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{{short description|Small watercraft}}
{{About|the small vessel|larger boats|Ship|other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
[[File:Motorboat at Kankaria lake.JPG|thumb|right|A recreational [[motorboat]] with an [[outboard motor]]]]
A '''boat''' is a [[watercraft]] of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a [[ship]], which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats.

Small boats are typically used on inland waterways such as [[river]]s and [[lake]]s, or in protected coastal areas. However, some boats (such as [[whaleboat]]s) were intended for offshore use. In modern [[Navy|naval]] terms, a boat is a vessel small enough to be carried aboard a ship.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cutler|first=Thomas J.|date=October 2017|title=Bluejacket's Manual – Of Ships and Boats and ... |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/october/bluejackets-manual-ships-and-boats-and|journal=Naval History Magazine|volume=31|issue=5}}</ref>

[[Submarine|Submarines]] are referred to as ''boats'' rather than ''ships'' regardless of their size.<ref name="cutler">{{cite magazine |last1=Cutler |first1=Thomas J. |title=Of Ships and Boats and ... |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/october/bluejackets-manual-ships-and-boats-and |volume=31 |issue=5 |access-date=9 November 2022 |department=Bluejacket's Manual |magazine=[[Naval History (magazine)|Naval History]] |publisher=[[U.S. Naval Institute]] |date=1 October 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

Boats vary in proportions and construction methods according to their intended purpose, available materials, or local traditions. [[Canoe]]s have been used since prehistoric times and remain in use throughout the world for transportation, fishing, and sport. [[Fishing boat]]s vary widely in style, partly to match local conditions. [[Pleasure boat|Pleasure craft]] used in [[boating|recreational boating]] include ski boats, [[Pontoon (boat)|pontoon boats]], and [[sailboat]]s. [[Houseboat]]s may be used for vacationing or long-term residence. [[Lighter (barge)|Lighters]] are used to move cargo to and from large ships unable to get close to shore. [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|Lifeboat]]s have rescue and safety functions.

Boats can be propelled by manpower (e.g., [[rowboat]]s and [[pedalo|paddle boats]]), wind (e.g., [[sailboat]]s), and [[Inboard motor|inboard]]/[[Outboard motor|outboard]] [[motor]]s (including [[gasoline engine|gasoline]], [[diesel engine|diesel]], and [[electric motor|electric]]).

==History==
[[File:Silver model of a boat, tomb PG 789, Royal Cemetery of UR, 2600-2500 BCE.jpg|thumb|Silver model of a boat, tomb PG 789, [[Royal Cemetery of Ur]], 2600–2500 BCE]]
{{Further|Maritime history}}

===Differentiation from other prehistoric watercraft===
The earliest watercraft are considered to have been [[raft]]s. These would have been used for voyages such as the settlement of Australia, which occurred sometime between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago.

A boat differs from a [[raft]] by obtaining its buoyancy by having most of its structure exclude water with a waterproof layer, e.g., the planks of a wooden hull, the hide covering (or tarred canvas) of a [[currach]]. In contrast, a raft is buoyant because it joins components that are themselves buoyant, such as logs, bamboo poles, bundles of reeds, and floats (such as inflated hides, sealed pottery containers, or, in a modern context, empty oil drums). The key difference between a raft and a boat is that the former is a "flow through" structure, with waves able to pass up through it. Consequently, except for short river crossings, a raft is not a practical means of transport in colder regions of the world, as the users would be at risk of [[hypothermia]]. Today, that climatic limitation restricts rafts to between 40° north and 40° south, with similar boundaries in the past that have shifted as the world's climate has varied.{{r|McGrail 2001|p=11}}

