Boats

Boats From the first time that people used bamboo rafts and hollowed-out logs to travel across a lake or down a stream, boats have been a major part of life.

Handcrafted wooden boats were used on local lakes and rivers for fishing and pleasure. The first boats made of synthetic material such as fibreglass, as well as the luxurious and very fast pleasure boats of today, give people a way to escape the everyday routine. This is one of the major uses for boats in our modern world.

But exactly what is a boat? Why is a boat such a popular, and necessary, part of our lives? Perhaps it would be best to look at just where the term "boat" comes from and what makes a boat a boat, instead of a canoe or a ship.

Today, the word "boat" means a vessel constructed to transport people and items over water. This vessel must provide buoyancy by excluding water. The boat must also be stable and should be easy to move across the water by some method.

By contrast, a ship is a large, ocean-going vessel, usually propelled by sails or an engine. But going back into history, the word comes from the German "bot" which originally meant the goods or item delivered. Later this came to stand for the craft used to make the delivery.

According to statistics, 85% of all powerboats in the U.S. are less than 26 ft. long. We will be focusing on this general type of boat, the small and mid-size craft that people use for pleasure and transportation. In doing this, information provided on financing, insurance, storage, general maintenance might be useful for all types of boats.

Fishing boats and equipment cannot be adequately covered in the same text as pleasure boats, because the subject is so very large and complex. It is probably best to leave the fishing boat category for another time. This website will take a brief look at yachts to provide some perspective on just how they differ from pleasure boats, ski boats and party boats such as the pontoon and deck boats that have become so popular. We will then focus on ski boats and pontoon/deck boats.

As author Kenneth Graham said, "There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as messing about in boats."

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