruising boat was differentiated from a racing boat by the fact that it had a dodger. A cruiser was any sailor that didn't know what a cunningham was for.

SkiprJohn · 21-07-2011, 18:06

I finally went to the dictionary. Definitely interesting definition compared to what we on cruisersforum think it means.
kind regards,

NJtheteacher · 11-08-2011, 06:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha and welcome aboard!
When I was very young and just starting out in the U. S. Navy my first WESTPAC Cruise on a Destroyer was anything but pleasurable.
Guess I'll have to look it up in the dictionary.
kind regards,

I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, just offering a playful anecdote.

I decided a while ago that comparing the Navy to anything outside it is an effort in futility. Just the simple comparison of the word 'cruiser'. In the Navy, it's actually a ship, not a boat, a ship, meaning kinda big in comparison and there is nothing leisurely about what you do when floating on one.

Or the word 'cruise'. In the Navy, that means you are leaving your home and family for an arduous period of minimum 12-hour work days, 7 days a week, not seeing land for a month or more at a time. Ok, I'm not sure about the smaller ships, like destroyers and cruisers, but definitely extended periods at sea and when you do hit port, you will be going back out to see for another extended period in just a few days, one of which you get to see land. Often, depending on your job, not even seeing the sky while you are on board.

Also, for example, one that I always found funny was 'field day'. It means something entirely different in the civilian world versus the 'stay on your toes, someone could die' Navy.

John

boasun · 11-08-2011, 07:17

In the Navy the word 'cruise' sounds so much better than the word 'deployment'. So if your ship is deployed overseas for 6 to 12 months, it does sound better if you use the word 'cruise', because it contonates that you are enjoying your trip overseas. While 'deployment' implies that you are on a working voyage. While the latter has more truth to it, we do love the port visits in those far away places with exotic sounding names.

Mark
USN Retired

dinosaur · 11-08-2011, 07:59

To me, "cruising" means: traveling for pleasure. And the term cruising takes no dedicated form. Walking, driving, sailing... if you're just out and about for no other reason than to move and enjoy, you're cruising.

Quote:

adamskiinasia
........... the old use for the word "cruise" was for single men looking for sex !! ??

that is actually what this forum is for. we just all happen to like boats for some reason...