What’s the Difference between a Ship and a Boat?
When this author first started in the cruise travel industry, I quickly had the word ‘boat’ removed from my vocabulary. It was a SHIP I was told, again and again, until it was drummed into me…
So what exactly makes a ship different from a boat? Are boats ships? Are ships boats? Here’s what we’ve uncovered…
According to Marine Insight (www.marineinsight.com): ” a mode of water transport that weighs at least 500 tonnes or above is categorised as a ship. In comparison, boats are stipulated to be quite compact in their structural size and displacement.”
The Guardian says: ” A ship is any vessel over 100 feet (3048cm) in length.” and that “Vessels intended for navigation of coastal and inland waters are generally called boats, while ocean-going vessels are generally called ships.” So based on that theory, all European River Cruise vessels are actually boats? These are called ships though?
Escape.com.au says that “a boat is defined as a vessel small enough to be lifted out of the water, or small enough to be placed onto a ship.”
To top it all off, where do yachts stand in this equation? Ah, the shades of grey are novel-worthy.
Just to confuse matters more, www.boatsafe.com/boat-vs-ship says that a boat is a vessel for transport by water or a small ship and that a ship is a vessel that is large and ocean-going or a boat that’s propelled by power or sail.
There’s a popular saying that goes “a ship can carry a boat but a boat can’t carry a ship.” Another popular one is that a ship leans left when it turns right. A boat leans right when it turns right.
Boat vs Ship: What’s the Difference? (boatsafe.com)
So, what do you think? What makes a boat a boat or a ship a ship? And does it really matter what we call them, as long as we enjoy them?