Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Maybe sailors called the ships "boats" when they went cup the street way back when. Then the locals picked up the term over time and it stuck.

Most of it is just a carry over from the days of sail on the lakes. When I started on the lakes (1956) the conversation would go something like this: "Are you go'n sailing in the spring? What boat? Got my letter yesterday, Fit'n out the D.M. Clemson over in Conneaut. Who's sailing her? Old Captain Capling, Good man, not one of those rough weather guys.....

With regard to pilot house, wheelhouse, and bridge, it's just speculation but ...
When the steamers were built around the turn of the century (~1900), the bridge was an open area on top of the foreward superstructure. See the drawing of the Henry B. Smith on the Marine Historical Society of Detroit site: (http://www.mhsd.org/gallery.html). At that time, the wheelhouse was the enclosed structure beneath the bridge. As construction techniques and plans changed over time, the open bridge and wheelhouse were combined and enclosed. Although the structure changed over time, the terminology did not.

If you want fun with nautical terminology, try cataloging items at a maritime museum! You want to use the right keywords to be able to search for things later, but which to use?

Is it a boat or a ship? A freighter or a bulk carrier? A wheelhouse or a pilot house? A Chadburn or an engine order telegraph? A wheel or a helm?

They're all correct, but if you tried to use them all, you could end up with a photo described as, "View of the pilot house/wheelhouse/bridge of a bulk carrier/freighter/ore boat/steamer..."

Local vernacular.

Why are pilot house, wheel house and bridge all the same room on a boat? Why are they not all called he bridge??

With all due respect to others responding, I don't think there's a "because", much less a rational answer to the boat-vs-ship question. Inconsistencies in usage challenge logic and rationality.

IMHO, it's just weight of tradition. "It's done this way here, and that way there." So we go with the flow, just like the advice about what to do when you're in Rome.

During the age of sail ship meant a fully rigged vessel (3 or more masts all square rigged) and our current usage is a continuation of the application of the term to steamships which at them was incorrect.
In modern usage there is no distinction between a boat and a ship. Boats are smaller ships are bigger but any ship can be called a boat (though for larger vessels it is more in a informal way).

[quote="Chief"]This question has been asked a number of times and no one has really come up with an answer. Here are some thoughts on the subject and you can pick the one you like:
You can put a boat on a ship.
Anything vessel over 100 feet is a ship.
Ships have names and boats have numbers.
Boats are for pleasure, ships are for work.

Why do they call a tug boat a boat when some are over 100 feet long?

Why are submarines called boats?

Interesting question, lets see what everyone comes up with.[/quote]

With respect to the Lakers, I think that the Lakers are called "boats" because they normally do not sail or travel on the open saltwater seas and oceans.

As for submarines, the early subs were all small enough to be carried by ship to reach a long-distance destination, as the early Holland and Lake subs were under 100 feet. They acquired the nickname of "pig boats" very early as well because of the problematical living conditions on board, such as lack of fresh water and the ability to shower. The German term for submarine is "unterseeboot", or "U-Boat", and as the Germans used the U-Boats very heavily in both World War One and World War Two, "U-Boat" became a very widely used term. Winston Churchill specifically directed that the dastardly German subs be referred to in all press releases by the British as "U-Boats", while the heroic and courageous British subs were always to be called "Submarines".

As for Tugs, since a very large number of them are below the 100 foot threshold for ships, the term is applied to all vessels performing the role of the tug. Besides, "tugship" just does not sound right.

This question has been asked a number of times and no one has really come up with an answer. Here are some thoughts on the subject and you can pick the one you like:
You can put a boat on a ship.
Anything vessel over 100 feet is a ship.
Ships have names and boats have numbers.
Boats are for pleasure, ships are for work.

Why do they call a tug boat a boat when some are over 100 feet long?

Why are submarines called boats?

Interesting question, lets see what everyone comes up with.

On the Great Lakes vessels are called boats. Anywhere else vessels are called ships. Why is this?