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What are boats? Not such a silly question! A ship or a boat (we'll call them all boats from now on) is a vehicle that can float and move on the ocean, a river , or some other watery place, either through its own power or using power from the elements (wind, waves, or Sun). Most boats move partly through and partly above water but some (notably hovercraft and hydrofoils) lift up and speed over it while others ( submarines and submersibles, which are small submarines) go entirely under it. These sound like quite pedantic distinctions, but they turn out to be very important—as we'll see in a moment. Why do boats float? All boats can float, but floating is more complex and confusing than it sounds and it's best discussed through a scientific concept called buoyancy , which is the force that causes floating. Any object will either float or sink in water depending on its density (how much a certain volume of it weighs). If it's more dense than water, it will usually sink; if it's less dense, it will float. It doesn't matter how big or small the object is: a gold ring will sink in water, while a piece of plastic as big as a football field will float. The basic rule is that an object will sink if it weighs more than exactly the same volume of water. But that doesn't really explain why an aircraft carrier (made from dense metal) can float, so let's explore a bit further. Sponsored links (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Positive, negative, and neutral buoyancy Buoyancy is easiest to understand thinking about a submarine . It has diving planes (fins mounted on the side) and ballast tanks that it can fill with water or air to make it rise or fall as it needs to. If its tanks are completely filled with air, it's said to be positively buoyant : the tanks weigh less than an equal volume of water and make the sub float on the surface. If the tanks are partly filled with air, it's possible to make the submarine float at some middle depth of the water without either rising up or sinking down. That's called neutral buoyancy . The other option is to fill the tanks completely with water. In that case, the submarine is negatively buoyant , which means it sinks to the seabed. Find out more about how submarines rise and fall . Photo: Submarines can rise to the surface or sink to any chosen depth by controlling their buoyancy. They do so by letting precise amounts of water or air into their ballast tanks. Photo courtesy of US Navy . Buoyancy on the surface Now most boats don't operate in quite the same way as submarines. They don't sink, but they don't exactly float either. A boat partly floats and partly sinks according to its own weight and how much weight it carries; the greater the total of these two weights, the lower it sits in the water. There's only so much weight a boat can carry without sinking into the water so much that it... does actually sink completely! For ships to sail safely, we need to know how much weight we can put in or on them without getting anywhere near this point. So how can we figure that out? Archimedes' Principle The person who first worked out the answer was Greek mathematician Archimedes, some time in the third century BCE. According to the popular legend, he'd been given the job of finding out whether a crown made for a king was either solid gold or a cheap fake partly made from a mixture of gold and silver. One version of the story says that he was taking a bath and noticed how the water level rose as he immersed his body. He realized that if he dropped a gold crown into a bath, it would push out or "displace" its own volume of water over the side, effectively giving him an easy way to measure the volume of a very complex object. By weighing the crown, he could then easily work out its density (its mass divided by its volume) and compare it with that of gold. If the density was lower than that of gold, the crown was clearly a fake. Other versions of the story tell it a slightly different way—and many people think the whole tale is probably made up anyway! Later, he came up with the famous law of physics now known as Archimedes' Principle: when something is resting in or on water, it feels an upward (buoyant) force equal to the weight of the water that it pushes aside (or displaces). If an object is completely submerged, this buoyant force, pushing upwards, effectively reduces its weight: it seems to weigh less when it's underwater than it does if it were on dry land. That's why something like a rubber diving brick (one of those bricks you train with in a swimming pool) feels lighter when you pick it up from underwater than when you bring it to the surface and lift it through the air: underwater, you're getting a helping hand from the buoyant force. All this explains why the weight of a ship (and its contents) is usually called its displacement : if the ocean were a bowl of water filled right to the brim, a ship's displacement is the weight of water that would spill over the edge when the ship were launched. The USS Enterprise in our top photo has a displacement of about 75,000 tons unloaded or 95,000 tons with a full load, when it sits somewhat lower in the water. Because freshwater is less dense than saltwater, the same ship will sit lower in a river (or an estuary—which has a mixture of freshwater and saltwater) than in the sea. Photo: This relatively small container ship can carry 17,375 tonnes (metric tons) of cargo. The biggest container ships carry over ten times more (around 200,000 tonnes). Photo by Laura A. Moore courtesy of US Navy and archived on Wikimedia Commons . Upthrust Artwork: The weight of a ship pulling down is balanced by upthrust—the pressure of the water underneath, pushing up. Unfortunately, none of this really explains why an aircraft carrier floats! So why does it? Where does that "magic" buoyant force actually come from? An aircraft carrier occupies a huge volume so its weight is spread across a wide area of ocean. Water is a fairly dense liquid that is virtually impossible to compress. Its high density (and therefore heavy weight) means it can exert a lot of pressure: it pushes outward in every direction (something you can easily feel swimming underwater, especially scuba diving). When an aircraft carrier sits on water, partly submerged, the water pressure is balanced in every direction except upward; in other words, there is a net force (called upthrust ) supporting the boat from underneath. The boat sinks into the water, pulled down by its weight and pushed up by the upthrust. How low does it sink? The more it weighs (including the weight it carries), the lower it sinks: If the boat weighs less than the maximum volume of water it could ever push aside (displace), it floats. But it sinks into the water until its weight and the upthrust exactly balance. The more load you add to a boat, the more it weighs, and the further it will have to sink for the upthrust to balance its weight. Why? Because the pressure of water increases with depth: the further into the water the boat sinks, without actually submerging, the more upthrust is created. If the boat keeps on sinking until it disappears, it means it cannot produce enough upthrust. In other words, if the boat weighs more than the total volume of water it can push aside (displaces), it sinks. Upthrust—made simple

How do we know that the upthrust on something is equal to the weight of fluid it displaces.

Photo: The simplest way of understanding why things float is to forget about Archimedes and think instead about density. A ship floats because its average density is relatively small. This empty military transport ship is effectively a giant empty metal box. Divide its total mass (its own mass plus that of its contents) by its volume and you get its average density. That's less than the density of a solid metal box or a metal box filled with water, and that's why the ship floats. Photo by Gary Keen courtesy of US Navy .

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Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Write the Names of Ships and Boats

By Erin Wright

We’ll begin by looking at the guidelines for writing ship and boat names without abbreviations and then with abbreviations.

We’ll conclude with a discussion on whether we should use gendered or gender-neutral pronouns for ships and boats.

Ship and Boat Names without Abbreviations

Ship and boat names that don’t start with abbreviations are capitalized and italicized in their entirety. 2

Draken Harald Hårfagre is the world’s largest Viking ship currently sailing.

The criminals escaped on the stolen yacht, fatefully named Found Money .

Important Note: Those who follow The Associated Press Stylebook or the U.S. Navy Style Guide should see the Style Guide Alert at the bottom of this post for an alternative recommendation.

Ship and Boat Names with Abbreviations

Abbreviations before ship and boat names, such as USS (United States Ship), SS (steamship or sailing ship), or HMS (Her [or His] Majesty’s Ship), should not be italicized. However, the rest of the name should be capitalized and italicized. 3

The freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in 1975.

Nancy Reagan christened USS Ronald Reagan in 2001.

The Wikipedia article “ Ship Prefixes ” offers an extensive list of additional watercraft abbreviations from around the world.

Periods don’t appear between the abbreviated letters. See “ How to Abbreviate United States ” for information on abbreviating the country’s name in general writing.

Important Note: Those who follow the U.S. Navy Style Guide should see the Style Guide Alert at the bottom of this post for information on using the word the before ship and boat names.

Pronouns for Ships and Boats

Historically, ships and boats have been referred to with female pronouns. 4 This writing style has fallen out of favor and, today, the gender-neutral pronoun it is recommended for all watercraft. 5

Despite this update, I encourage historical authors to research pronoun usage in the time period they are writing about because historically accurate pronouns in dialog can create and maintain authenticity.

Style Guide Alert

The Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) doesn’t recommend italicizing any words, including the names of boats or ships. 6

The U.S. Navy Style Guide , which follows most AP style recommendations, doesn’t recommend italicizing the names of ships or boats, either. 7 Government writers and editors should note that this conflicts with the U.S. Government Publishing Office Manual , which does recommend italics. 8

In addition, the U.S. Navy Style Guide says that the word the shouldn’t be used directly before abbreviations such as USS or HMS. 9

Further Reading: When Should You Capitalize Oceans, Mountains, Lakes, and Other Geographic Features?

1. Encyclopedia Britannica , s.v. “History of Ships,” https://www.britannica.com/technology/ship/History-of-ships .

2. The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.116; “How do I format the name of a ship in MLA style?” Ask the MLA, The MLA Style Center, https://style.mla.org/format-the-name-of-a-ship/ .

3. The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.116; “How do I format the name of a ship in MLA style?” Ask the MLA, The MLA Style Center, https://style.mla.org/format-the-name-of-a-ship/.

4. The Gregg Reference Manual, 11th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011), 326.

5. The Associated Press Stylebook 2020–2022 (New York: Associated Press, 2020), 37; The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 8.116; “How do I format the name of a ship in MLA style?” Ask the MLA, The MLA Style Center, https://style.mla.org/format-the-name-of-a-ship/.

6. The Associated Press Stylebook 2020–2022 (New York: Associated Press, 2020), 37, 161.

7. U.S. Navy Style Guide , s.v. “ship names,” accessed November 14, 2018, https://www.navy.mil/submit/navyStyleGuide.pdf .

8. U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2016), 11.6. https://www.govinfo.gov/gpo-style-manual .

9. U.S. Navy Style Guide , s.v. “ship names,” https://www.navy.mil/submit/navyStyleGuide.pdf.

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TypeRush is an online typing game where players compete in typing races against each other or against AI opponents. Challenge your friends and put your new gaming keyboard to the test in a thrilling typing race! TypeRush customizes the typing experience for each user, providing effective training to improve typing efficiency and produce error-free text. Our platform offers a plethora of engaging educational facts, while also teaching users how to type numbers and special characters with precision. With a dedicated statistics page, users can effortlessly monitor their progress, tracking their speed, accuracy, and mastering difficult keys. To make the competitive learning more exciting for the school typing club members, it is important that the rewards based on their typing skills learning progression have variety. To create variety, the player can earn boats, in-game money and different type cars as competitive rewards. Also, money as a reward between the boat and car rewards, can motivate the user to progress to the next milestone and get the next reward. Players can invite new members to a friends club through their preferred communication channels. To ensure the users can invite as many potential friends as possible to their club for typing together, we provide multiple sharing channels to invite friends (Facebook, Twitter and email).

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Yachting World

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Sailor’s essential guide to AIS: Everything you need to know

• November 21, 2019

Pip Hare argues that AIS is one of sailing’s biggest technological developments of the past decade, but what exactly is it and how can sailors use it to their advantage?

Image from the Marine Traffic website shows AIS data concentrated in busy shipping lanes

If I were to pick one development that has revolutionised my own sailing over the past 10 years it would undoubtedly be AIS. Not only has it brought an enhanced level of situational awareness to yachtsmen, but it’s also making huge advances in search and rescue applications. As much as we rely on this system it is sometimes easy to forget its limitations.

A quick recap

AIS uses VHF radio to transmit data gathered from a vessel’s GPS and other navigational sources. Message types are predefined and the number and type of messages received and transmitted depends on the class of AIS fitted.

Class A systems are fitted on all vessels over 300 gross tonnes, all commercial passenger ferries regardless of size and fishing vessels over 15m. Most leisure sailors and smaller vessels choose a Class B system, which transmits a reduced amount of information and can also be receive only.

Article continues below…

Forward-facing sonar: Everything you need to know

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Can augmented reality really give us a vision of the future of sailing?

Google’s mission statement is ‘to organise the world’s information.’ This almost impossibly ambitious declaration of intent underpins the technology giant’s…

Who can see you?

