boat? ship? pontoon? why???

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J

joes new addiction

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Oct 21, 2011
109
O Day Mariner 2+2 my driveway/ Lake Wallenpalpac
Being a new to the art of sailing, trying to grasp the new language I have been imersed into in the last year, my wife got to busting me the other night.
I have a row BOAT
I have a sail BOAT
When the president and the US Army told me in 70's that I need to take a vacation to tropical places, my platoon got pulled out of the deep end of the sheet by a P.T. BOAT (will always think great thoughts of those guys comming in to pull us out) :)
I've taken a tour on a WW2 submarine BOAT
took a cruise on a SHIP
tooled @ on a Pontoon BOAT
So, why isn't a sailboat a ship? why is a PT boat a boat and not a ship?
What makes a boat a boat and a ship a ship?:confused:
Jeese! Just thinking about it makes my head hurt!
If spring doesn't get here soon so I can sail I'm gonna go bonkers!!:)
Joe
Why is a breast of chicken, not a chicken chest?
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,722
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Dinghy, boat, ship, yacht. When on my "boat," I'm thinking port and starboard but my First Mate is thinking left and right. I'm thinking forward and aft and my First Mate is thinking front and back. I'm thinking windward and leeward and my First Mate is thinking, "Oh crap! This boat is about to fall over!" She informed me early on that we will NOT refer to the anchor line as "rode." It's a rope to her.

I have no idea why anyone came up with nautical terms, even though I've read the history of some of them. I personally love using nautical terms but find it impractical most of the time. But I still use them anyway until my First Mate looks at me with her what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look. Then I say left or right, or front or back.

Have fun learning them and good luck using them!

Kermit
 
PrincessoftheLake

PrincessoftheLake

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Jun 9, 2004
963
Hunter 40.5 Bayfield, WI
I love nautical terms although I don't know the history of most of them. I think having specific names for things on board has helped me understand better what they do. Halyards hoist sails, sheets control them, etc. Having somebody tell me trim the sheet makes a lot more sense than than grab that rope and pull. What cracks me up are those people with boats that have an aft cabin who refer to this cabin as the "after berth".
 
N

navigator97

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May 24, 2004
470
Hunter 33.5 Portsmouth, RI
Many of the nautical terms came from the Navy (of whatever country). Military terms don't have to make sense, they just have to be. The navy Submarines have traditionally been called "boats", but their designation was SS which stood for Submersible Ship (SSN is Submersible Ship Nuclear)- go figure. generally boats are smaller and ships are larger. PT Baots were smaller than Destroyers, etc. My 33 Ft. sailboat is a boat, my Destroyer was a ship, a cruise ship is a ship - the line in between has not been defined. Like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder.
 
C

Calif. Ted

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Jun 8, 2004
3,013
Catalina 320 Dana Point
I'd always heard it explained as "you can carry boats on a ship, but you can't carry ships on a boat."
Sorta works, mostly.
 
MSN-Travelers

MSN-Travelers

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May 24, 2007
185
Beneteau 352 Milwaukee, WI
joes new addiction said:
....

So, why isn't a sailboat a ship? why is a PT boat a boat and not a ship?
What makes a boat a boat and a ship a ship?:confused:
Jeese! Just thinking about it makes my head hurt!

....
Click to expand
At the risk of sounding too serious (I'm sure there's an app for this :doh:) -

A ship is a boat that is big enough to carry a boat but is too big to be carried on another ship.

There are exceptions and you can learn more about this at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/754/whats-the-difference-between-a-boat-and-a-ship
 
thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,971
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
We make up terms as we go....

Pontoons go under party barges.

Hulls go under cats and in the middle of a trimaran. But I've heard them called vakas on a cat or more commonly on a trimaran, by the more particular.

Amas go on the outsides of trimarans, attached by akas, because the polynesians say so.
 
Nodak7

Nodak7

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Sep 28, 2008
1,256
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
MSN-Travelers said:
At the risk of sounding too serious (I'm sure there's an app for this :doh:) -

A ship is a boat that is big enough to carry a boat but is too big to be carried on another ship.

There are exceptions and you can learn more about this at http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/754/whats-the-difference-between-a-boat-and-a-ship
Click to expand

Well.... I guess I can reluctantly wade into this... First MSN I think you got it right but the wording is confusing. Regarding a submarine being called a "boat" it is strictly traditional Having spent many years on one I still call it my "boat". All the others can be placed by applying MSN's definition. However, the one question I cannot answer is "why is a chicken breast called a breast and not a chest"? LOL. I don't think they really have breasts, do they? We really don't want to get into the "chicken nugget" discussion either....:D
 
Phil Herring

Phil Herring

Alien
Mar 25, 1997
4,924
- - Bainbridge Island
I wish I had even a nickel for every time someone has inquired about a wench cover.
 
jepomer

jepomer

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Jan 22, 2008
507
Catalina 310 278 Lyndeborough NH
Language constantly changes. Word meanings, spellings, and pronunciations vary and often not at the same rates.

