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A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasure vessel is likely to be at least in length and may have been judged to have good aesthetic qualities. The Commercial Yacht Code classifies yachts and over as . Such yachts typically require a hired crew and have higher construction standards. Further classifications for large yachts are: —carrying no more than 12 passengers, —solely for the pleasure of the owner and guests, or by
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
, the country under which it is registered. A
superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
(sometimes ) generally refers to any yacht (sail or power) longer than . Racing yachts are designed to emphasize performance over comfort. Charter yachts are run as a business for profit. As of 2020 there were more than 15,000 yachts of sufficient size to require a professional crew.


Etymology

The term, ''yacht'', originates from the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
word ''jacht'' (pl. ''jachten'', which means "hunt"), and originally referred to light, fast sailing vessels that the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
navy used to pursue
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
.


History

The history of pleasure boats begins with rowed craft in Pharaonic Egyptian times, and other vessels in the waters of Burma, India,
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
and Japan. It described 8th-century Anglo-Saxon royal ''pleg-scips'' (play ships) that featured ornamented bows and sterns and which had the capability of cooking on board.


Sail

The history of sailing yachts begins in Europe in the beginning of the 1600s with the building of a pleasure vessel for the son of
King James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
. While other monarchs used naval ships for transportation and conquest, James I was the first English monarch to commission the construction of a yacht—for his son Henry, Prince of Wales in the early 1600s. Pleasure vessels acquired the name ''yacht'' after the time of Charles II, who spent time exiled in Europe and visited the Netherlands, where a variety of ''jachten'' were already well developed as pleasure boats for the elite classes since the beginning of the 17th century. Upon his restoration to the English crown, Charles commissioned a series of royal yachts, which included at least one experimental
catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
. The first recorded yacht race between two vessels occurred in 1661, followed by the first open sailing competition in 1663 in English waters. Starting in 1739, England found itself in a series of wars—a period that saw a decline in yachting. In Ireland, however, the gentry enjoyed yachting and founded the first yacht club in Cork as the Cork Harbour Water Club in 1720. English yacht racing continued among the English gentry who founded England's oldest yacht club in 1775 to support a fleet at
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
. With maritime peace, starting in 1815, came a resurgence of interest in yachting. Boatbuilders, who had been making fast vessels both for smugglers and the government
revenue cutters A cutter is a type of watercraft. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or bord ...
, turned their skills again to yachts. The fast yachts of the early 19th century were
fore-and-aft A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, ga ...
lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...
s,
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s, and
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
s. By the 1850s, yachts featured large sail areas, a narrow beam, and a deeper draft than was customary until then. Racing between yachts owned by wealthy patrons was common, with large wagers at stake. The
America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
arose out of a contest between the yacht, ''
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
'', and its English competitors. Both countries had rules by which to rate yachts, the English by tonnage and the American by length. In the late 19th century, a yacht owner would base their choice of vessels upon preferred lifestyle and budget, which would determine the size and type of vessel, which would most likely be a fore-and aft, two-masted sailing vessel. A treatise on the subject, ''A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing'', provided detailed information on selecting, equipping, sailing, seamanship, management of the paid crew, and racing such vessels. It included a brief section on steam yachts, the recirculating coil steam engine just having made such yachts efficient enough for leisure travel on the water.


Power

While sailing yachts continued to exist, the development of reliable power plants created a new category of pleasure craft. The power plants started with the
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
and transitioned to the
internal combustion An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
engine. Whereas sailing yachts continued to be steered from the after portion of the vessel, power yachts adopted the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
in a forward cabin structure that afforded better forward and sideways visibility.