Because AIS is transmitted via VHF, its range is limited to ‘line of sight’. Transmissions can be relayed via base stations (and sometimes satellite for Class A), but topography can still be a barrier so if you are under cliffs or large obstructions it’s possible your AIS signal will be masked to vessels in relatively close proximity.

AIS is not compulsory for leisure vessels, or small fishing vessels, so never assume you have the complete picture – especially when coastal sailing. In busy areas, there’s the perennial question of whether some commercial vessels opt to filter out Class B AIS signals. Regardless of whether this is truth or myth; you should never assume you have been seen. If in any doubt take avoiding action early.

Finally, consider whether you always want to be seen. If passage making in waters where broadcasting your position may be a security risk chose a set with ‘silent mode’. In particular remember this feature when at anchor: if using a GPS alarm that’s part of an integrated system your AIS could be forgotten in the background, broadcasting your position to the world.

How we view information

I prefer viewing AIS data on a plotter when in coastal waters, allowing me to make complete navigational decisions. At sea, I’m happy with a course-up display; with no plotter to distract me I can keep my eyes out of the boat.

Don’t let your current system restrict how you view the data; systems can be adapted and linked to additional repeaters and laptops, while developments in NMEA Wi-Fi now allow AIS data to be viewed on mobile apps. If sailing short-handed or with inexperienced crew, audible alarms can also be retrofitted for peace of mind.

Limitations and useful tools

Proximity alarms.

Get into the practice of ‘trimming’ your proximity alarm to fit situations. When setting a range, consider your speed as well as the potential speed of a closing vessel, the experience level of your ‘on watch’ crew, visibility and environment. Get into the habit of checking your proximity alarm setting regularly, especially if you tend to silence it in busy waters when everyone is on deck.

Look beyond the icon

Remember that the icon you see on a screen is your plotter’s interpretation of a situation. Always interrogate the information behind an icon to understand how reliable it is.

Time of last transmission

Class A vessels transmit every 2-10 seconds depending on their speed. Class B vessels are set to a nominal rate of every 30 seconds, however it could be longer depending on speed and the amount of priority traffic in the area (Class B does not have priority transmission).

Some plotters will continue to show ‘echoes’ of vessels for a number of minutes after their last transmission, and these plots in particular can lead to a false confidence in your situation.

Course, trajectory and CPA

The closest point of approach (CPA) is calculated by your own AIS plotter interpolating each burst of information it receives. The CPA is likely to change with every new burst of information. Always back up with radar, if available, and a confirmed visual identification and relative bearing using a hand bearing compass.

In reduced visibility beware that if a Class B vessel is moving at less than 2 knots the nominal reporting rate drops to 3 minutes. This can make calculating a reliable CPA impossible. It’s also worth checking the rate of turn (ROT) data from Class A vessels: if available it can indicate if a vessel is starting to alter course before the plotter calculation.

MMSI identification

One of the most useful features of AIS, this gives a direct line of communication to another vessel and the ability to clarify you have been seen. Although COLREGS are not keen on the use of VHF for collision avoidance, I’ve found that placing a DSC call using the MMSI and opening a dialogue with the bridge of a ship really helps.

Receivers only

Not all AIS receive-only sets are equal. Some receivers are not able to receive Class B vessel name and call sign, while older sets may not be configured for MOB or SART devices.

Search and rescue AIS is now being integrated into personal MOB beacons and as an additional homing signal for EPIRBs . These applications allow any vessel equipped with AIS to join in search operations, greatly increasing the chances of rescue. When using AIS MOB devices ensure you have tested each one against your mothership’s plotter, so all crew are aware of what an MOB symbol looks like.

First published in the May 2018 edition of Yachting World.

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Ask Ken: How to Send Emails and Texts While Boating

• By Ken Englert
• Updated: January 10, 2018

Q. How can I send and receive emails or texts when I am on the boat and away from the dock?

A. One way is to maximize your Wi-Fi and cellular reach by linking your mobile device with specialized range extenders from companies such as Digital Antenna, Aigean Networks , Shakespeare, Wave WiFi and WeBoost .

You can also use satellite messengers such as the ACR 406 Link, which lets you use your ACR EPIRB or PLB to send short pre-written messages (e.g., “I’m here, I’m OK”) along with your position to family or friends.

Another satellite messenger is the Garmin InReach Explorer+ , which offers two-way texting, forwards tracking information, and can show your position on free downloadable National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration charts to recipients. Optional weather forecasts are available.

The SPOT Gen3 can deliver emails and position reports via the internet and SMS to a computer or cellphone. You can also save a track of your trip for future reference.

Each satellite device above requires an annual subscription and has an emergency SOS Mayday function.

How to Email and Text While at Sea Want ways to send and receive emails and texts while at sea? Here are products that can help.

WebWatch WC-1 ($850) by Shakespeare is a mini antenna dome (12 by 12 inches) that combines Wi-Fi and cellular signal amplifiers in one housing with cell speeds up to 4G standards. It is smart enough to automatically switch from cellular to a Wi-Fi connection when within Wi-Fi range to save on airtime costs. The WCT-1 version ($900) adds an HDTV antenna to the Wi-Fi and cell-signal boosters in one antenna housing.

Tip: Be wary of Wi-Fi-product range claims because performance can vary widely. Also, you may not always experience optimum speeds at all times. On a busy boating day, high Wi-Fi activity can slow connection speed.

A directional Wi-Fi antenna can help boost your range to a distant hotspot. You can temporarily mount a high-gain directional antenna on a rail, arch or hardtop and point it in the direction of a Wi-Fi hotspot antenna.

Safety First The most important feature of a satellite communicator is the ability to send an emergency Mayday message to summon first responders to your location. Be advised that VHF radio coverage extends out only to slightly beyond the line of sight. At times your radio signal may be blocked when you find yourself on the far side of an island or behind another physical obstacle. Satellite-based communications extend your blanket of safety worldwide.

Double Duty As most of these satellite communications devices are pocket-size and portable, they are great to take along with you when you venture beyond cellphone coverage on land. They can serve to summon assistance should you encounter an emergency when hiking, hunting, or when traveling in the country, off main highways, or in the mountains or desert where cell service is out of reach.

Worldwide Service Extras SkyMate M2500 ($995) consists of a fixed-mount transceiver module, external antenna, and keypad control that bundles global email, SMS, navigation, position reporting and weather forecasting with satellite imagery. SkyMate’s optional Sentry ($249) monitors important boat functions (e.g., bilge water level, shore power, unauthorized entry, and if your boat has been moved) and notifies you by text message when you are away from the boat.

Add Voice The Iridium Go! ($900) is a palm-size portable hotspot that lets you make a wireless connection to your smartphone, computer or tablet. In addition to email, data and text messaging, you can update weather reports, post to Facebook and Twitter, and even share photos with friends. You can also use your cellphone to make phone calls anywhere in the world by tapping into the Iridium network of communications satellites.

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What’s the Difference Between a Boat, Yacht & Ship?

Whether you are a brand new sailor or just wanting to brush up on some terms, it is essential to know what to call a particular watercraft if you’re going to fit in while you’re at the docks or out on the water. There are many nuances and subtle differences between water vessel types, but below are some of the main differences.

In general, yachts are either sailing or motor vessels used for pleasure. Yachts are often luxurious and equipped with an overnight cabin. Boats can be either propelled sail or a motor and come in varying sizes. On the other hand, ships are usually motor-powered and much larger than boats.

Some of the differences between watercraft types can be a little fuzzy, but once you grasp the main differences between them, it becomes relatively easy to tell them apart. If you have no previous knowledge of watercraft, you are likely very confused about what defines a yacht, boat, and ship, so I’ll try to clarify any confusion you might have in the next few sections.

Similarities and Differences Between Boats, Yachts, and Ships

The many bodies of water all over the world are home to an extensive collection of different watercraft. There are so many shapes and sizes that they come in that it is nearly impossible to fit every single one into a specific classification.

However, in the following table, I did my best to loosely define ships, yachts, and boats so that it is easy to see the differences between the types of watercraft.

As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to fit EVERY SINGLE water vessel into a particular category, so there are tons of exceptions out there. In addition to the exceptions, different organizations, laws, and people classify types of boats slightly differently.

There is no universally accepted definition for ships, boats, and yachts, but instead many different sets of rules and regulations. In this article, I have tried my best to use the most commonly accepted definitions for each watercraft type.

Now that we’ve gone over some of the main differences and similarities between boats, ships, and yachts, let’s take a look at each type of vessel individually and look at their most prominent characteristics and attributes.

What Exactly is a Boat?

Boats come in a vast array of sizes and shapes. To many people, the term “boat” simply refers to nearly any watercraft, but there are actually a few restrictions and defining characteristics that all boats have. So let’s just get right into it and take a quick look at what exactly qualifies a vessel as a boat.

Overall Size of Boats

As I said before, there is a massive catalog of different types of boats, and they come in a variety of sizes. There are huge boats that hold lots of cargo or people, and then there are smaller ones that barely can stay afloat with a single person on board.

Typically, boats are defined as watercraft that are less than 197 feet long. However, most boats you are likely to encounter on the water are usually around 30 feet long.

General Price Range of Boats

Again, it is hard to accurately give a price range for all boats because they come in so many different sizes, styles, and types, but most modern boats seem to fall in the $1,500 to $100,000 range. 

Small Jon boats can cost even less than $1,500, while large sailboats and houseboats can cost well above $100,000.

Most Common Uses of Boats

Boats are used all over the world for a variety of different reasons and to do many tasks. Many types of boats serve a wide range of uses, but most are primarily used as a residence, for pleasure, or commercially.

Some of the most popular types of boats, such as sailboats, bowriders, and dinghies, are commonly used for enjoyment, fishing, racing, or other pleasurable activities. There are also many types of houseboats used as residences and commercial boats used for chartering or moving goods or people. 

Propulsion Method of Boats

Due to the wide variety of boats, you are likely to find boats propelled by almost every propulsion method imaginable. Some of the more popular propulsion methods for boats to use are man-power, wind power, and motor power.

Boats on the smaller end often use the power of the people on board to row or paddle, while larger boats rely on sails or powerful motors attached to the stern. Many boats use more than one propulsion method, either together or with one of them as a backup.

What Exactly is a Yacht?

Yachts have many of the same attributes as boats, but their quality, size, and luxury really set them apart. When someone says “yacht,” many people imagine watercraft that are SUPER LARGE, and while there are lots of massive yachts, many smaller boats also qualify as yachts, which might surprise you.

Overall Size of Yachts

There are many different sized yachts, and the rules regarding how big they have to be are not very strict. In general, luxury watercraft greater than 33 feet in length are considered yachts. However, boats smaller than 33 feet are sometimes called yachts if they are exceptionally luxurious and elegant.

There is no upper limit to how large a yacht can be. Yachts longer than 100 feet are often referred to as mega yachts, and ones over 150 feet long called are super yachts.

General Price Range of Yachts

Because the very definition of a yacht requires it to be very luxurious, they often come with quite a price tag as a result. There is quite a range of different price points for yachts, ranging from $250,000 to $50,000,000 and beyond.

Most Common Uses of Yachts

Yachts, because they are so expensive to maintain and purchase, are primarily used for pleasure purposes. Day trips out on the water are typical for yachts, although they often have overnight cabins, so longer excursions are popular.

Chartered yachts are also very popular, which bridges the gap between commercial and pleasure. Although, when you are on a chartered yacht, it is usually for the sole purpose of having a great time and enjoying yourself.

Propulsion Method of Yachts

Because yachts are considered very luxurious and often so large, they are usually solely propelling using motor power. Even if a yacht is on the smaller end of the spectrum, they often only use a motor as a means of driving the craft through the water. 

