At what length does a boat become a yacht?

Simple, really.

Over 40 ft = yacht.
And it becomes a ship when it leans "out" on a tight turn instead of "in", EH?

Herreschoff

.........and all that Herreschoff built, ever, was boats.

Not yachts.

yes?

Not to mention a few others in the same league.


jsi

I would say, everything - except kajaks - floating on water is a boat.
a yacht is something you're not living on but maybe doing vacancies on. it's not about the size, its more about the thing it's made for, or would you like to tell me a planecarrier is yacht, just because it's more than 250 feet?

also a 30footer can be a yacht - just because of what's made for.

the categories:

0 - 150 feet: yacht
151 - 250: megayacht
251 - 400: superyacht
400+ : gigayacht
1000+ : island

What ever you call it there are still those two happy days of owning one.

The best way to enjoy one is having a friend who owns one.

I agree with brunick!! 1000+ is an island!! I like how those numbers work out. Oh, and Neil Rooney, I see youre from Fort Lauderdale. Do you know anything that is going on at FLIBS this year?

Here'a chance for all of you to add your two cents to the defination of "Yacht"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_yacht

trawler

I currentl own a 61 foot trawler style BOAT but awhile back owned a 125 foot Yacht. I think that the term YACHT applies more to how it is used then the length. A boat that is privately run with maybe a crew that helps the owner run it is a boat. Where a yacht is managed and run by a professional crew and the guest are they with no part of running the vessel. Even the owner is no more the the person that writes the checks and a guest on his own yacht. Yachting is a state of mind. You are there to relax and leave your worries to someone else (the crew). Where when your boating it is YOUR fault that the beer is not cold enought.

Err, fair enough panamagold

So maybe we need a category "Grand Boat" to cover your 61?

Kelly Cook

funny how this topic hasn't come up before, or at least in a long time. the name is yachtforums

You know, I have been pondering this for some while. I think that it would be more appropriate with these measurements:

0-50 ft = Boat
51-199 ft = Yacht
200-999 = Ship
1000+ = Island

(I borrowed the name for the last one from brunick)

I think that most of you are denying the history of the term. There are many, and even some quite prestigious yacht clubs that hardly have a single member vessel that would meet the requirements some of you post.

Ultimately, whether a vessel is a boat or a yacht has to do with both who is using it and why, and who is looking at it and what they percieve. When I was working for a popular yachting magazine at a boat show I was told not to expend my energy on vessels under eighty feet. When my contractor friend had to postpone completion of a job while he delivered his inherited c&c corvette, the homeowner exclaimed "my contractor has a yacht?!? I'm in the wrong business!"

at this term you can't name any nice yacht a yacht because it would be a ship - but the term of use is not likely a freighter and these are ships.

any (real)ship build for pleasure and fun can be a yacht. the definition is like this:
"a boat/ship build for pleasure and fun can be named a yacht"

(thats what i would write on wikipedia )

For me, there is a size distinction. I would say boats go up to 100 m or so. Longer than that and they become ships. I don't know if there's an official rule for that.

"Yacht" just means that the boat is used for pleasure, and this can range from a 6 m sailing yacht (you have to be able to sleep in it) up until the Eclipse etc. Even when yachts are longer than 100 m, I prefer to call them boats (not ships).
Probably to keep the distinction between yachts and cruise ships clear...

My 2 cts.

Bruno

By NMMA's definition >26' ---> Yacht

From what National Marine Manufacture Association (NMMA, U.S) sees, all recreational boats with LOA greater than 26 foot are considered as yacht. They have promote their certification programs to all NMMA members. The programs splits at 26', one for boat, the other for yacht.

That is clear cut along LOA. Then again, you can try to use other measurements to seperate them.


Typically, a yacht with LOA exceeding 80' is considering as superyacht (based on most of ship classification class of ~24 meter). But in US, where everything is big, sometime people call those superyacht as megayacht (see annual publication by <Boat International>, 'Superyacht' and its sister, US version 'Megayacht'.

about NMMA definition

I double checked,

other than LOA >=26, there are exceptions: (except racing craft and pontoons).

For more information about NMMA certification program you can check NMMA's website:

http://www.nmma.org/certification/programs/yachts/

Well, up to 80' is a "yacht", over 80' "mega-yacht..."super-yacht is over 150' or some such number...Never heard the term giga-yacht before, but I am sure it fits.

According to an old book from the American Yacht Counsel I found on my old boat, any private vessel over 30' is considered a "yacht" in the US.

That reminds me of a somewhat odd story:

We are sitting at a Tiki Bar in Lindbergh Bay in St. Thomas 1986:

Only one boat is anchored out there, a fine looking classic Bill Tripp 44' Bermuda Yawl.
The boat is just out of the yard after a complete refit including paint, varnish, etc..She looks like a million dollars, sparkling she is.

Some guys around the Tikin Bar keeps talking about the boat, one comment was: I wonder who's yacht that is??

My mother in-law turns to me and says: Aren't you proud, they call your boat a yacht?

Cool story .

Yeah, it ticked me off then: Me ego was shining just as bright as the classic yacht I had purchased 6 months earlier and spent a fortune and hard work fixing up.
The (now-ex) mother in-law from Colorado did not think it was much of a boat, and especially not a yacht..I took it personally: My mistake.

Back to the topic: The world yacht comes from a Dutch classification of any private boat over 18 feet. (Jackt or some such thing)

Another old definiton of the difference between a Ship and a Boat:

You can put a Boat on a Ship, but not a Ship on a Boat.....
In other words, if a boat is to big to be lifted or hoised onto another boat, it is a Ship.
Sooo, where is the limit..?
I would think a 100 feet of lenght is about the max, but that is my personal opinion...Your milage may vary...

A 300 feet mega/super/giga yacht is indeed a Ship in my book.

yacht

From an earlier post on this thread........

Well......

From the shorter OED;

Yacht. 1557. Early modern Dutch. Jaghie = jaghischip, fast piratical ship. f. jag(h)t hunting, f. jagen, hunt. A light fast-sailing ship, in early use esp. for the conveyance of royal or other important persons; later, a vessel, usu. light and comparatively small, for cruising, now esp. one built and rigged for racing 1886.

Just so.

So we have the question of sail vs. mechanical propulsion.

And the question of the purpose and proportion built.

jsi

I might add that we have strayed a long way from "a light, comparatively small, fast-sailing ship" in the present nomenclature.

j

World Domination in the Premier Class

Well, let's look at it this way: You are here as an unrivalled expert in luxury yacht size and so are we as we approach the entry way to the next International Boat Show and we must determine the correct location to the Floating Dock which will allow your "boat" to be showcased in the fashion to which it was originally built. Do you take an inside berth, an outside berth, or simply point it to the West or to the East? Somebody is going to take a look at your "boat" and find out the size and say, "Geeze, it looks much bigger than that", or they might say, "Geeze, it looks much smaller than that..."

Anyway you look at it, the "Mega-Expectations" is going to an amazing experience to discover and especially, to build! So where ever you are heading, in life, get there in style, big or small, and enjoy your time away.

In the end, World Domination in the Premier Class is always going to change, and the Big Boys with their Big Toys will always want bigger and better, just because that's the way it has to be. And sometimes, it may even be a Big Girl seeking the same experience. Bottom line is GO FOR IT and give it all you've got, because, in the end there can only be WON WINNER!!!

CHEERS! Bartender, a round of drinks for my friends. Bottoms up!!
Hold that smile. Hey, great shot! Let's frame it!