Steam

The history of steam yachts starts with large sailing yachts with a steam auxiliary engine. Early examples, driven with paddle wheels, had a railed platform from which the person conning the vessel could walk across the vessel above the main deck, the origin of the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. In the late 18th century, steam engines became more efficient, spars were removed and screw propellers became standard. Large steam yachts were luxurious; their staff included a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, and stewards, as well as deck hands. The development of the steam engine figured in yacht design. In England, the practice was to use
fire-tube boiler A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating t ...
s wherein the hot gases of combustion ran through parallel tubes surrounded by water; a design that required a slow process of heating the water to avoid damaging the boiler before making steam. In the United States, the practice was to use
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s, wherein the water is surrounded by the hot gases of combustion, allowing for making steam more rapidly. While the boiler was the source of steam, the
marine steam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...
is where the steam was converted to mechanical power. With smaller, more rapidly spinning propellers engines comprised cylinders with pistons, connected to a crank shaft, driven by steam. Near the end of the 19th century,
compound engine A compound engine is an engine that has more than one stage for recovering energy from the same working fluid, with the exhaust from the first stage passing through the second stage, and in some cases then on to another subsequent stage or even st ...
s came into widespread use. Compound engines exhausted steam into successively larger cylinders to accommodate the higher volumes at reduced pressures, giving improved efficiency. These stages were called expansions, with double- and triple-expansion engines being common, especially in shipping where efficiency was important to reduce the weight of coal carried. Steam engines remained the dominant source of power until the early 20th century, when advances in the design of the
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
,
electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...
s and
internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...
s gradually resulted in the replacement of reciprocating (piston) steam engines.


Internal combustion

Nicolaus Otto Nicolaus August Otto (10 June 1832, Holzhausen an der Haide, Nassau – 26 January 1891, Cologne) was a German engineer who successfully developed the compressed charge internal combustion engine which ran on petroleum gas and led to the mode ...
and
Gottlieb Daimler Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler (; 17 March 1834 – 6 March 1900) was a German engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf (Kingdom of Württemberg, a federal state of the German Confederation), in what is now Germany. He was a ...
developed practical
four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
gasoline engines, starting in 1876. Beginning in 1898 engines increased in horsepower from to by 1906. Some were destined for
speedboats A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...
, other for motor yachts. Diesel power plants for boats were demonstrated in 1903. Diesels became a more prevalent type of power plant in the 20th century thanks to their low cost of operation and reliability.


Classification

The
Recreational Craft Directive The Recreational Craft Directive, Directive 2013/53/EU, originally Directive 94/25/EC on recreational craft amended by Directive 2003/44/EC, is a European Union directive which sets out minimum technical, safety and environmental standards for b ...
requires that all vessels sold in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and United Kingdom satisfy one of four design categories, based on the
wind force The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...
and seas that they are designed to encounter: * yachts are fit for conditions that exceed wind force 8——and maximum wave heights, encountered in ocean passages and extended voyages. * yachts are fit for conditions that are less than wind force 8——and maximum wave heights, encountered in ocean passages and extended voyages. * yachts are fit for wind force 6——and maximum wave heights, encountered in exposed coastal waters, bays inlets, lakes and rivers. * yachts are fit for wind force 4——and maximum wave heights, encountered in sheltered coastal waters, bays inlets, lakes and rivers. The of Great Britain and its dominions defines a as one that is or more at the waterline and is in commercial use for sport or pleasure, while not carrying cargo or more than 12 passengers and carrying a professional crew. The code regulates the equipping of such vessels, both at sea and in port—including such matters as crew duty times and the presence of a helicopter on board. The code has different levels of standard for vessels above and below 500
gross tons Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...
. Such yachts may be considered and are more commonly at or more in length. Other countries have standards similar to LY2. Whereas large yachts may carry no more than 12 passengers, yachts are solely for the pleasure of the owner and guests do not carry the passenger restriction. Yachts may be identified by flag—the country under which a yacht is registered. An industry publication categorizes superyachts by size, by speed, as "explorer" yachts, as sailing yachts, and classic yachts.


Construction

Originally, all yachts were made of wood, using a wooden keel and ribs, clad with planks. These materials were supplanted with iron or steel in steam yachts. In the 1960s
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
became a prevalent material. These materials and others continue in use. Whereas yachts of and below may be constructed of
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
, larger yachts are more likely to be constructed of steel, aluminum or composite
fiber-reinforced plastic Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP; also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or in American English ''fiber'') is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass fibre, glass (in fibreglass), Carbon fib ...
. * ''Wood'' construction, using conventional planks over ribs continues. Hard-chined boats made with plywood is an infrequent technique, whereas yachts made with the WEST system—plies of wood strips, soaked in epoxy and applied over the boat frame—provide a durable, lightweight and robust hull. * ''Metal'' hulls from steel or aluminum offer the opportunity for welding components to a completely watertight hull. Both metals are vulnerable to damage due to
electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...
. Steel is easy to repair in boatyards around the world, whereas aluminum is a much lighter material. * ''Fiberglass'' construction is best suited for
mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
yachts, using a mold and is therefore the most prevalent material. Fiberglass skins comprise plies of roving (glass fabric) and matting, soaked in resin for the hull. Decks typically have a core of balsa or PVC foam between layers of glass mat. Both elements of construction are vulnerable to intrusion of water and the development of blisters below the waterline.


