Pompous Boat Terminology and Boat Owners

Bouba said:
Well let’s just settle on a term that we can all agree on.....and with the reach of this forum, we can probably make it the standard term.
There’s captain with a small c
master.....without the giggling
OO (oh oh)...Owner Operator
skipper
I think that a lot of titles come from professions where the rank is well earned....so appropriating it seems disrespectful
So let’s come up with a list and then make a poll
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Fine: on my yaaaught I'm the LUSH - Least Unqualified Sailor Here
 
lustyd said:
It's not really appropriating when the term has been in use for hundreds of years, neither is it disrespectful to use common language. Many words are used in more than one setting, captain is one of them.
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Which is why I said with a small c
 
On the Broads there are plenty of multistory motor craft with huge engines that never go to sea, but are confined to the area with a 6mph speed limit. Those are definitely owned by people who have a sense of superiority...

Americans refer to any sailing boat with a lump of lead down below to keep it upright, as a keelboat.
Here in Norfolk at least,
a Keelboat is an open boat with a lump of lead down below.
A yacht is a sea going type of sailing craft. Also known as a production cruiser.
A Broads design of sailing craft is normally called a sailing cruiser. Though occasionally called a broads yacht.
A single story motorboat normally with forward control is called a bathtub.
 
lustyd said:
You can disagree all you like, but it's in common use in the US meaning the person in charge of the boat. That's how language works whether you like it or not
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Tis true. I once took a charter in US waters and was constantly referred to as captain by dock hands and marina staff. When they first started shouting it at me to get my attention, normally to direct me to a birth, I didn’t realise they were talking to me and ignored them :LOL:
 
Bristolfashion said:
Nah, it's the voyages / races that count.

The bloke in a gnarled old folkboat just back from the Faroes has it over the £1.4 million of aluminium expedition yacht, yet to make it out of the Solent, every time!
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Has it occurred to you that the owner of said larger boat may have been using it on a social basis and made some very useful social contacts. Not all yachts are bought to sail to sail to the Faroes. Some provide every bit as much enjoyment whilst never leaving the Solent.
I have sat in the cockpit of a friends large yacht, well in to the summer evening, drinking wine, after an evenings meal, thinking how great life could be with another £1+m in the bank.
I have just spent 3 weeks in Ostend. I had no inclination to sail anywhere else, but just enjoyed the surroundings, the yacht club, chatting to other sailors, wandering around the town, cycling & sitting on my boat reading a book, whilst watching others come and go. My boat sat in the marina for 2 months before I went there. This week it will be laid up for the winter. Some might say- He never goes anywhere- :unsure:
 
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Daydream believer said:
Has it occurred to you that the owner of said larger boat may have been using it on a social basis and made some very useful social contacts. Not all yachts are bought to sail to sail to the Faroes. Some provide every bit as much enjoyment whilst never leaving the Solent. I have sat on a friends yacht well in to the evening drinking wine after an evenings meal thinking how great life could be with another £1+m in the bank.
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I don't think the wine or the boat is necessary to think that. :ROFLMAO:
 
Daydream believer said:
Has it occurred to you that the owner of said larger boat may have been using it on a social basis and made some very useful social contacts. Not all yachts are bought to sail to sail to the Faroes. Some provide every bit as much enjoyment whilst never leaving the Solent.
I have sat in the cockpit of a friends large yacht, well in to the summer evening, drinking wine, after an evenings meal, thinking how great life could be with another £1+m in the bank.
I have just spent 3 weeks in Ostend. I had no inclination to sail anywhere else, but just enjoyed the surroundings, the yacht club, chatting to other sailors, wandering around the town, cycling & sitting on my boat reading a book, whilst watching others come and go. My boat sat in the marina for 2 months before I went there. This week it will be laid up for the winter. Some might say- He never goes anywhere- :unsure:
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Er, I think you've missed the point. There's nothing wrong whatsoever in anyone using any boat in any way they wish.

However, the post to which I was replying implied that the hierarchy of boats was by price, IMHO, I'm more impressed by deeds than pounds.
 
