Boats and ships

[Bigpub]

What is the difference between a boat and a ship?

[orange-gnome]

I am just guessing but boats have little oars and are little generally and ships are big old things with sails and canons?? who knows!!!

[Clanad]

Old salts say a ship can carry a boat... a matter of size...Technically, one site says among sailing vessels, the distinction between ships and boats is that a ship is a square-rigged craft with at least three masts, and a boat isn't. With regard to motorized craft, a ship is a large vessel intended for oceangoing or at least deep-water transport, and a boat is anything else.

[Quizmonster]

It always used to be said that "You can get a boat on a ship but you can't get a ship on a boat" on the basis that boats were invariably smaller and that ships actually carried boats such as �lifeboats' as part of their equipment.  However, that is no longer true. A couple of years ago a Royal Navy vessel - definitely a 'ship' - ran aground off Australia and it was carried back to the UK on a civilian salvage vessel which would certainly qualify as a 'boat'. So, we've now seen "a ship on a boat".

All Royal Navy and foreign military vessels are called 'ships'...except for submarines, which are always - in Britain at least - called 'boats'! The same applies to British shipping lines. Ex-employees of Castle Lines invariably speak of their time on "the Castle boats" and - with obviously appropriate changes, so do those from Cunard, P & O etc. Another aspect which makes it clear that �size' alone is not a major factor.

In modern usage, there is no real difference in the meanings of the words, when speaking of large vessels. Of course, the little thing you row on the lake in the park will always be a boat and the grey naval cruiser will always be a ship.

[cat woman]

The ship is bigger than the boat!...........  :->

[Bigpub]

Having spoken to some naval personel at the weekend, during the international festival of the sea at Portsmouth. The answer must be that ships carry boats. Although there are some scenarios that arei  correct. This is, lets saythe rule of thumb.