Accommodations

Depending on size, a cruising yacht is likely to have at least two cabins, a main salon and a forward stateroom. In smaller yachts, the salon is likely to have convertible berths for its crew or passengers. Typically the salon includes a dining area, which may have a folding, built-in table. The salon is typically contiguous to the
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
. A cruising yacht is likely to have a
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
(bathroom) with a marine toilet that discharges waste into a holding tank. Larger yachts may have additional staterooms and heads. There is typically a navigation station that allows planning the route.


Systems

Onboard systems include: * Electrical power, provided by batteries recharged by a motor-driven alternator (sail) or by a generator set (motor) * Water, stored in on-board tanks, refilled on shore or replenished with a desalination water maker * Sanitation, provided by toilets using seawater and discharged into holding tanks. * Refrigeration by ice or an engine-driven mechanical system. Modern yachts employ a suite of electronics for communication, measurement of surroundings, and navigation. * ''Communications'' equipment includes radios in a variety of bandwidths, specifically for maritime use. * ''Instrumentation'' also provides information on depth of water under the vessel (
depth sounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...
), windspeed (
anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ( ...
), and directional orientation (
compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
). * ''Navigation'' electronics include units that identify a vessel's location (e.g.
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
) and display the vessel's location (
chartplotter A Chartplotter is a device used in marine navigation that integrates GPS data with an electronic navigational chart (ENC). The chartplotter displays the ENC along with the position, heading and speed of the ship, and may display additional infor ...
) and other vessels and nearby shore (
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
).


Sailing yachts

Sailing yacht A sailing yacht (US ship prefixes SY or S/Y), is a leisure craft that uses sails as its primary means of propulsion. A yacht may be a sail or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applie ...
s for ''cruising'' versus ''racing'' embody different tradeoffs between comfort and performance. Cruising yachts emphasize comfort over performance. Racing yachts are designed to compete against others in their class, while providing adequate comfort to their crews.


Cruising

Cruising yachts may be designed for near-shore use or for passage-making. They may also be raced, but they are designed and built with the comfort and amenities necessary for overnight voyages. Qualities considered in cruising yachts include: performance, comfort under way, ease of handling, stability, living comfort, durability, ease of maintenance, affordability of ownership.


Categories

Cruising sailboats share the common attribute of providing overnight accommodations. They may be classified as ''small'' (easy to haul behind a trailer), ''near-shore'' and ''off-shore''.
Multihull A multihull is a boat or ship with more than one hull, whereas a vessel with a single hull is a monohull. The most common multihulls are catamarans (with two hulls), and trimarans (with three hulls). There are other types, with four or more h ...
sailing yachts are a category, apart. *''Small yachts'' are typically shorter than length overall.
Trailer sailer A trailer sailer is a type of sailboat that has been designed to be easily transported using a boat trailer towed by an automobile. They are generally larger than a sailing dinghy.Royce, Patrick M.: ''Royces Sailing Illustrated'', pages 52-57. Del ...
s that are readily towed by a car are generally shorter than length overall and weigh less than . *''Near-shore yachts'' typically range in size from length overall. *''Offshore yachts'' typically exceed length overall.


Design

Design considerations for a cruising yacht include seaworthiness, performance, sea kindliness, and cost of construction, as follows: * ''Seaworthiness'' addresses the integrity of the vessel and its ability to stay afloat and shelter its crew in the conditions encountered. * ''Performance'' hinges on a number of factors, including the waterline length (longer means faster), drag in the water (narrower hull with smooth appendages), hull shape, and sail shape and area. * ''Sea kindliness'' is an indicator of steering ease, directional stability and quelling of motion induced by wind and waves. Multihulls offer tradeoffs as cruising sailboats, compared with
monohull image:monohull.svg, right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull (watercraft), hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple ...
s. They may be catamarans or trimarans. They rely on form stability—having separate hulls far apart—for their resistance to capsize. Their advantages include greater: stability, speed, (for catamarans) living space, and shallower draft. Their drawbacks include: greater expenses, greater
windage Windage is a term used in aerodynamics, firearms ballistics, and automobiles. Usage Aerodynamics Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object. Windage loss is the reduction in e ...
, more difficult tacking under sail, less load capacity, and more maneuvering room required because of their broad beam. They come with a variety of sleeping accommodations and (for catamarans) bridge-deck configurations.