However, many large sailing yachts out there use sails and the wind to propel the vessel. So while the large majority of yachts use motors, keep in mind that some large and luxurious sailboats can be considered yachts.

What Exactly is a Ship?

Throughout history, large ships have been a helpful tool for many civilizations and have allowed them to transport goods and explore places beyond their homes. In modern times, ships are quite common and are used for a variety of different reasons.

Overall Size of Ships

One of the primary characteristics of ships that set them apart from boats is their size. Ships, especially in modern times, are often MASSIVE and are restricted to navigating only extensive waterways. 

Vessels greater than or equal to 197 feet long are often considered ships. However, most ships today are huge and often fall in the 1,000-foot range or larger.

General Price Range of Ships

Most individuals will never own a ship due to their extreme maintenance and the cost of purchasing one. While many smaller ships are far less expensive, most modern ships cost anywhere between $50 and $500 million.

Large and luxurious cruise ships can even cost upwards of $1 billion to construct, and that’s not even taking into account staff, maintenance, and other costs.

Most Common Uses of Ships

Ships perform many different duties throughout the world, but usually, they are used to transport passengers or goods over long distances. In addition, they are also often used by military, scientists, fishers, and a plethora of other professions and people. They are also often used for pleasure purposes, in the form of passenger cruise ships. 

Overall, ships encompass a large selection of vessels that perform many different duties. 

Propulsion Method of Ships

Due to their large size, most modern ships are propelled using motors. However, even though ships are equipped with massive motors, they are still pretty slow and often move at around 20 knots per hour, although some move much quicker.

While most, if not all, ships today use motors to propel themselves through the water, this was not always the case. Before motors were around, many civilizations used ships for military, exploration, transportation, shipping, and many other uses. During these times, ships were powered primarily by man and wind power. Even today, you can occasionally find a sail-powered ship, though they are quite rare.

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• 7 Differences Between a Ship and a Boat

Although everyone knows the difference between a ship and a boat, there are quite a few who often get confused between the two terms. Technically, there is a thin line between them and this often leads to major confusion.

While talking about the difference between a ship and a boat, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is their sizes. Traditionally people consider a ship as a large ocean-going vessel, whereas boats are comparatively quite smaller in size.

To understand the differences between ships and boats, a number of aspects need to be taken into consideration.

Mentioned below are seven main aspects which are taken into account to differentiate between a ship and a boat.

1.  Size of Ship and Boat

The most important aspect that is considered while stating the difference between a ship and a boat is the size. It is said that the best way to differentiate between a ship and a boat is to remember that “A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship.”

  Technically speaking, 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.

2. Operational Areas

A major difference between ship and boat is that of their areas of operation. Ships are vessels that are operated in oceanic areas and high seas. They usually include cruise vessels , naval ships, tankers , container ships , RoRo ships , and offshore vessels . They are mainly built for cargo/ passenger transportation across oceans.

Boats, in contrast, are operable in smaller/ restricted water areas and include ferrying and towing vessels, sail vessels, paddle vessels, kayaks , canoe , patrolling vessels etc.  Boats are mainly used for smaller purposes and mainly ply in areas near to the coast.

 3 . Navigation and Technology

Technologically, boats are simple vessels with less complicated equipment, systems and operational maintenance requirements.  Since ships are required to be operable for longer time-duration and travel across oceans, they are manned using advanced engineering, heavy machinery, and navigational systems .

This is one of the major differences between a ship and a boat.

Ships are huge in size and therefore they are operated by professionally trained navigators and engineers . A ship requires a captain to operate the ship and guide the crew.

On the other hand, the size of the crew on a boat depends on the size of the boat. It can be one person or a full-fledged crew depending on the size and purpose of the boat.

5. Cargo Capacity

A boat is small to the mid-sized vessel, which has a much lesser cargo-carrying capability as compared to a ship.

Ships are specifically made to carry cargo or passengers or boats, whereas boat is a generic term used for a variety of watercraft.

Mainly boats are used for recreational purposes, fishing, or ferry people.

6. Construction and Design

When it comes to construction and design, ships are complicated structures having a variety of machinery systems and designing aspects for the safety and stability of the ship.

A boat is much simple in construction and build, and has lesser machines and design complexities.

7. Propulsion

A boat can be powered by sails, motor, or human force, whereas a ship has dedicated engines to propel them . (Ships can also be propelled by sails or other advanced propulsion technologies)

Even though all vessels operating in the high seas are referred to as ships, submersible vessels are categorically termed as ‘boats.’

This is mainly because of the fact that in the earlier centuries, submersible vessels could be hoisted on ships till they were required to be used in naval operations.

However, while talking about differences between a ship and a boat, vessels floating on the water surface is mainly considered.

The usage of the term ‘ship’ or ‘boat’ also depends on the region it is being used in. People from several countries often refer a medium-sized fishing vessel as a boat, or a medium-sized ferry or a recreational boat as a ship. As can be seen, people have a tendency to generalise a vessel on the basis of its size.

However, it is to note that the difference between a ship and a boat depends on a number of factors as discussed above.

You might also like to read:

• Types of Sailboats: A Comprehensive Classification
• A Guide to Different Types of Boats
• A Guide To Types of Ships
• Types of Fishing Vessels

Disclaimer:  The authors’ views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Marine Insight.  Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Marine Insight do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader.

The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight. 

About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.

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46 Comments

Please i am a National Diploma student of Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron studying nautical science, i want to know more about the course

Hi.thank its so good and sufficient

As a profesional mariner of over 25 years I would like to “weigh in” on this subject. What I will say is not about the currently accepted distinction between ship and boats, but rather historical. When ships (powered by sails) began to start losing trade to vessels powered by engines (boats) they as an industry attempted to associate these vessels with unplesant attributes like noise, soot, vibration, and in some cases slower speed. The sailoing industry (both cargo and passanger) would say that you could SAIL on a quiet, clean, calm, fast ship or go one of those dirty loud vibrating slow BOATS with an engine. The concept a ship being superior and a boat being inferior was sucessfully instituted. The engine powered vessels simply side stepped the ridicule bestowed on the term “boat” and made bigger, faster, clean, quiet vessels and took the market from the sail powered vessels along with the defination of SHIP for themselves. i wont step into the curret debate of what constitutes a boat or a ship but the origins of the debate stem from new technology (steam engines) fighting over market share.

A large freighter (1000′ x 85′, think of the Edmund Fitzgerald) hauling iron ore on the great lakes is referred to by her crew and company as a boat, never as a ship!

“Boats in contrast, are operable in smaller/ restricted water areas and include ferrying and towing vessels, sail vessels, paddle vessels, kayaks, canoe, patrolling vessels etc. Boats are mainly used for smaller purposes and mainly ply in areas near to the coast.” “Technologically, boats are simple vessels with less complicated equipment, systems and operational maintenance requirements.”

Correct me if I am wrong but, isn’t a submarine classed as a boat? That kind of contradicts what you have stated above.

comment:the any where abroad/indian officers you can any time call me on 30 year’s on merchant officers

You can put a boat on a ship but not visa versa eg life boats…

What is the difference between a boat and a ship?

1. The boat leans to the right when turning right

2. The ship leans to the left when turning right.

This is what I have been told by a old (90 Year old boat capt)

Great reply’s. some years ago while on the QE 2 a passenger asked one of the officers when does this boat dock? The young officer replied. “Madam, this is a Ship not a boat, a boat is those you get into when this ship is sinking!

Hello. May I please ask for some assistance from the forum?

I am writing a blog/journal on the differences between ships and yachts. What has prompted this conversation is the plethora of ‘superyachts’ now plying the international oceans and performing well on deep water passages.

Surely some of these can come under the category of ‘ship’, and not yacht, since many are being built on a larger scale than anything we’ve seen in past years. My understanding of the determination of a ‘ship’ is : Length, Tonnage, Draft and Displacement.

I have read your forum discussion regarding use, but I am still unclear as to where the line is drawn for this category. Many of the ‘superyachts’ carry cars, helicopters, pools, and require very advanced equipment, captain and crew. Perhaps we will soon see this as a real conversation in the industry.

Appreciatively, Rosanne Allen-Hewlett For ‘The LUXE Report’ ( Sailor, racer of only boats and yachts )

I was told that the difference between a ship and a boat is that a ship has a funnel and a boat doesn’t, no matter it’s size….

David Musselwhwite’s comment is the best way to determine a boat of a ship. This holds true for submarines (boats). If it leans into the turn, it is a boat. If it leans out on a turn, it is a ship.

In response to comments about the Edmund Fitzgerald, when you spend your life on one you can call it whatever you want. I am sure they all knew it was a ship, I served 20 years in the Navy and always said I was heading back to the boat even though I knew it was a ship.

While in Boot camp in 1964, US Coast Guard, we were told that a ship is 95 feet or longer and a boat is 94 feet and under. That makes it pretty simple.

With over 30 years in the marine industry including working at sea, ship building and ship repair, I would offer my comments.

Yes all above is true. My understanding is that the bottom line is ” a Ship carries boats ie Lifeboats”. If it doesn’t have a proper lifeboat, it is not a ship.

The best a boat has is dinghies or liferafts etc. Consequently a submarine does NOT carry life boats. There are many broader requirements Size and the ability to navigate very heavy seas, such as those whipped up by a tropical Revolving storm (TRS). It must be designed to travel in the open sea in all weather conditions and have lifeboats that can do the same. They carry cargo or passengers and have a substantial crew to operate it including engineers.

As far as the Edmund Fitzgerald is concerned, these vessels are an enigma. They were large and qualify in most areas, but – was it capable of going to sea and did it have sea-going lifeboats? Ironically it suffered probably as bad a storm as it would have done at sea. The problem is that in fresh water the waters are more treacherous than salt water as they rise up far more quickly.

But then again it sank meaning that it couldn’t handle it. Yes it was a large vessel but was it a Ship – ?

What is difference among?

Marine Boat Marine Ship Marine Craft Ship Boat

What is difference between Marina and Marine?

Being the son of a WW II submariner. My dad cruised the Atlantic of the east coast of US and in many conversations about the war he always called his boat a boat never a ship.Thats it!!

The simplest and most accurate definition I stay with is that a ship can carry a boat but a boat cannot carry a ship . SIZE MATTERS !

Captain chalga: try to form a coherent sentence.

I asked a friend of mine, “What is the difference between a boat and a ship?” He said, “About 100 feet . . .”

Thank you for the information. My husband won this discussion. God Bless all who are bravely floating on/in one. I am terrified of the ocean or even a small lake. You have my utmost respect for your sacrifice. I love seafood but would never know the pleasure of eating it without you brave souls. Thank you.

As a proud Submariner I have to disagree and will always say that I serve on a boat.

There is the Boat of Millions of years,which is a very advanced spacecraft able to.travel the millions of light years betwen Galaxies.

And you have vessels such as the Motor Vessel Arlene out of Port Arthur.

I was once told that a ship had multiple decks and a boat had only one.

When I queried sailing yachts that had berths under part of the deck, it was modified to the deck on a yacht is as much structural as deck, but if a vessel has 2 or more non structural “floors” it is a ship.

Then I mentioned tug boats and fishing boats and it all got confused.

It’s a bit like the difference between horse and pony. Despite every one saying it’s size, the falabella is a horse and polo ponies are ponies.

A naval architect (constructors) view is that to be a ‘ship’ a vessel must have at least one continuous internal deck running the length of the vessel. Large Submarines may have complete decks forward however, going aft, it is normal to have to descend a ladder onto a lower ‘engine room’ deck-level or platform. Some large freighters have a similar construction with internal split deck levels and that is why they are correctly known as boats, although in some cases the term ‘ship’ feels more appropriate because of their large displacement. The argument regarding leaning into or out of a turn is an interesting idea, however this may have more to do with hull and propulsion characteristics than vessel construction. In reality, as with most nautical expressions, whatever feels best to use is probably best and relying on the opinion of a sailor, with regards to an explanation of nautical expressions, puts you at the mercy of a sharp sense of humour.