Boat, yacht, sailing yacht, motor yacht, MAB, AWB, and even tub, are all very acceptable to me.

Anything, anything, but sailboat! 🤢
(Americans can be excused, albeit grudgingly, on the grounds that they don't know any better.)

I generally refer to my 'boat', or if feeling whimsical might say my 'transport of delight' (or if battling with maintenance/repairs, various very rude words). If need be I tell people I have a 'yacht', but usually qualify it by saying 'small yacht' or saying that it's not as grand as yacht might sound, to avoid misunderstandings. I am content for people here to say I have a MAB (and I'll give as good in return).

For me, a yacht is a leisure boat (usually, but not necessarily, a sailing boat unless qualified as 'motor yacht') that has a deck and sleeping etc. accommodation aboard. Anything else is usually a dinghy or dayboat or open boat, etc.

Once one knows well all the correct nautical terms, and only then and when also doing so deliberately and knowingly, is it acceptable and amusing, in my book, to refer to e.g. the 'front' rather than bow, 'park' rather than berth the boat, etc. To use such incorrect terminology out of ignorance is to be pitied. To do so out of lack of care or laziness is to be abhorred.

So there you have it - the definitive answer. No further posts are required in this thread. 😁
 
LittleSister said:
Boat, yacht, sailing yacht, motor yacht, MAB, AWB, and even tub, are all very acceptable to me.

Anything, anything, but sailboat! 🤢
(Americans can be excused, albeit grudgingly, on the grounds that they don't know any better.)

I generally refer to my 'boat', or if feeling whimsical might say my 'transport of delight' (or if battling with maintenance/repairs, various very rude words). If need be I tell people I have a 'yacht', but usually qualify it by saying 'small yacht' or saying that it's not as grand as yacht might sound, to avoid misunderstandings. I am content for people here to say I have a MAB (and I'll give as good in return).

For me, a yacht is a leisure boat (usually, but not necessarily, a sailing boat unless qualified as 'motor yacht') that has a deck and sleeping etc. accommodation aboard. Anything else is usually a dinghy or dayboat or open boat, etc.

Once one knows well all the correct nautical terms, and only then and when also doing so deliberately and knowingly, is it acceptable and amusing, in my book, to refer to e.g. the 'front' rather than bow, 'park' rather than berth the boat, etc. To use such incorrect terminology out of ignorance is to be pitied. To do so out of lack of care or laziness is to be abhorred.

So there you have it - the definitive answer. No further posts are required in this thread. 😁
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I like...and use...the term...sailboat. It is both accurate and not insulting. For example yacht can mean large motorboat....and rag and stick or other can be insulting. Sailboat is exactly what it says on the tin
 
Bouba said:
I like...and use...the term...sailboat. It is both accurate and not insulting. For example yacht can mean large motorboat....and rag and stick or other can be insulting. Sailboat is exactly what it says on the tin
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Are we allowed to say "stinkboat"? I always find that remarkably accurate after one of our smelly cousins crosses our path at the end of a day under sail when we have been breathing the fresh salt air!
 
rogerthebodger said:
Who on the forum are members of a Yacht club or as sailing club or even a boat club
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As a generality I'd say the three exist (at least in Britain) for different purposes, albeit that over time they may have become blurred. Any club which doesn't fit the convention below might well want to consider if it is putting off potential members through its nomenclature:

Yacht Club - is a club for the owners of sailing yachts; dinghies may be tolerated to keep club member's children busy; (large) motor yachts may be considered but normally for those with proven pedigree of sailing who are getting long in the tooth.

Sailing Club - is a club focussed on sailing as a sport; dinghies will usually be found; whilst they may get involved in cruising racing is a key activitiy; powerboats are tools for towing dinghies rather than fun in their own right. Rules about blazers and ties in the club house are less likely than Yacht Clubs.

Boat Club - usually more "down to earth", any type of boat is acceptable and the rasion d'etre for the club is to have shared facilties/costs for access to the water.
 
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