What classifies as a "Yacht"?

Daveinet · #1 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

What classifies a particular sailboat as a "Yacht"? Context of the question is, DW was showing some of the nicer pics of our boat to her coworkers. They began to give her a hard time, saying that things a yacht, you must be making big bucks ect, ect. giving her a hard time. Yeah, right, its a 17 foot boat with a tiny cabin, hardly what I would call a yacht. But then just for grins, hat is a yacht? I saw a yacht club on a small lake and all they sailed was Lasers - kind of hard to consider those as yachts either. So what is the real definition?

Allanbc · #2 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

I think that if you have a paid staff running and maintaining your boat, you have a yacht!

Looking at your signature, you seem to have a "fleet".

PaulfromNWOnt · #3 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allanbc

Looking at your signature, you seem to have a "fleet".

Wouldn't that then make him a Commodore?

Faster · #4 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

We never say 'we own a yacht' or 'we're into yachting'... we own a boat, or a sailboat.

I do think the threshold is "up there", with paid crew as good a yardstick as any.

However the various definitions don't make that distinction:

yacht (yät)
n.
Any of various relatively small sailing or motor-driven vessels, generally with smart graceful lines, used for pleasure cruises or racing.

So it would seem a Laser qualifies..

SarasotaKid · #5 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

Dave, I'm gonna say that 40 feet is the cutoff for a sailboat. Anything bigger turns into a yacht. Its easy to spot them at our Sailing squadron. There the ones that are not members LOL.

FoolishMuse · #6 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

If it can be lived on comfortably, with a head, galley, seated dining area, room to stand upright, etc, it is a yacht. If not, it is a boat.

jcalvinmarks · #7 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

My understanding has been that, in a strictly technical sense, a "yacht" is any recreational boat, as opposed to a working boat (fishing boat, patrol boat, lifeboat, etc.).

In a more practical sense, to my mind, a yacht means either a luxury-type vessel or a sailing vessel of any kind, or both. My experience has been (and YMMV) that the American usage favors the luxury angle, whereas the Commonwealth usage is more general, encompassing sailing vessels of all kinds as well as luxury power boats.

I personally don't suffer from obsessive-compulsive-compassion-disorder or egalitarianism, so "yacht" isn't a four-letter word to me. I love it when people call my little 18-footer a yacht. They're in for a disappointment if they're expecting caviar and silver service, though.

smackdaddy · #8 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

I always call mine a yacht. I'm all about putting the elitism back into sailboating!

Allanbc · #9 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by smackdaddy

I always call mine a yacht. I'm all about putting the elitism back into sailboating!

People look at your boat and say, "Yacht's that?"

Sublime · #10 (**permalink**) 03-23-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allanbc

I think that if you have a paid staff running and maintaining your boat, you have a yacht!

Looking at your signature, you seem to have a "fleet".

I always thought a yacht was what is technically a luxury yacht (which has the paid staff and such). After a google search, it looks like a yacht is any recreational vessel.

I refer to mine as a sailboat. But I guess I have a yacht. Three, in fact.

But the term "sailboat" is getting the same recognition as "luxury yacht". Back when all I had was the minifish, I'd say I have a sailboat and the follow up question was usually "Are you rich or something?" without even knowing the size of it (a little bigger than a surf board).