It might be worth mentioning that some might refer to a ship as “boat” as a diminutive term of endearment, similar to the personification of a car or a pet by assigning the human pronouns to them.

I was once told a SHIP sails the oceans, a BOAT sails on rivers and lakes.

IT SEEMS WE HAVE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE SEA MEN IN THE HOUSE . BUT I AGREE TOTALLY WITH JEREMY MEYER

It’s always been my info is that a boat can be up to 197’ whereas a ship is over that length. As with anything, I’m sure there are exceptions.

some of the people got it spot on. Tilt away from direction of turn = ship. Tilt towards the direction of turn = boat.

There are two points on every vessel. Center of buoyancy and center of gravity. A ship’s center of gravity is above its center of buoyancy. A boat’s center of gravity is below its center of gravity.

Anyone can answer me why we only know the bareboat charter for any size of the ship? It never mentions bareship charter?

“some of the people got it spot on. Tilt away from direction of turn = ship. Tilt towards the direction of turn = boat. There are two points on every vessel. Center of buoyancy and center of gravity. A ship’s center of gravity is above its center of buoyancy. A boat’s center of gravity is below its center of gravity.”

Except a kayak (or canoe) is like a ship – cg is above cb. If you get a ruddered kayak up to speed and hit the rudder hard it will heel outward like a ship. Since the paddler can easily influence heel, if you want to make a hard turn you heel the ‘boat” outward (to lessen the ends in the water) and sweep stroke on the outward side to spin the “boat”. Is a kayak then a “ship”? Hardly. This is exactly the problem with trying to make one pithy statement to define a ship or boat. It is far more complex than that.

I completely agree with you that the difference between a ship and a boat is the size. One of my friends have a boat, she bought it from Boat Lagoon Yachting. Thanks for sharing!

If you can haul it on the back of truck (even trailered), it’s likely a boat…but if the anchor weighs in like a truck it’s definitely a ship. Obviously, some subs are one or the other regardless of whether you can stuff a (non-inflatable) life boat inside. [Army logic from qualified ex-boat commander, combat support boats, bridge section, Corps of Engineers.]

I grew up near the Welland Canal, and it’s true: vessels which plied the Great Lakes were called “lake boats”, or more commonly, “Lakers”. Oceangoing vessels a were always and reflexively called “ships”..

I am wondering if the naval architect”s comment about internal decks makes the difference, as even a non-engineer can see that a deck extending stem to stern would provide more stability to a vessel’s structure.

The lake boats are always longer than the ocean-going ships, so it’s not size.And we occasionally get a visit from “tall ships”, which are oceangoing sailing vessels, but relatively short.

That’s really informative post. I appreciate your skills, Thanks for sharing.

I will take a shot at this. The word marine is redundant before ship and boat. The word “marine” relates to the sea and one of the conditions of being a ship is that it is ocean going. This does leave the possibility of not being a river boat but a marine boat. I would use the expression sea-going boat.

Marine craft is a useful expression when there is a need to make it cleat that you are not referring an aircraft, space craft etc.

On a general note there are no absolute rules or definition. All we can do is give examples of how the words are used. Companies, governments, navies and anyone else are free to make gheir own definitions but nobody else is bound by them.

I served on the U.S.S. CG-19 ‘THE DZLE & U.S.S. CV-63 KITTY HAWK FOR THE US NAVY in the 80’s. So what about the placement of the helm being center of Bridge on a ship & on starboard side usually on a boat?

With many years of sailing lakes to blue water sailing and large power yachts I can offer this for abot of levity. Afterall,the SeaView had the ‘Flying Sub” flown or driven undersea,on the surface and flown by Captain,Admirals and sadly Polititians and insane quasi research criminals. The Flying Sub also had an inflatable Zodiac,so both could be considered Life saving vessels. Plus,it was really cool!

Can be as difficult as we want. My training was as a NCO (enlisted man in the USN. As others have stated, A ship will lean away from its turn. A boat will lean into the turn. This is naturally due to there the center line of gravity is located. Cargo ships mass above that line. A boat can be loaded onto a ship (lifeboats). Regarding Submarines, they are affectionately referee to , by the crew, as boats and that goes back to WWI /II, the ELB. Electric Boat Div of General Dynamics, located Groton Connecticut .

This design is wicked! You obviously know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

More importantly… are they all “She’s” ?

I’ve been wondering about this since I was younger and saw The Hunt for Red October. The COB (Chief of the Boat) was an interesting character, and I wondered by a Sub Chief was called Chief of the Boat, if a sub was a naval ship. Some very interesting and fascinating answers in here! I like the one about how a ship turns, leaning into it or not. That makes sense to me. As for the tiny kayak/canoe exceptions to this, I’d guess that if a human weighs more than the ‘vessel’ and can manipulate it’s attributes of buoyancy or center of gravity whichever, with their own body, then it doesn’t really count as either a boat or a ship. It really has no deck, nor propulsion other than human muscle, no anchor, etc. I don’t see it as much more than a modern design for what used to be termed a ‘raft.’ But I am just spit-balling here, don’t blast me! lol

That’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills. Thanks for sharing.

All the information that you shared with us is very useful for us. Thank you for sharing with us.

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Boat Text Art

Welcome to the textart.sh collection of boat text art! You can copy and paste these art pieces using the buttons below each piece.

Don't forget to click the spaces→underscores button to fill the white space with underscore characters so that when you paste it somewhere, it doesn't collapse all the spaces.

Note that this technically isn't boat ASCII art, since it uses general Unicode characters other than the simple ASCII ones, but people tend to use the terms "ASCII art" and "text art" interchangably.

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Greek Island Hopping | Greece Travel Ideas | Bicycle Touring

200 Boat Instagram Captions And Quotes About Boats

This collection of boat captions for Instagram along with selected quotes will really… float your boat!

Best Boat Quotes and Boating Captions

If you're looking for captions for boat pictures, or want quotes with a nautical theme, look no further!

We've put together a huge selection of the best, most inspirational and funny boat quotes from around the world, perfect for sharing on Instagram.

Feel free to use these captions and boat quotes for Instagram – but there's no pier pressure. Just engage cruise mode and enjoy!

I like big boats and I cannot lie

Life is better on the water

Do not put each foot in a different boat

Making waves

I want to sail away into forever

Never enough vitamin sea puns to last me through the summer

Related: Summer Instagram Captions

You can’t buy happiness. But you can buy a boat and that’s pretty much the same thing

Forever in need of some vitamin sea

Staying hydrated by always being on the sea

Favored toys, such as a stuffed animal

I’m sorry, but this boat is knot for sail

Related: Best Nature Quotes

Good vibes happen on the tides

Having a really good time with my besties

Related: Sea Quotes

Instagram Captions About Boat Captions

Here's some more clever boat picture captions you might want to use:

Born to be nautical

I'm shipfaced

Back that raft up

Find your flow, and row, row, row

Sailing with the Big Buoys

Decided to let my dreams set sail

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness clearly hasn’t been on a cruise

Home is where the anchor drops

I’m sorry for what I said while docking the boat

Always yachts of fun with this crew

Our life is like a boat that can float. Row and Go! Some Blink and Sink!!

Worry less, paddle more

Let your dreams set sail

Related: Summer Vacation Quotes

Boat Captions For Instagram

These captions for boat people are great to use with your social updates!

Feeling a bit nautical

Raising the sails

Batten down the hatches!

Ship shape and Bristol fashion

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor

All hands on deck!

Thar she blows!

Weekend plans

Life is better on the boat

Be an anchor in a world of waves

Happy as a clam

Getting salty

My happy place

Living life one cruise at a time

Seas the day

Boat hair, don’t care

A rising tide lifts all boats

Related: Short Outdoor Quotes

More Captions For Boat Photos

Here's some more clever boat captions to keep you going through high and low tides.

Paradise found

You call it a jet ski. I call it a boater-cycle

Keeping it reel

Friends don’t let friends cruise alone

Thanks for making sure we don’t sink

You keep me from getting lost at sea

Partying like a lob-star

A great voyage is a journey that never ends

My milkshake brings all the buoys to the yard

Cruise calories don’t count

Great Boat Phrases To Use With Your Photos

Here's some more good boat captions and puns!

Buoys and their toys

Gone fishin’

Oh buoy, we’re not ready for summer to be over, yet

A boatload of fun!

Some would say that I’m an aqua holic

I love you a yacht

I’m lost at sea don’t bother me

Having yachts of fun with you

Giving in to the peer pressure

This summer will knot be too bad if it means I can spend all of my time on the water

Let’s get naughty

Where there’s a wave, there’s away

I’m walking on sunshine, and don’t it feel good Katrina & The Waves, Walking On Sunshine

Boat Puns And Sayings

These funny boat captions will look great with your epic photos of ships and the sea!

Felt cute. Might go seas the day.

Things are going quite swell

Remember when you were my boat, and I was your sea?

Cruising stole my heart

Feelin’ pretty peachy

Whatever floats your boat

You can’t be crabby when you’re on a boat

Some grow roots, but I put down anchors far into the sea

You, me, and the sea

Until further notice, assume that summer isn’t oh-fish-ially over

Related: Good Morning Captions

Instagram Boat Updates You Can Use

Water you waiting for?

The water you looking at?

I got 99 problems, but the beach ain't one

Not salty about this situation

Escaping all that ordinary that’s back on shore

Thermometer and other health needs

Literally sailing into the sunset

Sunsets are always better on a cruise

You’re a catch

It’s going to be a long time with no sea

Related: Beach Captions For Instagram

Captions To Use With Boat Picture Updates

The tans will fade, but the memories will last forever

Let the sea set you free

Take time to coast

Summertime spritz on the sea

Messy buns and boat days

Sunshine on my mind

Breathe in the salty air

Hooked on that summer feeling

Ahoy, matey

Long weekends and living the boat life

Fantastic Boat Captions and Instagram Text

This weekend was knot too bad

Mermaid to be in the sea

Let’s just cruise and see where the waves go

Diaper rash cream (travel size)

Cruising does the soul good

Shopping is fun and all, but this is my favorite kind of sail

Ocean air, salty hair

The water may be salt, but this is the sweetest life

Summer is never oh-fish-ially over

Related: Ocean Instagram Captions

Boat Caption Collection

It’s about time we all made it out on the water

Floating into the weekend with my rose close by

There’s nothing quite like the sound of your sails flapping in the wind and the waves underneath you

The ocean is everything I want to be beautiful, mysterious, wild, and free

Yachts of fun

Just a fish out of water

Let’s sail away into forever

I don’t need therapy, I just need my boat

Love you a yacht

A bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work

Best Boat Quotes

If there is no more after one more. Then you are on a boat with no oar, offshore.

– Zulqar

If the water is calm, the boat is also calm! If your thoughts are calm, your life is also calm!

– Mehmet Murat ildan

I live for taking the sea

– Nic Route

Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.

– Kenichi Ohmae

Every boat needs a captain. Even when it’s empty.

– Giovannie de Sadeleer

I thought instead of a good rule for survival on Wall Street: Never agree to anything proposed on someone else’s boat or you’ll regret it the morning.

– Michael Lewis

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Boat Life Quotes

If you are the only one who’s rowing in the boat, you have no right to complain about which way you are heading!

Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be.

– Christopher Cross

Peace is not found in a calmer storm, It’s found in a better boat.

– Travis Meadows

When the water is calm, take as much distance as possible with your boat!

A boat is nothing without water and a man without his dreams!

For the ocean is big and my boat is small. Find the courage.

