A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats.
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which are designed first and foremost for sailing. A dinghy's main use is for transfers from larger boats, especially when the larger boat cannot dock at a suitably-sized port or marina.
A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commercial canal traffic gradually diminished and the last regular long-distance transportation of goods by canal had virtually disappeared by 1970. However, some commercial traffic continued. From the 1970s onward narrowboats were gradually being converted into permanent residences or as holiday lettings. Currently, about 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow tributary rivers. The larger barges were seaworthy vessels, and were the largest sailing vessel to be handled by just two men. The average size was about 120 tons and they carried 4,200 square feet (390 m2) of canvas sail in six working sails. The mainsail was loose-footed and set up with a sprit, and was brailed to the mast when not needed. It is sheeted to a horse, as is the foresail; they require no attention when tacking. The foresail is often held back by the mate to help the vessel come about more swiftly.
A leeboard is a form of pivoting keel used by a sailboat largely and very often in lieu of a fixed keel. Typically mounted in pairs on each side of a hull, leeboards function much like a centreboard, allowing shallow-draft craft to ply waters fixed keel boats cannot. Only the leeward side leeboard is used at any time, as it submerges when the boat heels under the force of the wind.
The bow is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is usually most forward when the vessel is underway. The aft end of the boat is the stern.
A Luxe motor is a type of Dutch barge, built for the first time in the early 1920s. Most vessels had a straight bow ('Steilsteven') with characteristic upsweep of the gunwale and good accommodation for living at the back of the ship, from which the name derives. As constructed, luxe motor lengths range from 18 to 30 metres though many were lengthened in the 1950s to compete with the falling price of road transport. After commercial retirement the luxe hull is a popular choice for liveaboard and recreational use and many have been shortened to aid with handling or attract reduced mooring fees.
The draft or draught of a ship is a determined depth of the vessel below the waterline, measured vertically to its hull's lowest—its propellers, or keel, or other reference point. Draft varies according to the loaded condition of the ship. A deeper draft means the ship will have greater vertical depth below the waterline. Draft is used in under keel clearance calculations, where the draft is calculated with the available depth of water to ensure the ship can navigate safely, without grounding. Navigators can determine their draught by calculation or by visual observation.
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section of the ship, but eventually came to refer to the entire back of a vessel. The stern end of a ship is indicated with a white navigation light at night.
A sailing barge is a kind of barge propelled by sails. Traditional types of sailing barges include:
The term lambo or lamba refer to two types of traditional boats from Indonesia.
A Puddle Duck Racer or PD Racer is an 8 foot long, 4 foot (1.22 m) wide, 16 inch (40 cm) high, spec series, racing sailboat. It is a one design hull shape with wide options in other areas. Billed as "the easiest sailboat in the world to build", the scow hull is a simple box, usually built of plywood. PD Racers have a Portsmouth handicap rating of 140.0 and their USSA code is PDR.
The Schock 23 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Steven Schock, with a wing keel designed by Finnish engineer Reijo Salminen and first built in 1987.
A widebeam is a canal boat built in the style of a British narrowboat but with a beam of 2.16 metres or greater.
DBA - The Barge Association is a club for leisure users of European inland waterways. The club was formed in 1992 as "The Dutch Barge Association", by a small group of UK owners of Dutch barges. It later expanded to include any form of barge and other types of boat with the same interests in cruising in European rivers and canals, becoming "DBA - The Barge Association", DBA for short.
The Dovekie 21, often called just the Dovekie, is an American sailing dinghy, named for the sea bird. It was designed by Phil Bolger as a cruiser and first built in 1978.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
The Sea Pearl 21 is an American trailerable sailboat or sailing dinghy, that was designed by Ron Johnson as a daysailer and first built in 1982.
The Seaward 23 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Nick Hake as a pocket cruiser and first built in 1984.
