NOW YOU KNOW

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 October 1934, Page 4

NOW YOU KNOW

“SHIPS,” “BOATS." AND VESSELS.”

The habit of calling a ship “a boat” is an extremely common one, and, though the first offenders are frequently shipbrokers and those whose knowledge of the shipping world should make them immune, it comes as rather a surprise to find that that habit (or ignorance) recently landed the United States National Recovery Administrati'on in trouble, says the ‘Daily Commercial News and Shipping List’ (Sydney). For a circular issued under their auspices has led boatbuilders to assume that they are not to be included in a wages and hours code. The code in question had been drawn np for ship-builders and ship-repairers. Consistently one hears passengers refer to the “boat” they came out from England “on," instead of the “vessel” they came out “in,” which recalls the story —and quite a recent one, too—of the New York shipping man who referred to the Berengaria as the “boat” hi; had come over “on.”

The dictionary meaning of a boat is a “small open vessel or watercraft, usually moved by oars or paddle, but often by sail or power mechanism.” The “ship" is described as —(1) “any large seagoing vessel” in a general sense, and (2) nautically it is “a vessel with a bowsprit and three masts, main, fore, and mizzen.” In (3) the general sense is widened, and makes the distinction of “any vessel intended or used for navigation and not propelled by oars or paddles."

In matters of maritime and international law, as with reference to salvage, the word “ship” may mean “any vessel used for navigation.” Under the heading “vessel" we find “any structure, especially a hollow one, made to float upon the wafer for purposes of navigation; a craft for navigation of the water, larger than a common rowing boat, such as war vessel or passenger vessel.” This latter then, is the embracing’ title, the words “ship” and “boat” being used for conveying the distinction required.