Sailing?

[eddhewett]

So I am a white flappy thing kinda guy doing a bit of market research and trying to see a motor boaters point of view.

How do you feel about the word sailing?

It seems to be used pretty universally for any kind of boating. What I really wanna know, is would a motor boater wanting their day skipper ticket be less likely to use a training centre with the word sailing in their business name?

PS, go easy on my, even on sailing yachts we are all still mostly using the engine

Cheers

 

[Hurricane]

As a long standing dinghy sailor, turned motor boater, I agree that the team "sailing" is somewhat odd. I don't tend to use it when referring my motor boat activities.
I would refer to my passages as "motoring".
My thoughts are that you need sails in order to "sail".
However, when you get bigger into ships the often refer to the "ship sailing".

 

[Sticky Fingers]

I agree with Hurricane. Ex-yacht sailor, now moboer. Or is that motor boater.

 

[kashurst]

I really like proper sailing, problem is no-one else I know likes it. It all takes too long for most people it seems.
I don't think a training school with the word sailing in the name would put possible customers off. People seem to me to associate the word "sailing" with travelling on a boat. Going "motoring" sounds like you are going by car.
In Spain, the Spanish verb for going "sailing" is navegar or navegacion - to navigate! which to me sounds more complicated, but possibly better describes all forms/types of boat driving.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I've never found a satisfactory word for what I do. "Sailing" is dinghies, "yachting" is pretentious, "cruising" is old people with Carnival loyalty cards and "boating" is old men grumbling about rowers on the Thames.

 

[Greg2]

As someone who likes sailing as much as motor boating I have no issue with the word ‘sailing’ but I don’t associate it with our motor boating and we tend to refer to it as ‘boating‘. That said, as an ex-matelot, I do refer to departure from port as ‘sailing’ and the journey as being ‘on passage’ .

On the question about use of the word putting motor boat types off a training school I am not sure that it would but it might make them think it is for yachties and miss that mobo training is also on offer. ‘Sea School’ seems to work for a local training outfit as it is all encompassing.

 

[rafiki_]

I am equally happy sailing a yacht or helming a motorboat.

 

[Simon 420]

I wonder what proportion of motorboat owners have actually sailed. I'm a ex dinghy sailor, ex-rower and ex-canoeist and also have also enjoyed days out on sailing yachts. Got into motor boating because it was easier to sell to SWMBOand a lot quicker for her to pick up. Against that background, I would have no objection, but to those who don't have a similar boating background I suspect it may be alien.
Have you thought about using a trading name? XYZ Ltd can always trade as XYZ motorboat training and also XYZ sail training. It just means that you have two "Divisions". Punters won't know is only one person! That's the power of advertising/marketing.

 

[BruceK]

What I really wanna know, is would a motor boater wanting their day skipper ticket be less likely to use a training centre with the word sailing in their business name?

In a word. Yes

Without any other reference it invokes a sailing bias. (See what I did there?) It's like being offered a footie ticket in a City vs United match when you're a blue and the ticket is for the red's stand. Not as much fun.

 

[Hurricane]

As a long standing dinghy sailor, turned motor boater, I agree that the team "sailing" is somewhat odd. I don't tend to use it when referring my motor boat activities.
I would refer to my passages as "motoring".
My thoughts are that you need sails in order to "sail".
However, when you get bigger into ships the often refer to the "ship sailing".

Actually, I lied.
We also "Pootle" - note thats not "Poodle".
However the audio track in this video has a lot of occurrences of the word "sailing"!!!

 

[Whippersnapper]

When I lived in the USA I always smiled when someone bought what they called a yacht (motorboat) as opposed to a sailboat (Yacht)

 

[JumbleDuck]

When I lived in the USA I always smiled when someone bought what they called a yacht (motorboat) as opposed to a sailboat (Yacht)

The worst is "motor yacht", which is deeply in Mr Cholmondely-Warner territory.

 

[gordmac]

A yacht is just a boat used for pleasure, the means of propulsion is irrelevant. The raggies seem to have hijacked it though!
I would think having sailing in the company name would reduce motorboat business, why would such a company do other than sailing?