– Alanis Morissette

A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.

– John Augustus Shedd

We must row in whatever boat we find ourselves in.

– Christie Watson

Quotes About Boats

If you are a boat that wants to sail in windy weather, you must be more stubborn than the waves!

Never mind who owns the boat. Pull for the shore.

– Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me. And no one knows, how far it goes.

– Moana

Shells sink, dreams float. Life’s good on our boat.

– Jimmy Buffett, Delaney Talks To Statues

The ocean has always been a salve to my soul…the best thing for a cut or abrasion was to go swimming in saltwater. Later down the road of life, I made the discovery that salt water was also good for the mental abrasions one inevitably acquires on land.

– Jimmy Buffett

Baby, let’s cruise away from here

– Smokey Robinson

Perfect Boat Captions

Shells sink, dreams float, life’s good on our boat.

– Jimmy Buffet

Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water under the boat is its support.

– Rumi

When you get on the boat that’s saving you, don’t pull up the ladder behind you.

– Adrienne Clarkson

What’s around the river bend. Waiting just around the river bend

– Pocahontas

Related: River captions and quotes

Boat is nothing without water and man without his dreams!

If you can’t repair it, maybe it shouldn’t be on board.

– Lin and Larry Pardey

Yer advice is always as welcome as water in a boat.

– Jo Noelle

A boat without a captain cannot remain long on the surface!

Quotes to do with Boats

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me. One day I’ll know, if I go there’s just no telling how far I’ll go.

In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.

– Ernest Hemingway

Related: Lake Captions

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

– Mark Twain

I’m on a boat. Everybody look at me, ’cause I’m sailing on a boat.

– The Lonely Island, I’m On A Boat

What’s around the river bend. Waiting just around the river bend.

We are imprisoned in the realm of life, like a sailor on his tiny boat, on an infinite ocean.

– Anna Freud

I’m walking on sunshine, and don’t it feel good.

– Katrina & The Waves

Come sail away with me

– Styx

Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.

– Brooks Atkinson

It’s out there at sea that you are really yourself.

– Vito Dumas

Always take the sea

Just as a boat in the sea may face calm as well as turbulent waters, in the same way, we all face calm as well as difficult situations in life.

– Avijeet Das

It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.

– Sir Francis Drake

Smell the sea, and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.

– Van Morrison

The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.

The sea finds out everything you did wrong.

– Francis Stokes

I grew to judge every purchase by how many bronze screws I could buy for the boat if I didn’t spend on this or made do without that.

– Lin Pardey

Poetry isn’t an island, it is the bridge. and Poetry isn’t a ship, it is the lifeboat and isn’t swimming. Poetry is water.

– Kamand Kojouri

The boat is safer anchored at the port, but that’s not the aim of boats.

– Paulo Coelho

The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.

– Dom Degnon

You can bail water 24/7, and no matter how good you are at not sinking, you still have a hole in your boat.

– Kelli Jae Baeli

I’m on a beat everybody look at me, ’cause I’m sailing on a boat

– The Lonely Island

See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me and no one knows, how far it goes

– How Far I’ll Go from Moana

Under the sea

– The Little Mermaid

I’ve always wanted to sail around the world in a handmade boat, and I built a boat.

– Will Ferrell

Boating Captions and Quotes

Boating is a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors, while also getting some exercise. What's more, boats can provide a fun mode of transportation for exploring new waterways and sailing to far-off destinations.

Whether you're an experienced boater or just getting started, we hope that these funny boat captions will help you share your love of boats with the world. Thanks for reading and happy boating!

More Captions and Quotes

If you liked these best boat captions, you might also want to check out these other quotes and captions collections:

• Santorini Instagram Captions
• Island Instagram Captions
• Travel Captions for Instagram
• 150 + Sun Captions For Instagram To Brighten Up Your Day!
• More Than 200 Awesome Weekend Captions For Instagram!  
• Over 100 Barcelona Instagram Captions and Quotes
• 150 Texas Instagram Captions For Your Lone Star State Photos
• Funny Travelling Quotes

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Marine satellite communication: options for recreational sailors

• Sam Fortescue
• November 14, 2022

Faster, cheaper marine satellite communication is coming to an ocean near you. Sam Fortescue investigations the options for recreational sailors

Rapid internet connectivity which doesn't cost the earth is becoming more of a reality for sailors. Credit: Tor Johnson Credit: Tor Johnson

Marine satellite communication is becoming faster and cheaper thanks to a connectivity revolution which has the potential to bring rapid internet to every spot on the planet, including the high seas.

In fact, banking giant Morgan Stanley estimates that the satellite internet market will mushroom to $412bn by 2040, as rivals such as Inmarsat, SpaceX, OneWeb and Iridium tussle for market share.

Thousands of new satellites, sleek new user terminals (antennae to you and me), and significantly keener prices will accompany this transformation.

At the same time, a new battery of low-bandwidth marine satellite communication services are coming on stream.

Marine satellite communication: Inmarsat’s Sailor satellite antenna is often popular with offshore sailors wanted a stable data connection

They won’t allow you to fire off an email, or even to call home, but they make simple, reliable tracking and system monitoring a cheap reality.

You can send a brief SMS, update your position on a map and allow manufacturers and boatbuilders to diagnose problems before they emerge.

This is all in addition to the slew of devices available for tracking, messaging and sending an SOS already available from a slew of manufacturers, such as the ACR Bivy Stick, Globalstar’s Spot range and Garmin’s InReach.

Marine satellite communication: A question of data

Many offshore sailors will be familiar with the vagaries of using a basic satellite phone on board.

There’s the anxious wait as the modem establishes a data connection and the breath-holding as the tablet downloads GRIB files and emails at sub-dialup speeds.

The airtime plan is like something from the 1980s cellular world, with separate data plans or calltime, all carefully set up to ensure it works.

With a bigger budget it is possible to install a bigger antenna capable of faster data transfer. But costs can quickly spiral into the hundreds or even thousands of US dollars per month.

Iridium GMDSS sat phones are intended for commercial use. Credit: GMDSS

All that is changing, however, as global players like Inmarsat invest heavily in new satellite constellations and new entrants such as Starlink roll out their services.

New services and cheaper terminals are already encouraging more offshore sailors to invest in marine satellite communication, according to Iridium.

‘Fifteen years ago there was no way most people could afford to have satellite comms on board,’ says maritime director Dan Rooney. ‘But consumers are seeing that the equipment size, performance and price are accessible. We’ve expanded significantly into broadband services. We anticipate a very large growth in leisure for mid-band – in the small, white boat market.’

Iridium recently completed the successful launch of 66 new LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites to boost its data services from pole to pole.

It is the backbone behind its new Certus service, which offers speeds from 22kbps (Certus 20) up to 704kbps (Certus 700).

Immarsat satellite orbit control room at head office in London. Credit: Duncan Soar

The most popular for the sailing market is proving to be the Certus 100, which you can buy from MailASail for £2,499+VAT.

It has a small solid-state antenna for rail-mounting and a slim black box modem that goes below decks.

Power consumption is minimal and airtime is efficiently priced, from $97 (£84) per month for 10MB of data.

Market veteran Inmarsat is also busy investing in LEO capability, with plans to launch some 180 satellites in the coming years. It has also launched the first of two new I-6 geostationary satellites, aimed at doubling network capacity under the codename Elera.

This can offer speeds up to 1.6Mbps, but is geared at enabling small packets of data to support the Internet of Things.

Inmarsat’s FleetOne satellite domes are still the preserve of superyachts with big budgets

There are key benefits for sailors.

‘Elera will bring smaller terminals, lower power consumption but on the same basis of global connectivity and flexible price plans, because we know there are seasonal requirements and voyage-based requirements,’ says senior VP Peter Broadhurst. ‘That will lower the cost and open up lots of possibilities for the leisure sector.’

Installing Elera requires just a solid-state antenna the size of an epirb, then a small black box below deck.

Where the current FleetOne system costs around $3,500, Elera should ‘cut that in half’, according to Broadhurst. After that, you’ll pay according to the data you use.

At present, $119/month buys you 10 minutes of calls and 15MB of data.

Making marine satellite communication cheaper

Rather than obsessing about the cost of airtime, you should focus on using it efficiently, according to offshore comms specialist Ed Wildgoose of MailASail.

‘Compression software will give you perhaps a 2-5 times cost saving, correct firewalling can give you a 5-20 times cost saving, and just being shown how to use the equipment correctly and optimally is often a 2-5 times cost saving. All of those stack on top of each other and add up.’

He gives the example of a Las Palmas customer who was used to paying around $8 to send one email over satellite using the laptop.

‘I reconfigured things to use our compression software, firewalling etc, and resent a bunch of larger emails, then checked the cost. It was 10 cents or so.’

MailASail’s Red Box Pro Ultra router streamlines your satellite data usage

Wildgoose has built his own device to achieve all these things, combining satellite with marina WiFi reception and super-fast 4G+. It’s called the RedBox, and has just been given a massive technical upgrade.

But neither Rooney at Iridium, nor Wildgoose at MailASail believe that we’re going to achieve terrestrial-grade communications for boats via satellite.

‘To me, when you go sailing, you do so to get away from it all, not to take it all with you,’ says Rooney. ‘You want a bit of social media, a bit of telemetry, then safety stuff such to keep yourself secure.’

There are also insurmountable technical limitations, he adds. ‘Latency is higher and bandwidth is limited, so the overall experience of broadband by satellite is very, very different. That shapes a user’s behaviour to only put over the air what needs to go. You wouldn’t stream Netflix, for example.’

Marine satellite communication: Inmarsat’s FleetOne satellite domes offer large amounts of data at high speeds. Credit: Stuart Pearce

Well, you and I might not, but a guest on a superyacht certainly would. Just not with Iridium’s satellite constellation.

For the fastest connection, you need to connect to Inmarsat’s Ka-band satellites. Here there are packages that give you speeds up to 150Mbps – at a price to match.

So-called V-Sat terminals are huge and power hungry, but can basically focus a satellite’s entire beam on a given vessel to zap huge amounts of data back and forth.

This is the stuff of oligarchs, however. Most of us operate at the other end of the spectrum.

And at the narrow end of the pipeline, bandwidth is measured in simple bits – no hint of a ‘mega’ prefix. It’s not enough to send voicemail, but it works for SMS and, crucially, for tracking and the internet.

Continues below…

Predictwind Iridium GO! tested at sea – review

Andy Pag puts Predictwind’s IridiumGO! through its paces on an Atlantic crossing to test how good the satellite modem really…

Internet at sea: The future of getting online

Mark Hawkins explores the options for guaranteed internet at sea and the new technologies for bluewater sailors

Tested: Spot X Bluetooth Satellite tracking & messaging

The Spot X Bluetooth promises cheaper two-way satellite communication. We test the satellite tracking and messaging device to see if…

Tested: Vesper Cortex VHF radio, AIS and remote monitoring

Promising to revolutionise how sailors communicate on board, the Vesper Cortex integrates VHF radio, Class B AIS, remote vessel monitoring…

Sweating the small stuff

This is the domain of operators such as the UK Lacuna and US-based Swarm –now snapped up by SpaceX. Lacuna uses an emerging low-bandwidth protocol called LoRaWAN – Long-Range Wide Area Network.

Its effectiveness has already been demonstrated for remote boat monitoring, where it is used by Germany’s BoatOfficer and New Zealand’s BoatSecure with a range of up to 50km from a land-based router.

But there’s no limit in space, and a LoRaWAN signal has already been bounced off the moon successfully. Lacuna’s satellites orbit at 500km altitude.

There are six in place, with funding to increase that to 30, with distant plans for 240. That means that there is not always a satellite in view.

