We’ve talked a lot about yachts already, and when we see a yacht in a picture we know what it is. But what exactly are the specifications that count as a yacht? Let’s get into what a yacht IS…
In Dutch (which is the origin of the term), a "yacht" refers to any boat, no matter if it's a superyacht or a cheap rowboat. It's in English where the words have distinct lines between them.
The word “yacht” is derived from the Dutch word for “hunter.”
Actually, the first yachts were pirate hunters. The Dutch navy built swift sailing vessels that could sail in the shallow waters of the low country to hunt buccaneers in the 16th century.
It wasn’t long before the well-heeled of Europe—particularly the English—took notice of these unique ships and began to replicate and soon to race them.
The term “yacht” describes a large, private watercraft
But what classifies a yacht?
"Boat" can refer to any seafaring vessel, between smaller personal watercraft to more giant passenger crafts. It serves as a blanket term in most situations.
A boat becomes a "ship" often once it's reached a specific size, which tends to be on the bigger side and suitable for sea travel. In most cases, ships serve as working vessels, such as transport or cruise liners.
"Yachts" are also more substantial, but they're solely recreational vessels and often used for luxury purposes.
If a vessel cannot be towed by a car or truck on a public roadway without special permitting then it’s likely to be considered a yacht. Here’s a random example from Utah Department of Transportation:
The point where a boat can start to qualify as a yacht is around thirty-five feet, though they can certainly be longer. The typical maritime definition of a yacht is a private pleasure ship of at least 33 feet. Though there are some shorter boats referred to as pocket yachts that have yacht-like amenities.
Any yacht that is 79 feet long or longer is classified as a “large yacht.” Beyond a length of 130 feet, the vessel is typically called a “super yacht” (sometimes written as one word, superyacht). Apparently the Titanic was a Gigayacht!
A yacht's engine offers sophisticated technology.
Yachts are also classified according to the water & wind conditions they can withstand.
Let’s take a quick look at these waterway & weather classifications below:
“Class A” Yachts are those that can handle winds of up to 45-50 miles-per-hour and approximately 13-foot waves in open seas. These types of offshore yachts are built to be self-sufficient in hostile seas while navigating the open ocean with winds surpassing force 8 on the Beaufort scale and include sportfishing yachts, motor yachts, large cruisers, superyachts and megayachts.
“Class B” Yachts are often called “offshore vessels” and are built for navigating coastal waters within 200 miles of the shore.
“Class C” Boats are vessels built to navigate inshore and nearshore, including waterways such as lakes, rivers and bays, and generally can handle waves between 3-4 feet before they begin to get into trouble.
“Class D” Boats are vessels that can safely handle winds of 13-15 MPH and waves between 1-2 feet or less in sheltered waterways.
→Note: any vessel below Class B is referred to as a boat, hence the difference.
And of course significant levels of comfort and amenities
which we’ll talk about next time
Sources:
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