For a bit of humor, watch this video of "The Three Little Pigs" rendered in (mostly) Elizabethan English.

http://youtu.be/OxoUUbMii7Q
John Branyan - The Three Little Pigs on YouTube
 
Nodak7

Nodak7

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Sep 28, 2008
1,256
Hunter 41DS Punta Gorda, FL
jepomer said:
Language constantly changes. Word meanings, spellings, and pronunciations vary and often not at the same rates.

For a bit of humor, watch this video of "The Three Little Pigs" rendered in (mostly) Elizabethan English.

http://youtu.be/OxoUUbMii7Q
John Branyan - The Three Little Pigs on YouTube
Click to expand
This is hilarious! A terrible reflection on our vocabulary! LOL Thanks for sharing. :D
 
J

joes new addiction

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Oct 21, 2011
109
O Day Mariner 2+2 my driveway/ Lake Wallenpalpac
When she asked me why, I thought about it for a while and was going to TRY to give her a definate answer, but being a "A" typical guy, told her, "Cuz"!
I also have given up telling her that it isn't a "clothes line" (cuz it's a sheet, but, no there isn't a sheet on the end of it, it's a sail, not a sheet, but the clothes line that goes to it). (Who's on second??):confused:
We have gotten port and starboard, but like I was taught at the sailing school last summer, port is RED wine is left, cuz it's almost the same amount of letters, so now port isn't port, port (left) is wine, so we have "wine" and "starboard".
(Unless of course we're having chicken chests, then it white, or is it red? That's why I drink beer- it goes with everything):doh:
So, if there is after berth, is there fore berth? Is that where we have fore play with the chicken breast wench?:doh:
I feel like the 3 stooges when I sometimes sail, but hell, it's more fun that way!
A deck wench are those babes in electric tape size bikinis, (I'm not allowed to have any deck wenches any more)! and a deck wench cover is a jacket you give them when they get cold, right?
Although I DO rememeber this is my weapon, this is my gun, I never marched @ the barracks doing that dance, just remember being in formation screaming that!
I will forever carry in my few remaining working brain cells, that a ship can carry a boat but chicken breasts are never to be fondled in public!:)
Joe
I won't even go to a rack of lamb!
When a rope comes off the mountain, it's a line when it goes onto the dock and when it puts a life jacket on it becomes a sheet!:D
 
zeehag

zeehag

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Mar 26, 2009
3,198
1976 formosa 41 yankee clipper santa barbara. ca.(not there)
a winch is a winch and a wench is a wench and if the wench cannot dress herself then needs a nursing home....oops did i say that out loud?
 
Clark

Clark

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Jun 30, 2004
886
Hunter 280 Lake Guntersville, AL
joes New Addiction said:
when She Asked Me Why, I Thought About It For A While And Was Going To Try To Give Her A Definate Answer, But Being A "a" Typical Guy, Told Her, "cuz"!
I Also Have Given Up Telling Her That It Isn't A "clothes Line" (cuz It's A Sheet, But, No There Isn't A Sheet On The End Of It, It's A Sail, Not A Sheet, But The Clothes Line That Goes To It). (who's On Second??):confused:
. . .
Click to expand
Third Base ! !
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
get the powder monkies out of the loaf room and calk that devil seam ASAP or do I have to let the cat out of the bag?

avast yee scrvy dogs, rig the moonrakers for a port reach

there are; main course, main topsail, main topgallant ("t'gallant"), main royal, main skysail, and main moonraker. if they continued to make clipper ships bigger and taller what would be the name of the sail above the moonraker? Angletickler? starscratcher?

And how cold does it need to be to freeze the balls off a brass monkey?
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
She can be very trim and you can trim a sail or a christmas tree or the bushes in the yard. You can haul a line slowly and make it fast. You can splice the main brace and not touch a piece of rope.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
My favorite is "****lines"

Worm, parcel and serve: To protect a section of rope from chafing by: laying yarns (worming) to fill in the ****lines, wrapping marline or other small stuff (serving) around it, and stitching a covering of canvas (parceling) over all.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
WOW! I got sensored by the server. Phil is on top of things as usual
 
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