OneWeb has launched 648 satellites to date

‘You have to wait for the satellite to be overhead, so it’s not really suited to time-critical situations,’ says chief commercial officer Jon Pearce. ‘But if you had a bilge pump that failed and your boat was filling up, it would alert you.’

The kit needed to receive and transmit using Lacuna costs a fraction of the higher bandwidth services. You just need a Lorawan sensor costing £200 and a subscription.

Running costs depend on how many 50-byte transmissions you want to send.

The voice and SMS services from Globalstar are a step up the bandwidth ladder. Coverage here is not global, although the sailors in the Mediterranean and Atlantic shouldn’t have connection issues.

The Indian Ocean, Pacific and high latitudes are another matter. Thuraya really only covers the Med plus a few hundred miles off the European and Asian coasts.

Stuff of dreams

The sharp end of the business is in what’s known as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which race around the planet between 550km and 1,500km up.

This is where OneWeb, Starlink and China’s GalaxySpace are investing in constellations of tens of thousands of small satellites.

Their job will be to beam blanket internet access down to the planet below. Elon Musk’s baby, Starlink, is the perhaps most talked about.

According to OneWeb, all of its satellites will deliver an impressive 7.2Gbps

His launch company SpaceX has already delivered some 1,350 shoe-box sized satellites into low-earth orbit and he has plans for a further 3,000 by 2024.

In the end, Starlink hopes to launch an astonishing 42,000 satellites for total saturation. Download speeds of up to 110Mbps are already possible in some areas.

GalaxySpace aims to provide 5G download speeds by satellite – up to 500Mbps. And OneWeb, which is part-owned by the British government, has managed 400Mbps in tests.

This would be a gamechanger if it were possible to roll out more widely. You could run a business empire from the high seas if you wanted, stream movies, have Zoom-call lessons for the kids and still have plenty of bandwidth left over. Whether you’d manage to fit in any sailing is another matter.

Beaming super speed internet across the Earth’s surface is all well and good, but users will need to be able to receive the signal.

With existing satellite systems, that requires either a small stubby antenna for low bandwidth signals or large domes mounted aft on a pole or on the spreaders.  The latter are often known as ‘eggs’.

Marine satellite communication: Garmin’s InReach devices include weather information that can be used for routing ocean passages. Credit: Tor Johnson

OneWeb has put thought into the marine sector. Its marinised parabolic antennas measure 69cm in diameter and weigh 22kg, encased in a plastic dome.

This is identical to the Fleet Broadband 500 antenna built for Inmarsat users.

The difference is in the capabilities. ‘OneWeb’s LEO network will have a total usable capacity of more than 1.1Tbps,’ says Ben Griffith, VP Mobility at OneWeb. ‘Each of our 648 satellites will deliver an incredible 7.2 Gbps – delivering hundreds of Mbps.’

Good if it works out. After 13 launches, OneWeb has put 428 of its planned array of 648 satellites into orbit, but coverage is currently limited to north of the 50th parallel. We won’t know what is on offer to sailors until full coverage rolls out late this year and next.

There is no pricing information yet, making it hard to assess whether it is viable for leisure sailors.

Using a satellite phone for voice calls while on passage can be invaluable for things like seeking medical attention. Credit: Tor Johnson

Starlink has invested more money into launches and has a ‘beta’ service operating onshore already.

Its dish and black box router will set you back £529, with a further £89/month for unlimited downloads – expensive for terrestrial but unheard of for marine.

It is thought that the costs of building the kit are about twice that, meaning that Starlink loses money on every order at the moment.

Expect the front-end prices to increase in the future as the system gains traction.

GRIB files are a data-efficient way of receiving detailed forecasts and are viewed via dedicated apps

The problem with StarLink is that its dishes are motorised and heated in order to keep snow and ice at bay and is therefore totally unsuitable for use on small boats in a corrosive marine environment.

The company did not respond to enquiries about a marinised user terminal, suggesting a longer wait for sailors.

GalaxySpace is Chinese state-owned and therefore remains something of an enigma for the time being.

So what does all this mean if you’re cruising off-piste? Well, you still need to sit down and work out what you actually want to do with your marine satellite connection.

Where on the spectrum between big data and the bare minimum do you sit? Smaller, cheaper terminals with a more robust connection promise to improve the experience of using satellite communications.

The running costs should also come down thanks to stronger competition in the middle ground, which is where most boat owners are likely to sit.

And if Musk et al’s ambitious plans bear fruit then there is the prospect of a huge step up in performance for a fraction of the current cost. Watch this space!

What is latency?

In a nutshell, latency is the delay on the line when sending a radio signal – whether voice or data.

In satellite comms, it is mostly due to the large distances the signal must travel to reach a distant satellite and bounce back down to a terrestrial base station.

It is a particular problem with voice calls (or videoconferencing), where a long wait for audio to reach you can paralyse a conversation.

Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites might have a latency of 40 milliseconds (ms) – barely noticeable.

Mid-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites are up to 12,000km from Earth, entailing a latency of up to 24ms.

The furthest out are geostationary satellites – at around 35,000km – where delays for a round-trip signal can reach 800ms.

Sometimes, signals are routed via multiple LEO satellites, increasing the delay. Routers, switches and other hardware can also add latency.

What are MBPS?

Speed, in a word. While file sizes are measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB), transfer speeds are measured in bits per second.

Eight bits (b) contain enough to form a single letter, like ‘g’ and make up one byte (B). 1,024 bytes make up 1KB, and 1MB is 1,024KB (or 1,048,576 bytes) – enough data for a medium-sized novel.

So a connection rated at 8 megabits per second (8 Mbps) can transfer 1 megabyte (1MB) per second.

The question is, how fast do you need your satellite connection to be?

The answer depends entirely on what you need it for.

Marine satellite communication: Globalstar’s Spot X offers entry-level sat comms

If you just require emergency calls and the occasional reassuring SMS message, then you can make do with a relatively narrow ‘pipe’ – as low as 2.4Kbps, depending on call quality and the equipment you’re using.

You won’t see this number, though, because you will be buying bundles of minutes and texts.

For sending and receiving simple emails, it is slow work on these voice data rates.

The average email is around 59KB in size, so you’d want something faster – such as the new Certus 20 from Iridium, which offers 22Kbps. Photos and web browsing consume much more data.

A photo can easily amount to 1MB, and websites are often image heavy too, for which you will need a data connection of some 100Kbps or higher.

Video calls need at least 350Kbps – ideally much more.

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How to Text on a Cruise Ship for Free (Apps, Tips and Hacks)

A vacation would be the perfect time to put your mobile on DND and just forget the world while you relax and enjoy. But while that might be the dream for most of us, the urge to reply to that pending message might be too much to bear. However when you’re on a cruise several hundreds of miles out on the sea, how exactly can you send a message?

As you might already know, standard cell service might be unavailable on a cruise ship. But even then, there are ways for you to still send that text message and communicate with your loved ones, co-workers, and friends on land. That said, here’s what you need to know on how to text on a cruise ship for free.

Can You Text on a Cruise Ship?

The short answer is yes - you can text on a cruise ship. But there are a few other things to keep in mind than just that. If you’re relying on a standard cell site, you can probably get reception up to 45 miles out on the water. Once you breach that distance though, expect your signal to die out.

Fortunately, modern-day cruise ships have already considered that. So they have a bunch of options on board to help you stay connected with your family, friends, and whoever else you might need to contact while you’re sailing away on vacation.

How Does Mobile Signal Work at Sea?

If you’re too far out at sea, it’s not likely that your phone will be able to get reception from on-land cell towers. So instead, you can hook up to your cruise ship’s available network. Of course, most ships offer unlimited WiFi services or their cellular services. But don’t expect that stuff to come free.

Most cruise ships will not toss in free WiFi connectivity. They offer daily rates at an average of $14.99 a day, or a discounted weekly rate depending on how long your cruise ship is going to last. Keep in mind though that these rates change depending on what websites and online services you want to access.

For instance, cruise ship guests who want more than the social network plan can get access to news, sports, and email services by paying more. This can cost up to $24.99 a day, which definitely isn’t cheap.

How to Text on a Cruise Ship for Free or For Less

So maybe you forgot to tell your boss about that project update he expected right before you left for vacation. Or maybe you want to contact your dog sitter to ask how old Fido is coping with your absence. There are ways you can text for free on a cruise ship especially if you’re not keen on paying exorbitant fees for cruise connectivity.

1. Check with Your Carrier

What most people don’t realize is that their mobile network carrier might actually offer international coverage. To find out whether yours does, you can visit their website or give them a call. Ask about rates - carriers that offer international coverage typically charge less than maritime networks.

Keep in mind though that international coverage is different from roaming. When your mobile phone enters roaming mode, it simply means that your carrier has connected to a maritime network to continue to provide you services and connection.

This can cost way more than your average mobile charges. So see to it that you ask whether or not your carrier can provide signal out where you’re going, or if your phone would automatically connect to an at-sea provider.

2. Connect to a Local Hotspot on Land

Your cruise is going to make a bunch of stops during the trip, so you should be able to find a WiFi network you can connect to while you’re on dry land. Visit a local coffee shop or a restaurant, and they should be able to provide you WiFi connectivity for free as long as you order something off of their menu.

Local malls and leisure spots also offer WiFi connectivity that you can hook up to at no extra charge. Don’t be afraid to ask around to find out where you can find a suitable connection. Sometimes, establishments won’t really advertise their WiFi, so it helps to ask the locals.

3. Install an Offline Messaging App

You’d be surprised how many services offer free offline messaging through your mobile phone. Apps like Firechat, Bridgefy , Hike, and Signal Offline Messenger let you send text messages for free without WiFi or cellular data required. Keep in mind though that some of these apps might lose their ability to send messages especially when you’re too far out at sea.

Some services like Ship Mate are typically advertised across the web for people hoping to text on a cruise for free. And while it might offer a wealth of resources to improve your cruise experience, its messaging feature only works when you’ve got WiFi connectivity.

If you’re texting someone who’s on board, you can connect to your cruise’s line. This service lets you contact other guests on board at no added charge.

4. Try Going Prepaid

If your cruise is going to take a couple of weeks and you need constant connection via text, you can try a prepaid plan. These plans are much cheaper than the typical post-paid, letting you pay for a specific amount of service that you intend to use. For instance, some prepaid plans cost as little as $39.99 for two weeks of credit validity which might be just exactly what you need for your cruise.

This comes with a data credit of around 10-15GB, which you can use for the duration of two weeks, depending on the prepaid plan’s specifics. Of course, it still helps to make sure that your carrier will have signal where you’re going to make sure your prepaid plan doesn’t go to waste.

5. Rent a Travel Router

These things are pretty popular in our day and age. Travel routers for rent let you connect to a network in over 130 different countries or more, depending on the provider you choose. Travel WiFi’s rent option starts at just $6.95 a day, making it up to three times cheaper than cruise ship WiFi.

These gadgets are great for cruise ship guests who just need to stay connected at all times. The nifty little device can support up to 5 gadgets at a time, so it might also be a good choice for families and friend groups who want to Instagram the cruise ship experience blow by blow.

How to Avoid Cell Phone Charges on a Cruise

You can incur a ton of network charges on a cruise ship. And we’re talking hair-pulling fees that might entirely ruin all of those fond cruise ship memories. So to avoid accruing all of those crazy charges, see to it that you try these tips to avoid charges on a cruise.

Put your Phone on Airplane Mode

Airplane mode simply turns off any of your phone’s connectivity features. This means it won’t look for WiFi networks and it won’t connect to a mobile network. Essentially, airplane mode disables your phone’s antenna.

Do keep in mind though that putting your phone on airplane mode also means you won’t receive any text messages or calls while you’re out on vacation. Nonetheless, you could always just turn your antenna back on once you reach the shore and find a viable WiFi network to connect to.