Rigs

Gaff rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shape ...
s have been uncommon in the construction of cruising boats, since the mid 20th century. More common rigs are
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
, fractional, cutter, and
ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...
. Occasionally employed rigs since then have been the
yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...
, schooner,
wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wish ...
,
catboat A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are f ...
.


Gear

Sailboats employ
standing rigging Standing rigging comprises the fixed lines, wires, or rods, which support each mast or bowsprit on a sailing vessel and reinforce those spars against wind loads transferred from the sails. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, whic ...
to support the rig,
running rigging Running rigging is the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering, shaping and controlling the sails on a sailing vessel—as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and bowsprit. Running rigging varies bet ...
to raise and adjust sails, cleats to secure lines, winches to work the sheets, and more than one anchor to secure the boat in harbor. A cruising yacht's deck usually has safety line to protect the crew from falling overboard and a bow pulpit to facilitate handling the jib and the anchor. In temperate climates, the cockpit may have a canvas windshield with see-through panels, called a "dodger". Steering may be either by tiller or wheel.


Engine

Cruising yachts have an auxiliary propulsion power unit to supplement the use of sails. Such power is inboard on the vessel and diesel, except for the smallest cruising boats, which may have an outboard gasoline motor. A sailboat might have a engine, whereas a sailboat might have a engine.


Racing

Racing yachts emphasize performance over comfort.
World Sailing World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) beg ...
recognizes eleven classes of racing yacht.


Design features

High-performance rigs provide aerodynamic efficiency and
hydrodynamical In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) and ...
ly efficient hulls minimize drag through the water and sideways motion. Racing yachts have a wide selection of weights and shapes of sail to accommodate different wind strengths and points of sail. A suite of sails on a racing yachts would include several weights of
jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...
and spinnaker, plus a specialized storm jib and
trysail A trysail (also known as a spencer) is a small triangular or square fore-and-aft rigged sail hoisted in place of a larger mainsail when winds are very high. The trysail provides enough thrust to maintain control of the ship, e.g. to avoid ship ...
(in place of the
mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...
). Performance yachts are likely to have full-battened kevlar or carbon-fiber mainsails. Underwater foils can become more specialized, starting with a higher-aspect ratio fin keel with hydrodynamically efficient bulbs for ballast. On some racing yachts, a
canting keel A canting keel is a form of sailing ballast, suspended from a rigid canting strut beneath the boat, which can be swung to windward of a boat under sail, in order to counteract the heeling force of the sail. The canting keel must be able to pivot to ...
shifts angle from side to side to promote sailing with less heeling angle (sideway tilt), while other underwater foils take care of
leeway Leeway is the amount of drift motion to leeward of an object floating in the water caused by the component of the wind vector that is perpendicular to the object’s forward motion.Bowditch. (1995). The American Practical Navigator. Pub. No. 9. ...
(sideways motion).


Motor yachts

Motor yachts range in length from before they are considered ''super-yachts or mega-yachts'', which are and longer. They also vary by use, by style, and by hull type. As of April 2020 a yacht, ''REV Ocean'', was under construction, which when launched would replace the '' Azzam'' as the longest superyacht. As superyachts have grown size, the distinction between a yacht and a ship (perhaps converted for personal use) has become unclear. A proposed definition for calling a vessel a yacht rather than a ship would if it was constructed solely for personal use and has a combined occupancy of less than 100, including crew.


Classification

The
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
classifies motorboats—any vessel less than , propelled by machinery—in four classes by length: *Class A: motorboats less than *Class 1: motorboats *Class 2: motorboats *Class 3: motorboats


Style

A motor yacht's style can both be functional and evoke an aesthetic—trending towards the modern or the traditional. Among the styles, mentioned in the literature, are: * ''Cruiser'' – A
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
has a displacement hull for economical, long-distance passage-making. * ''Sports cruiser'' – A sports cruiser has a semi-displacement or planing hull for fast trips. * ''Sports fisherman'' – A sports fisherman has a semi-displacement or planing hull for fast trips and carries gear for recreational catching of large fish. * ''Expedition'' –An expedition yacht has a displacement hull for economical, long-distance passage-making to remote destinations. These are also called yachts. * ''Lobster'' – A lobster yacht is styled like a Maine lobster boat and has a semi-displacement or planing hull for fast trips. * ''Trawler''– A trawler has conservative, traditional styling and has a displacement hull for economical, medium-distance passage-making.


