| This discussion is proudly sponsored by: | | Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here | | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Rate Thread | Display Modes |  07-11-2007, 12:52 | #1 | rsn48 Registered User    Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island, BC Boat: 1969 30 Mariner Sedan Cruiser Posts: 760 | When does a boat become a ship? Probably the most misused words in nautical lingo has to be the useage of the words "boat" and "ship." For example, almost all the crew on BC Ferries call their ships, boats; I'm forever saying, they aren't boats, they're ships. I'm trying to remember what I was taught in the Canadian Navy about this issue, and it seems to me (on shaky memory grounds here) that the difference between a boat and a ship had to do with number of continuous decks the vessel had. I seem to recall that two or more continuous decks - covering the entire ship -constituted a ship. I see looking at definitions of a ship on the net, that any vessel that had three or more (?) square rigged masts was a ship, not a helpful definition for today. The remaining definitions are basically a large boat is a ship; again not very helpful. Even my Oxford definition wasn't very helpful. Any other Navy types here other than Canadian, were you provided a definition when you were or are active? Coast Guard definitions? |  |  | | 07-11-2007, 12:56 | #2 | RMcBride Registered User  Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada Boat: 1976 Catalina 27 Posts: 3 Images: 1 | Boat = smaller Ship = bigger BC Ferry = sea bottom finder | | | | | 07-11-2007, 13:16 | #3 | S/V Antares Registered User   Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Annapolis, Bahamas Boat: 1983 Gulfstar 36 Posts: 1,253 Images: 1 | You "ship out" when leaving port but you are on the "Boat" When you get off the boat in a hurry you "Abandon Ship" by maning the "Boats" We try to keep everything "Ship Shape" but no one can tell me what shape the shape of a ship is! __________________ Will & Muffin Lucy the dog "Yes, well.. perhaps some more wine" (Julia Child) | | | | | 07-11-2007, 13:28 | #4 | 44'cruisingcat Registered User  Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 9,398 Images: 69 | 2 or more full length decks above the waterline = a ship. Thats why submarines are called boats regardless of how huge they are - only 1 deck above the waterline. | | | | | 07-11-2007, 13:50 | #5 | GordMay Senior Cruiser   Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt) Posts: 54,079 Images: 241 | A boat becomes a ship, when it carries boats. __________________ Gord May "If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?" |  | | | 07-11-2007, 13:50 | #6 | Tnflakbait Registered User  Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Southern California Boat: CSK, 33' Aita Pe'ape'a Posts: 338 Images: 7 | I figure if you want to call your boat a ship, just go ahead and do it. | | | | | 07-11-2007, 13:52 | #7 | | slomotion Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lakeland, FL Posts: 1,296 | Yachties doan need no estinkin definitions. In his writings Hal Roth always referred to his 35' sloop, Whisper, as "the ship." It may be a boat, but if it sails oceans, it's also a ship. | | | | | 07-11-2007, 14:55 | #8 | | LtBrett Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 257 | The best definition I've heard has to do with the direction a vessel heels in a turn. Boats heel to the inside of the turn while ships heel to the outside. Brett | | | | | 07-11-2007, 15:00 | #9 | Vasco Registered User  Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Toronto Boat: CS36Merlin, "La Belle Aurore" Posts: 7,557 | A "ship" must have at least three masts and all masts must be square rigged. __________________ Rick I Toronto in summer, Bahamas in winter. | | | | | 07-11-2007, 15:09 | #10 | knottybuoyz Building a Bateau TW28  Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Iroquois, Ontario Boat: Bateau TW28 Long Cabin Posts: 3,585 Images: 87 | I was always told that a boat becomes a ship when it's capable of carrying it's own lifeboat (not tender or workboat). According to wikipedia what I was told was not quite right. Ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia __________________ Yours Aye! Rick ~^~^~^^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~~^~^~~^~^~^^~~^~^ "It's not the boat "you built" until you've sworn at it, bled on it, sweated over it, cried beside it and then threatened to haul the POS outside and burn it!" | | | | | 07-11-2007, 15:22 | #11 | SkiprJohn Registered User  Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nicholasville, Kentucky Boat: 15 foot Canoe Posts: 14,191 | Well, when I was a young 17 year old Navy sailor, my "sea daddy" told me that boats are carried on ships. Anything large enough to carry boats aboard is a ship and anything small enough to be carried aboard a ship is a boat. The exception being a submarine which is always a boat and I think it is more tradition because they originally were pretty small and could be launched from ships. My sailboat is a boat and I prefer her to be called a boat even if she is a pleasure and could be considered a yacht or my ship. I cringe when I hear large ships being referred to as boats especially by Navy sailors who really should know better. Kind Regards, JohnL | | | | | 07-11-2007, 15:54 | #12 | GreyRaven Registered User   Join Date: Nov 2007 Boat: Warwick Cardinal Centre Cockpit 46 - S/V "Spirit" Posts: 64 Images: 23 | On ships When does a woman become a lady? | | | | | 07-11-2007, 16:06 | #13 | Brandywine Registered User  Join Date: May 2007 Location: Napa, CA Boat: Shopping for catamaran Posts: 76 | So would 12 foot RIB with an inflatable kayak in a bag on board be a ship? | | | | | 07-11-2007, 16:24 | #14 | | GreyRaven Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Boat: Warwick Cardinal Centre Cockpit 46 - S/V "Spirit" Posts: 64 Images: 23 | Quote: Originally Posted by Brandywine  So would 12 foot RIB with an inflatable kayak in a bag on board be a ship? | Would you trust it with your life? | | | | | 07-11-2007, 16:39 | #15 | jpcraw Registered User  Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 35 | A boat becomes a ship when you are typing up the classified ad. | | | | « ROYAL CARRIBEAN CRUISE | Sleep Patterns Prior to Looking at Boats » | Thread Tools |  Show Printable Version | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode |  Switch to Hybrid Mode |  Switch to Threaded Mode | | Search this Thread | | Advanced Search | | Rate This Thread |  Excellent  Good  Average  Bad  Terrible |  Posting Rules | | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts BB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is On HTML code is OffTrackbacks are Off Pingbacks are Off Refbacks are Off Forum Rules | |  Similar Threads | | Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post | | Hand crafted boat/ship models | knottybuoyz | Flotsam & Sailing Miscellany | 13 | 18-04-2008 12:21 | | A Ship O' Fools hello | shipofools | Meets & Greets | 3 | 06-04-2007 10:41 | | what do i need to work on a ship | stevem099 | Meets & Greets | 16 | 25-01-2007 07:06 | | Ship torpedoed | Alan Wheeler | Flotsam & Sailing Miscellany | 6 | 17-12-2006 18:17 | |   Recent Discussions | | Dock shore power circuit breaker... | | Norad Santa Tracker | | Is piracy an imagined concern? | | Conversion to Electric Galley -... | | Pelagic AT: Control Box Placement | | Silicone bottom paint | | League City Cracks Down on Marina... | | ZF SD10 rattles in neutral | | Stern Blown to Leeward When Docking | | Whats the best windvane? | | ipad navionics issue | | “Time words don’t mean what you... | | Vendor Spotlight | | No Threads to Display. | |
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When does a boat become a ship? 