Use a Camera

Let’s face it - the main reason why people always have to carry their phones on vacation is because of its camera feature. So if that’s really the only reason why you want to keep your phone within reach, you might be better off with a camera.

Take all the snaps you want with your point-and-shoot, and save them to edit and upload when you get home. This should prevent you from fiddling with your phone, letting you safely tuck away your mobile device and avoid network charges.

Turn Off your Phone When Not in Use

You might find the need to connect to a roaming network while you’re on board, and that’s okay. Turn on your phone (or switch off airplane mode) and get your business done without delay to avoid any extra charges. Then you can turn off your device when your done.

This just helps isolate your mobile network use. While you will incur charges for whatever data you receive and send, turning your phone off when you’re done can help prevent your phone from downloading and sending any extra data that could incur extra charges.

Can You Email on a Cruise Ship for Free?

All of the ports that your cruise will call at provide free WiFi. If you can hold off your emailing until then, you should be able to get the task done at no added cost. But if you need to send or reply to an email while you’re underway, then you might not have any other choice than to connect to your cruise ship’s network, which may come at a cost.

Stay Connected

Sometimes, you really just can’t put real life on hold. So if you were wondering how to text on a cruise ship for free, here are your answers. Make sure to keep an eye on your data usage, call up your carrier, and ask your cruise ship about their connectivity options so you can plan ahead and keep those charges at bay.

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Time for a bigger boat? Check out what the Palm Beach International Boat Show has to offer

Whether you're the son of a son of a sailor or even just love that song and want to know more, the granddaddy of all boating events is happening this weekend along the West Palm Beach waterfront.

That's right, the Palm Beach International Boat Show is back for four glorious days along Flagler Drive.

This will be the 42nd annual event, and organizers promise it will be bigger and better than ever.

There will be $1.2 billion worth of Bond-worthy super yachts, cruisers, sportfishing boats, center consoles and even inflatables to see and tour, along with attractions and activities highlighting the latest in boat engines, motors and accessories. There will also be the latest fishing gear and even fishing seminars.

Yes, it's a big event, but don't be intimidated. In fact, here are seven fun facts about the show:

How many boats can this boat show boast?

There will be more than 800 boats on display along the floating docks in the Intracoastal Waterway.

What is the biggest boat at the boat show?

With a length of 236 feet (and 38 feet wide), Casino Royale takes the title for largest boat this year. This gorgeous yacht, designed for her exterior lines by Francesco Paszkowski with interior by Paszkowski’s interior lead designer Margherita Casprini, is also one of the most technically advanced yachts in her category. Casino Royale is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B main engines and has an impressive top speed of 17.5 knots. You can put your checkbooks away for this one, however, as she is only on display and not for sale.

This boat is the boat show's most epensive

Built in 2022 and 196-feet long, Come Together is listed for $59,950,000. This expedition yacht was delivered by the Dutch shipyard Amels and features interior styling by British designer Winch Design. It can comfortably accommodate up to 12 guests in six cabins along with 14 crew members.

Are spectators allowed to go on the boats?

To go onboard the yachts and superyachts, visitors must make an appointment with the brokers. For the smaller boats, however, spectators can come onboard if they are interested in buying.

What is the smallest boat?

The smallest boat being displayed on the water is a runabout boat that is 22-feet-6-inches long, and 5-feet-11 wide. It is manufactured by Hermes.

Eating inside the boat show

The show will have dozens of food concessions featuring almost anything you could be craving, from Greek gyros to woodfired picanha, authentic street tacos and hand-crafted burgers. On a seafood diet? Enjoy fresh stone crab claws, calamari, oysters, and much more! Vegetarian, vegan, and/or gluten-free? No problem; they have options for you as well.

And libations at the boat show?

Of course there will be drinks. To be precise, there will be four bars for general admission guests, including two floating cocktail barges: the Goslings Island Bar and the Anheuser-Busch Barge. In addition there will be multiple bars in the Windward VIP Club.

What: Palm Beach International Boat Show

Where: Downtown West Palm Beach along Flagler Drive from Banyan Boulevard south to Lakeview Avenue

When: noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 21; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 24

Cost: Adult one-day tickets $33, adult two-day tickets $60; child (ages 6 to 15) one-day tickets $17.

Information: pbboatshow.com

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at  The Palm Beach Post , part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at  [email protected] . Help support our journalism.  Subscribe today .

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Boat vs. Ship vs Yacht: What’s the Difference?

Language is a tricky thing, and picking out the differences between similar terms can be confusing. This is especially true when some of the definitions overlap. This is the case with the case of boat vs. ship vs. yacht . What’s the difference? We know in our gut that there are differences between these three seafaring vessels, but unless you’re a harbor master do you really know what counts as what?

Let’s get into some definitions, and we’re going to start with the easiest to explain: What is a yacht? What is a ship? And what is a boat?

Yacht vs. Ship vs. Boat

What is a yacht.

A yacht, I think everyone would agree, is fancier than a ship or a boat. “Yacht” infers some amount of luxury , and definitely recreation. There’s also something to be said about size. A yacht tends to be anywhere between 35 feet up to 160 feet. And some yachts, known as superyachts, go even beyond that. (Jeff Bezos just built a 417 foot yacht, but that’s really breaking yacht records.)

Because of the size, yachts tend to operate in larger bodies of water–generally the ocean. Yachts are able to handle rougher ocean waves, and they are also equipped with more advanced navigation and guidance instruments than smaller boats. Likewise, a yacht tends to have a full crew to help with the navigation, engineering, repairs, as well as having stewards that serve the yacht’s guests. This can be anywhere from a crew of four or five up to a crew of a few dozen on large yachts. 

One interesting thing to note is that outside of the United States, a yacht refers to a sailboat , and a motorized yacht is called a “motor yacht”. 

So, is a yacht a boat? Yes, technically a yacht is a boat. But a yacht is a very specific kind of boat.

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What is a Ship?

The term ship is most commonly associated with a very large boat, and something that is not as fancy as a yacht (one exception is that cruise ships can still be very fancy, but are referred to as ships because of their size and power.)

Ships are generally so large that they would never be found in a lake, with some exceptions for the Great Lakes, and are made for navigating the high seas of the open ocean. An ship can refer to a cruise ship, a naval ship, a tanker, a container ship, and many other commercial vessels.

Ships tend to have advanced navigation and technology, but much more advanced than that of a yacht due to the size, the speed, and the routes that a ship will take. They are meant to be traversing the open ocean for very long periods of time, from one continent to the next, while a yacht may only rarely set across the ocean and most often stays somewhat near land. 

A ship will also have a much larger crew than a yacht or a boat. Ships are typically so large that they need not only one trained navigator but a set of navigators, plus an entire engineering team, and includes many more positions. 

Finally, a ship is meant to carry things. This may be passengers, yes (in reference to cruise ships and some navy ships) but most ships are for carrying cargo–or even carrying equipment to do work on other ships including repair work or refueling. 

What is a Boat?

Well, a boat is harder to define, because a yacht is technically a boat, and a ship is technically a boat. But when people refer to boats, they are almost always referring to something smaller than either a yacht or a ship. Boats may be motorized, like a speed boat, or they may sail, or they may be man-powered, like a rowboat or a kayak. Really, anything up to and including a liferaft, can be called a boat.

(As a side note that will just muddy the waters even further, submarine captains are adamant that their subs are boats. They are not ships.)

So, Boat vs. Ship Vs. Yacht?

Ultimately it comes down to this: all three of them are boats, but yachts are fancier, larger, and used for recreation, and ships are even larger, used commercially or by the navy, and are meant to cross oceans. The dividing line is sometimes thin, but generally speaking, when it comes to boats vs. ships.vs. yachts you can go by the adage “ I know it when I see it .”

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“Boat” vs. “Ship”: Chart A Course To Understand The Difference

• Boat Vs. Ship
• Yacht Vs. Boat

Ahoy, me hearties! A true seadog worth their salt would never let aboard a landlubber who calls their ship a boat . That kind of mixup is the talk that gets you walking the plank!

In this article, we’ll sail the seven seas of nautical knowledge to define the difference between the words ship and boat , explain what they refer to in technical and casual use, provide examples of different kinds of both ships and boats , and we’ll even clear up the meaning of the word yacht .

🚢 Quick summary

In casual use, the word boat is often used to refer to any watergoing vessel, regardless of its size or how it’s powered. However, large oceanfaring watercraft—those that use multiple sails or engines—are more properly called ships . In contrast, the word ship isn’t commonly applied to smaller craft. The word yacht is typically used to refer to any larger noncommercial vessel—one used for sailing or other recreation, as opposed to business.

What’s the difference between a boat and a ship ?

By definition, a boat is “a vessel for transport by water,” “a small ship,” or “a vessel of any size built for navigation of rivers or inland bodies of water.” In casual use, the word boat is used to refer to any vehicle used to travel on the water—anything from a canoe to an ocean liner.

In this kind of casual and general usage, the word boat is often used to refer to watercraft of all sizes and types, as you can see in the variety of terms that include the word, such as sailboat , motorboat , fishing boat , rowboat , tugboat , paddleboat , and lifeboat .

In contrast, the word ship is typically reserved to refer to a large, ocean-faring vessel propelled by multiple sails or engines.

(Of course, the word ship is also used to refer to large, nonwater craft, such as airship and spaceship .)

In technical, nautical contexts, the word ship sometimes specifically refers to a sailing vessel that has three or more square masts. As is the case with boat , though, the word ship is applied in the name of a variety of large watercrafts, including cruise ship , cargo ship , pirate ship , battleship , longship , and steamship .

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In contexts where it’s important to distinguish the difference, the distinction made between ship and boat is typically based on the size of the craft being discussed and if it is used only for ocean or sea travel. Additionally, the word boat can refer to vessels that don’t have any sails or engines, such as a kayak or a rowboat, whereas the word ship usually refers to vessels with many sails or large engines. Even in casual usage, it’s very uncommon for someone to call a small craft a ship , unless they’re doing so jokingly.

One distinction made in nautical contexts is that the word ship often refers to vessels too large to fit inside other vessels. By contrast, the word boat is often used to refer to smaller craft that can fit inside larger ones. For example, a massive cruise ship may have a large number of lifeboats inside it.

What are you sailing? An ocean or a sea ? Learn the difference here.

Yacht vs. boat

The word yacht typically refers to a vessel used for private, noncommercial reasons (those other than business), such as sailing or racing. As a general term, the word yacht can refer to any watercraft that isn’t intended to be used to make money, which includes anything from racing sailboats to billionaires’ floating ultra-luxury mansions.

The word yacht is not used to refer to small vessels, such as row boats or canoes. In casual usage, a yacht may be referred to with the more general terms boat or ship , but certainly not all ships and boats are yachts .

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The superyacht world is speculating that Mark Zuckerberg just bought this 118-meter boat

• The 118-meter superyacht Launchpad made her maiden voyage last week.
• The yacht world is speculating that her owner is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• Here's what we know about the luxury vessel.

In the world of superyachts , privacy is the most valuable asset. It can be next to impossible to discern the details of a superyacht transaction — and that's particularly true if the vessel in question is worth nine figures.

Yet some in the boat blogging world are speculating that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the new owner of Launchpad, a megayacht currently moored in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after she made her maiden voyage from Gibraltar to St Maarten last week. Launchpad clocks in at 118 meters long, about nine meters shorter than Jeff Bezos' superyacht Koru .

The transaction could not be confirmed, with yacht world insiders declining to share what they know and representatives for Zuckerberg not responding to a request for comment from Business Insider. In the past, reports about Zuckerberg owning superyacht Ulysses have proven false.

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"It is Feadship's standard policy to never divulge any information about our yachts with reference to ownership, costs, or delivery, etc," Feadship, the ship's builder, wrote to BI. "Whether it is an 18-meter Feadship from the 1960s or a 118-meter Feadship from the 21st century, we do not share private information."