Hulls

There are three basic types of motor yacht hull: , , and , which have progressively higher cruise speeds and hourly fuel consumption with increased engine power: * ''Full-displacement hulls'' move the water up and out of the way of the vessel, making a wave. They are limited in speed by the square root of the waterline length multiplied by a factor, depending on the units used. Added horsepower cannot increase the maximum speed, only the size of the waves produced. * ''Semi-displacement hulls'' allow speeds that are faster than the
hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-tro ...
of a displacement vessel because they rise somewhat out of the water and create smaller waves. They also provide greater comfort than planing hulls. * ''Planing hulls'' require sufficient power for the boat to slide up onto the surface, which avoids the need to use power to lift water out of the way of the vessel. Such vessels have flat surfaces on the undersides. A typical semi-displacement yacht has a wedge-shaped bow, which promotes penetrating waves, that transitions to flatter, wider surfaces aft, which promotes lifting the vessel out of the water—the "deep vee" hull, designed by Ray Hunt, found in approximately 75% of modern power boats. Cruising motor yachts are available in a range of styles as two-engine , ranging in length from with top speeds ranging from .


Engines

Motor yachts typically have one or more
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s. Gasoline-powered motors and engines are the provenance of
outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...
s and racing boats, due to their power-to-weight ratios. Two engines adds expense, but provides reliability and maneuverability over a single engine. Motor yachts in the range might have the following hull, horsepower, cruise speed, and hourly fuel consumption characteristics: * – two diesels to cruise at , consuming . * – two diesels to cruise at , consuming . * – two diesels to cruise at , consuming . Superyachts may employ multiple diesels or a combination of diesels and
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
s with a combined .


See also

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World Sailing World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) beg ...
*
List of keelboat classes designed before 1970 The following is a list of established day keelboat#Modern keelboats, keelboat classes designed before 1970. One-design classes Development classes See also *Classic dinghy classes *Olympic sailing classes *List of sailing boat types Notes ...
*
List of large sailing yachts This article lists active sailing yachts in excess of in sparred length. This list features vessels with sails which were classed as yachts when they were launched as well as any vessels which were subsequently converted to operate with sails and ...
*
List of motor yachts by length __NOTOC__ This list of motor yachts by length, is a table of the world's longest active superyachts, with an overall length of at least and up. These boats are also known as "megayachts", "gigayachts" and even "terayachts", usually depending ...
*
List of sailing boat types The following is a partial list of sailboat types and sailing classes, including keelboats, dinghies and multihull ( catamarans and trimarans). Olympic classes World Sailing Classes Historically known as the IYRU (International Yacht Racing ...
*
List of sailboat designers and manufacturers This is a list of notable sailboat designers and manufacturers, which are described by an article in English Wikipedia. Sailboat design and manufacturing is done by a number of companies and groups. Notable designers Sailboat designer articles i ...
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Model yachting Model yachting is the pastime of building and racing model yachts. It has always been customary for ship-builders to make a miniature model of the vessel under construction, which is in every respect a copy of the original on a small scale, wheth ...
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Superyacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
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Yacht broker A yacht broker is a specialist who serves yacht or boat sellers and/or buyers as a representative for the sale or purchase of a yacht or boat. The yacht broker is paid an agreed commission by the seller to market the yacht for sale, field interest ...
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Yacht charter Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and travelling to various coastal or island destinations. This is usually a vacation activity, but it also can be a business event. There are two main kinds ...
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Yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marke ...
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Yacht transport Yacht transport is the shipping of a yacht to a destination instead of sailing or motoring it. Yacht transport is an alternative to the traditional passaging (sailing or motoring) to reach desired destinations around the globe. Transport when c ...
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Yacht tender A yacht tender is a vessel used for servicing and providing support and entertainment to a private or charter yacht. They include utilitarian craft, powered by oar or outboard motor, and high-speed luxury craft, supporting superyachts, powered by ...
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Yacht support vessel Yacht support vessels, also known as a shadow yacht or shadow vessel, are specialized ships which provide support and auxiliary functions for large sailing and motor yachts. Design features Support yachts are generally primarily intended to c ...
*
Yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Yachts Dutch inventions Ship designs of the Dutch Republic