when does a boat become a ship?

Answer 1

Used to be a 3 masted, square rigged vessel was a ship, in the 19th C. Prior to that description may have had lots to do with the hull of the vessel distinguishing from a Flyut, a Cat, Frigate, or Sloop ( all of them could have been square rigged on 3 masts - from the 17th to 18th cent.
Ships were technically classed if they were powered, and the means of propulsion, ( MV ( motor vessel ) vs SS, ( Steam Ship) and many MVs are large cargo carriers that would be categorized as a ship in addition to being tow boats, or tug boats and a wide number of other types as well.
Of late FV denotes a fishing vessel .

The British Navy rated their ships by not just rig but also by decks and the number of guns they carried, thus a 3 masted square rigged single decked vessel is technically a sloop.
A two decked vessel would be a frigate. or maybe not. and then you get into the rates, 6th rate, 5th rate, and so on.

I guess its a matter of size and power but I have often wondered about this myself. Good question.

Answer 2

The Navy describes a ship as sea going vessel. The exception is the submarine which is a boat. There does seem to be a size factor, my 30 footer is considered a blue water boat, it has been down the East Coast, but it is still a boat even though I carry a dinghy on it.
A ship can handle the conditions at sea., it is an ocean crossing vessel, big enough to handle all conditions safely. and does carry other boats.

Answer 3

Hi >
I'm sorry that most of your answers are rubbish.
A "boat" is something that can be carried aboard a "ship".
Life-boats etc.
A Ship can carry boats. A boat can't carry a ship
It really is as simple as that.In nautical terms.
However, I seem to have a "narrowboat".
This is OK for inland waterways useage of the word.
It is not capable of carrying a ship.
It might be fun to try, but I doubt if I would get under bridges, and through locks.
My ski-boat is just that. An 18ft thing with a Johnson 175 hp outboard thing on the back, with a 50hp Mercury "donkey engine"
Good fun, but yea Gods, it is not a ship by far.

Bob the boat.

Answer 4

Good question.

Reason I say this, is because some tugs are called ships. They're also shorter than 50 feet.

The main factors are displacement and engine/prop size. Still, some call watercraft of any size on inland waterways (lakes and rivers) boats and sea-going watercraft ships. Even if they are 50 feet or longer. For instance, the 'Delta Queen' and the 'Mississippi Queen' are called paddle "boats". Even if they are stern wheelers, they're still called boats.

Answer 5

I work in the maritime industry and have been informed by multiple sources which believe, and I agree, that a boat becomes a ship at 100 feet of length.

Answer 6

A boat is anything that can be carried by a ship.
It's a size thing and why you get lifeboats and not lifeships.
Submarines are considered boats because they are not big enough to be ships.

Answer 7

As I remember reading in a book (long ago):

"A boat rules by democracy, whereas a ship is commanded under God by the Captain and only the Captain. He is the law on the seas and his word with the law. A boat is commanded by all who sail upon her, but a ship is ruled by iron grip of the Captain who must maintain discipline under sail which would slack on a boat."

Don't know if that helps - but I think it sounds kinda cool!

Answer 8

Ship, vessel that is buoyant in the water and used to transport people or cargo from one place to another via rivers, lakes, or oceans. Traditionally, ships were distinguished from boats by size—any buoyant vessel small enough to fit on board a ship was considered a boat. However, common usage has blurred the distinction between boats and ships, and today the difference between them is arbitrary.

But submarines are always boats." According to Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling (a great reference book), the dividing line of size between boats (small) and ships (big) is 65 feet. To further confuse things, the same reference states that a "yacht" is a "sail or power vessel used for recreation and pleasure, as opposed to work," but also adds that the term is usually not used for boats under 40'. I've also heard that it's a boat when you have to work on it but a yacht when you take your sweetheart out on it.

some good comment from the web here: Americans, as ever, try and complicate it.... ;-)

By most standards, a vessel as large as an aircraft carrier is called a "ship." A "boat" refers to something much smaller. Some say the difference is this: "A ship can carry a boat but not vice versa." This, of course, is speaking to size.

For those of you who have never been on an aircraft carrier, I can assure you they qualify as large...very large. With a Navy pilot for a dad, I spent most of my upbringing running up and down the ladders of nearly every carrier in the Atlantic Fleet. As a child, this was an easy feat; today, as an adult dragging two kids and a diaper bag with me, I'm made even more aware that the aircraft carrier isn't just large...it's enormous!

So why do I still call it a boat?

This, again, goes back to my military upbringing. My dad made a career flying F-14s, and most naval aviators(especially the jet pilots) will tell you the "ship" looks much more like a "boat" when you have to land on it...in the middle of the night, with pitching deck. Therefore, many pilots affectionately refer to the carrier as "the boat." I grew up hearing my dad say things like, "I'll be on the boat for your birthday," or "When I get back from the boat we'll go see Grandma." He didn't say this to diminish the carrier's size or importance; he used (and uses) the term "boat" as a testament to the highly technical and amazing task men and women pilots perform every day as they land on the flight deck.

And now I'm married to another Naval aviator -- my husband Dustin, a helicopter pilot. Once again, as we chat with friends and I talk with other pilots' wives, I am surrounded by "boat-talk." "When will the guys be out on the boat?" we ask. Or, "Does anyone know the boat's schedule?" In fact, I call my husband's flight suit and other deployment attire "boat clothes" as they are usually whitish-grey and smell like JP-5 (the jet fuel responsible for the carrier's typical "boat smell").

Answer 9

A boat becomes a ship when it carries a boat on top or outside its interior.

Answer 10

The definitions are growing blurred over the technique time and the be conscious "boat" is now a everyday time period that would want to correctly be used to point quite somewhat any vessel of any length or form. for instance, submarines are continually properly-referred to as boats, yet by no ability ships. The definition of a deliver became initially a crusing vessel sq.-rigged on all of three or extra masts, having jibs, staysails, and a spanker on the aftermost mast. there became an American time period of "shipentine" which became a 4-carry close. again, this definition has been blurred and would now advise (commonly) a everyday time period for any large sea-going vessel. The definition of "yacht" is fairly sparkling although. it really is a vessel used for inner most cruising, racing, or different noncommercial applications. This be conscious derives from 1550–60 and the early Dutch "jaght", short for "jaghtschip" which meant "searching deliver", equivalent to the Dutch "jacht hunt" (derived of "jagen" = to seek + "schip" = deliver]