But Zuckerberg's name has been connected to Launchpad for a few months now, beginning in December when reports swirled that he visited Feadship's shipyard in the Netherlands.

Then, earlier in March, yachting bloggers like eSysman SuperYachts and Autoevolution started speculating that he officially snagged the boat, originally built for a sanctioned Russian businessman, at a $300 million price tag. (While that's a seemingly huge amount, it's still less than 0.2% of Zuckerberg's $177 billion net worth.)

Another clue that might point to US ownership is that the yacht bears the flag of the Marshall Islands, a US territory and commonplace for American buyers to register their ships, according to public marine tracking.

If Zuckerberg were to have bought Launchpad, he would join a cohort of superyacht-owning tech billionaires . Along with Bezos, the likes of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have purchased impressive boats with even more impressive amenities.

SuperYacht Times , an industry publication and intelligence platform, has some of the best images of the yacht. Photos show a swimming pool on her main deck and a large helipad.

While less is known of the interior, a vessel of her size can likely sleep dozens of guests and crew and may have amenities like an expansive gym where Zuckerberg could practice his jiu-jitsu or a spa with a massage area. We suspect there's also space for plenty of toys — which could include his viral hydrofoil foil .

Do you have any details about Launchpad or any other superyachts? Email reporter Madeline Berg at [email protected].

Watch: Walmart heiress' superyacht vandalized by activists in Ibiza

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No injuries reported after boat overturns on Snake River

RIRIE, Idaho (KIFI) - Two people were uninjured after a small boat overturned on the Snake River Monday afternoon near the Byington Boat Dock east of Ririe. 

The Bonneville County Sheriff's Office reports dispatch received a call around 2:30 p.m. advising two people were in the boat, and both were able to swim to shore. Deputies arrived and located the occupants who advised they were having mechanical issues when the boat hit a gravel bar and flipped over. 

Neither of them were injured, and deputies assisted in getting them safely back to the boat ramp. 

"The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone who recreates on the water to always plan for safety before you go. Cold water temperatures and winter runoff conditions can be very hazardous even in still or slow-moving current conditions. The window of opportunity to self-rescue from the water can be mere seconds before hypothermia sets in and your ability to move and breath decreases. Boats can overturn in a second, leaving no time to stop and put on a lifejacket. Wearing a lifejacket or personal floatation device at all times will greatly increase your ability to self-rescue and survive if you end up in the water," the sheriff's office said. "As the weather warms, runoff conditions in the Snake River can change rapidly bringing a variety of floating debris and hazards just under the surface. Hazards that can quickly change your ability to safely control, operate, or remain inside a boat. Before you put your boat or watercraft in the river or lake, consider the weather and current water conditions, thoroughly inspect your watercraft, and make sure you have proper safety equipment that is in good condition."

For more information on safe boating practices, registration and invasive species stickers, and laws pertaining to required safety equipment visit the Idaho State Department of Parks and Recreation website (IDPR).

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Climate change and boat strikes are killing right whales. Stricter speed limits could help them

• Emily Jones, Grist

This story was originally published by Grist . Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here .

Amid a difficult year for North Atlantic right whales, a proposed rule to help protect them is one step closer to reality.

Earlier this month, a proposal to expand speed limits for boats — one of the leading causes of death for the endangered whales — took a key step forward: It’s now under review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the last stage of federal review.

Fewer than 360 of the whales remain; only about 70 of them are females of reproductive age. Every individual whale is considered vital to the species’ survival, but since 2017 right whales have been experiencing what scientists call an “unusual mortality event,” during which 39 whales have died.

Human actions — including climate change — are killing them.

When the cause of a right whale’s death can be determined, it is most often a strike by a boat or entanglement in fishing gear. Three young whales have been found dead this year, two of them with wounds from boat strikes and the third entangled in gear. One of the whales killed by a boat was a calf just a few months old.

Climate change, meanwhile, has disrupted their food supply , driving down right whale birth rates and pushing them into territories without rules in place to protect them.

“Our impacts are so great right now that the risk of extinction is very real,” said Jessica Redfern, associate vice president of ocean conservation at the New England Aquarium. “To be able to save the species, we have to stop our direct human-caused impacts on the population.”

This is not the first time humans have driven North Atlantic right whales to the brink of extinction .

Their name comes from whaling: They were known as the “right” whale to hunt because they spend time relatively close to coastlines, often swimming slowly and near the surface, and they float when dead. They also yielded large amounts of the oil and baleen whalers were after. So humans hunted them to near extinction until it was banned in 1935.

Many of those same characteristics are what make right whales so vulnerable to human-caused dangers today. Because they’re often near the surface in the same waters frequented by fishing boats, harbor pilots, and shipping vessels headed into port, it’s easy for boats to collide with them.

“They’ve been called an urban whale,” said Redfern. “They swim in waters that humans are using; they have high overlap with humans.”

To reduce the risk of vessel strikes, ships over 65 feet long have to slow down during set times of year when the whales are likely to be around. In the southeastern U.S., the speed limits are in force during the winter when the whales are calving; off the New England coast, the restrictions are in place in the spring and summer when they’re feeding. Regulators can also declare voluntary speed restrictions in localized spots if whales are seen, known as dynamic management areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, in 2022 proposed expanding those restrictions in three ways.

First, the new rule would cover larger geographical areas. The protection zones would extend down the coast from Massachusetts to Florida at various times of year, instead of only applying in certain distinct areas.

Second, the change would apply the speed limits to smaller craft like fishing boats, rather than only ships over 65 feet.

Third, the new rule would make the speed restrictions — the temporary speed limits where whales have been spotted — in dynamic management areas mandatory.

Since NOAA published and gathered feedback on the proposed rule in 2022, whale advocates have been clamoring for the agency to implement it. Those calls have increased in recent months as dead right whales have washed up on beaches.

“There have been three deaths, and that has been really devastating this year, and two of them are related to vessel strikes,” said Redfern. “It’s just highlighted that absolute urgency, the necessity of getting this rule out.”

A leading boating industry group is speaking out against the expanded speed restrictions, arguing they could hurt small businesses in the recreational boating industry.

“We are extremely disappointed and alarmed to see this economically catastrophic and deeply flawed rule proceed to these final stages,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, in a statement. “The proposed rule is based on incorrect assumptions and questionable data, and fails to distinguish between large, ocean-crossing vessels and small recreational boats.”

Right whale scientists have documented in recent years that small, recreational boats can injure and kill right whales. At least four of the lethal vessel strikes since the current restrictions began in 2008 have involved boats smaller than 65 feet and thus not subject to that speed limit, according to Redfern.

NOAA estimated that, based on the size and placement of the propeller wounds, the boat that killed the months-old calf this year was between 35 and 57 feet in length — too small to fall under the existing speed restrictions, but subject to the new rule if it were to be implemented.

In his statement, Hugelmeyer also pointed to new marine technologies aimed at detecting right whales in the water to reduce vessel strikes without expanding the speed rules.

Scientists like Redfern remain skeptical, though.

The tech “offers a lot of promise,” she said, but the speed limits are proven.

“It’s really important, I think, that we rigorously evaluate the technology that’s proposed to make sure that it is going to achieve the same type of risk reduction that we see with the slowdowns in expanded areas,” she said.

Many groups, meanwhile, have raised concerns that offshore wind turbines could harm whales. There is no evidence of that, according to NOAA.

This article originally appeared in Grist ,  a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org

More from WBUR

Green Point beach near Yamba littered with debris after abandoned boat runs aground

A remote beach near Yamba on the New South Wales north coast is littered with debris and diesel after a boat ran aground and was smashed to pieces in the surf overnight.

Witnesses said the boat was abandoned by its occupants as they were attempting to cross the Clarence River bar around lunchtime on Monday. 

NSW Road and Maritime said the occupants were evacuated from the vessel by a NSW Marine Rescue crew.

Angourie resident Oli Coe said he later saw the vessel adrift about 2 kilometres offshore.

He watched the boat throughout the day and at one point saw another vessel alongside it.

He said someone boarded vessel and put out its anchor.

"As the wind got up through the rest of the afternoon, we watched the boat drifting and dragging on its anchor and eventually it just dragged way too far and ended up on the beach," Mr Coe said.

At one stage Mr Coe and two friends used jetskis to get out to the boat to see if they could do anything to help.

He said he could not understand why it was not salvaged before it ran aground near Green Point.

"There was definitely some damage to the boat but it was in perfectly good condition [before that]," Mr Coe said.

Clean-up concerns

Locals spent Tuesday morning on the beach, dragging piles of debris above the high tide mark in a bid to ensure it is not taken back out to sea with the next high tide on Tuesday evening. 

Angourie resident Kim Wood said the usually pristine beach at Green Point looked like a "rubbish dump".

"I'm looking at kilometres of debris," she said.

"There is timber, there is oil cans, jerry cans full of diesel, so much plastic, and everything is soaked in diesel.

"You can still see all debris in the ocean."

Ms Wood said the area was home to a wide range of birdlife including oyster catchers and curlews.

Too dangerous to tow

NSW Maritime said the boat was deemed too dangerous for authorities to board or tow.

Senior boating safety officer Bret Ryan said authorities needed to put safety first.

"Marine Rescue revisited the boat several times on Monday, and eventually the Water Police came from Coffs Harbour," Mr Ryan said.

"They came to the same conclusion that it was too dangerous."

"At that point the vessel was secure and the hope was it would remain in that position but unfortunately that didn't happen."

Mr Ryan said the main hazard on the beach was from any sharp objects that might remain buried in the sand.

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Dozens of Migrants Die After Their Dinghy Deflates in the Mediterranean

Survivors, who departed from Libya, said they had been adrift for four days when they were found.

By Gaia Pianigiani

A European humanitarian aid group said on Thursday that about 50 migrants died after their small boat deflated during an attempt to cross the central Mediterranean Sea.

A ship belonging to the charity, SOS Mediterranee , spotted the deflating rubber dinghy on Wednesday, in international waters under the Libyan rescue jurisdiction. Twenty-five dehydrated and exhausted migrants were on board.

The survivors told the charity that they had been adrift for four days, since the engine on their dinghy broke. Some 50 other people were with them when they departed from the Libyan port of Zawiya, they told the rescuers, including two infants and four women. There were only male survivors, half of them boys, the charity said.

Valeria Taurino, the director general of SOS Mediterranee, said the situation on board was “disastrous.”

Two of the passengers were unconscious when they were found, and they were evacuated by the Italian military for treatment on shore. The rest, hailing from Gambia, Mali and Senegal, showed signs of dehydration, exhaustion and burns from fuel on the boat, and were receiving medical treatment aboard the charity’s ship, the Ocean Viking, Ms. Taurino said.

The Ocean Viking was heading to disembark the passengers at Ancona, on the northeastern Italian coast, over 870 miles from where the survivors were found. The government says it is spreading the burden of identifying and later housing migrants. But charity groups argue that the practice is aimed at keeping ships occupied and off the ocean where they look for migrant boats, and makes rescues more expensive in terms of fuel consumption.

Migration advocates say there is a glaring scarcity of rescuers in the central Mediterranean. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said that 227 migrants had died on the Mediterranean route this year, without taking into account the most recent shipwreck. While arrivals have decreased by 70 percent compared with 2023, the death rate is not falling as rapidly.

“Deaths are down by 20 percent only,” said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Italy. “It is a clear sign that the rescue system at sea is insufficient, and people keep dying as a result.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the distance between Ancona and where the survivors were found. It is 1,400 kilometers (870 miles), not 1,400 miles.

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Gaia Pianigiani is a reporter based in Italy, covering breaking news across Italy and Europe. More about Gaia Pianigiani