At what length does a boat become a yacht?

I was the full time Captain and had a fulltime mate on a 45' Cabo once upon a time. I'd hardly call that a yacht, but the owner wante


way back when ,many 36' to 45'footers had a capt. and mate,full time,,,.a 3rd man was added for some occasions...nothing out of the ordinary....bernie's "BULL" had 3 full time crew for the original owner....

heck it happens even now ...

a mate of mine bought an azimut 38 ..... a 38 footer ...

he has TWO full time crew - a captain and his assistant !!!

The NYYC Definition of a Yacht

Way back in the early 1900s the question of how big a boat had to be in order for the owner to qualify for membership in the New York Yacht Club.

The Commodore came up with the answer "30' or larger". Since the NYYC was the premier yacht club in the nation, all other yacht clubs adopted this definition. Ever since boats in the US larger than 30' are traditionally called yachts.

This question used to be answered in the older versions of Chapman.
Wikopedia says "Yacht lengths generally range from 10 metres (33 ft) up to dozens of metres (hundreds of feet)." This is pretty close to the 30' established by the NYYC in the early 1900s.

CaptOlin

If you sail and maintain it by yourself it is a boat if it takes a crew and you pay the bills it is a yacht.

Had to add the statement "and you pay the bills" to prevent navy ships from being considered...

Did you get 'er done?

From my definition a yacht is something you can live aboard for several month without becoming the harbour rat.

Years ago I saw a 26' Bayliner at a boat show and was thinking that I could live on that thing. Today the thought of spending more than a couple of days on anything less than 70' gives me nightmares. It's all relative. So I think we need a more refined definition than that.

Well, to be honest, something between 60 and 70 ft. is a good size for civilized living aboard for more than a few holliday weeks. Don´t you think so? ;-)

Not after 56 years on the water and 25 professional. Also depends on how spoiled you are at home. Just ask the guy with a 500 footer. Ever hear of 3 yearitis? FIrst year: 'This is the best boat in the world. I love it I'll have this boat when I'm old and gray. It has everything'. Second year: 'I love this boat. It has everything I need. But did you see Joe's new boat? That's nice'. Third year: 'Hon you can't being that on board. We don't have the room. You know we could really use a bigger fridge. The cooler's a pain to bring from the house. How about we start looking for something just a little bigger?'

Let me see if I can make any sense here;

For sailboats, anything with a good cabin, galley and head with stand-up shower is a yacht. Others with less than just that are day cruisers.

For powerboats, anything that can accommodate two couples, or 4 persons, for more than a weekend in extended comfort and provide the possibility for various functions in the same level of comfort is a yacht, regardless of the size to a certain extent, because many production boats use size as an excuse to be called yacht, luxury yachts and what not while they are nothing more than a pocket cruiser for extra 2-4 more persons. Less than that, it is in the weekender or pocket cruiser range.

Also, as NYCAP mentioned, it should be able to handle extra unnecessary stuff to qualify for the luxury of being called a yacht, if such stuff are necessary then it is a live-aboard yacht!

Cheers,

Well, I don´t have your experience, but having lived aboard my 65ft. boat (rather small for that length) for 3 years now I really don´t miss a thing. But then, I´m living on my own and an own washing machine and dryer would be nice. ;-)

Good point there!

There should be a category for singles, where pocket cruisers can be considered luxury yachts. I find it impressive that what ever subject one is on and what ever dimension in boating, it all comes down to refine in how the boat will be used and how the user or owner liberates or limits luxury!

I hate boating alone, so from me to you... Have a great company!

Cheers,

Actually you misunderstood what I said. To be a live-aboard is relative to the person making the judgement. But to be a "yacht" the general consensus is that it have a galley, a head and somewhere to sleep (regardless of size). It's a yacht when you want to impress someone or be pretentious (as in Thurston Howell from Gilligan's Island), otherwise it's a boat. Except of course on those many days when you'd call it by names I won't put on this forum for fear of being expelled.

I grew up with my family at the time having what was a "large yacht" for the 70-80s. Among my families friend circle they all called their "yachts" as the boat. One does not want to be braggadocios.

When we went out the question was. The big boat or small boat?

Sometimes the small boat is just the right size.

I've always been told that if you step aboard a vessel and it moves...its a boat. If it doesn't move...it's a yacht. Heavy-weights take note! You may need a bigger boat to be a yachty. Cheers, Richard.

Though not related to length, I have always liked my father's definition, when I asked him what the difference was between a boat and a yacht while cleaning our family's "boat" after a fishing trip long ago.

"If you clean it yourself its a boat, if someone else cleans it for you its a yacht"

I am a proud boat owner by this definition...

But in this case, my 32' Boston Whaler and my 24' Boesch are yachts. In the same thought... My cars must be limos, I don't put gas in them or clean them. I think that a boat is a boat.