===Types===
The earliest boats may have been either [[Dugout (boat)|dugouts]] or hide boats.<ref name="McGrail 2001">
{{cite book|last=McGrail|first=Sean|title=Boats of the World|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|location=Oxford, UK|isbn=978-0-19-814468-7}}</ref>{{rp|11}} The oldest recovered boat in the world, the [[Pesse canoe]], found in the [[Netherlands]], is a dugout made from the hollowed tree trunk of a ''[[Pinus sylvestris]]'' that was constructed somewhere between 8200 and 7600 BC. This [[canoe]] is exhibited in the [[Drents Museum]] in Assen, Netherlands.<ref name="Van der Heide">{{cite book|last=Van der Heide|first=G. D.|title=Scheepsarcheologie in Nederland|trans-title=Archeology of ships in the Netherlands|publisher=Strengholt|year=1974|location=[[Naarden]]|page=507}}</ref><ref name="Boat of Pesse">{{cite web|title=World's oldest boat|url=http://www.drentsmuseum.nl/collections/archaeology.html|access-date=2013-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529221723/http://www.drentsmuseum.nl/collections/archaeology.html|archive-date=2013-05-29|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other very old dugout boats have also been recovered.<ref name="chinaorg2002">{{cite web|title=Oldest Boat Unearthed|publisher=China.org.cn|url=http://lanzhou.china.com.cn/english/travel/50131.htm|access-date=2008-05-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102183359/http://lanzhou.china.com.cn/english/travel/50131.htm|archive-date=2009-01-02}}</ref><ref name="McGrail431">{{cite book|last=McGrail|first=Sean|title=Boats of the World|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|location=Oxford, UK|page=431|isbn=978-0-19-814468-7}}</ref><ref name="italy2005">{{cite web|title=8,000-year-old dug out canoe on show in Italy|publisher=Stone Pages Archeo News|url=http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001511.html|access-date=2008-08-17}}</ref> Hide boats, made from covering a framework with animal skins, could be equally as old as logboats, but such a structure is much less likely to survive in an archaeological context.<ref name="Adams 2013">{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Jonathan |title=A maritime archaeology of ships: innovation and social change in late medieval and early modern Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Oxbow Books |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-78297-045-3}}</ref>{{rp|63}}

Plank-built boats are considered, in most cases, to have developed from the logboat. There are examples of logboats that have been expanded: by deforming the hull under heat, by raising the sides with added planks, or by splitting down the middle and adding a central plank to widen it. (Some of these methods have been in quite recent use{{snd}}there is no simple developmental sequence). The earliest known plank-built boats are from the Nile, dating to the third millennium BC. Outside Egypt, the next earliest are from England. The [[Ferriby Boats|Ferriby boats]] are dated to the early second millennium BC and the end of the third millennium BC.{{r|Adams 2013|pp=63, 66-67}} Plank-built boats require a level of woodworking technology that was first available in the [[Neolithic]] with more complex versions only becoming achievable in the [[Bronze Age]].<ref name="McGrail 2014a">{{cite book |last1=McGrail |first1=Sean |title=Early ships and seafaring : European water transport |date=2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword Archaeology |location=South Yorkshire, England |isbn=9781781593929}}</ref>{{rp|59}}

==Types==
[[File:সারি সারি পাল তোলা নৌকা.jpg|thumb|right|Boats with sails in Bangladesh]]
{{main|List of boat types}}
Boats can be categorized by their means of propulsion. These divide into:
# Unpowered. This involves drifting with the tide or a river current.
# Powered by the crew-members on board, using [[Rowing|oars]], paddles or a [[Setting pole|punting]] pole or quant.
# Powered by [[sail]].
# Towed{{snd}}either by humans or animals from a river or canal bank (or in very shallow water, by walking on the sea or river bed) or by another vessel.
# Powered by [[Engines|machinery]], such as internal combustion engines, steam engines, or by batteries and an electric motor.<br>Any one vessel may use more than one of these methods at different times or in combination.<ref name="McGrail 2014a"/>{{rp|33}}

Several large vessels are usually referred to as boats. [[Submarine]]s are a prime example.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chief of Naval Operations |author-link=Chief of Naval Operations |date=March 2001 |title=The Saga of the Submarine: Early Years to the Beginning of Nuclear Power |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/subsaga5.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114164154/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/subsaga5.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |access-date=2008-10-03 |publisher=United States Navy}}</ref> Other types of large vessels which are traditionally called boats include [[lake freighter|Great Lakes freighters]], [[riverboat]]s, and [[ferryboat]]s.<ref name="Williams">{{Citation |last=Williams |first=Charles Frederic |title=Utmost care to Watercourses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2TlJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA440 |volume=28 |page=440 |year=1895 |editor-last=Merrill |editor-first=John Houston |series=The American and English Encyclopædia of Law |contribution=Vessel |publisher=Edward Thompson Company |editor2-last=Williams |editor2-first=Charles Frederic |editor3-last=Michie |editor3-first=Thomas Johnson |editor4-last=Garland |editor4-first=David Shephard}}</ref> Though large enough to carry their own boats and heavy cargo, these vessels are designed for operation on inland or protected coastal waters.

==Terminology==
{{further|Glossary of nautical terms}}
The [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] is the main, and in some cases only, structural component of a boat. It provides both capacity and [[buoyancy]]. The [[keel]] is a boat's "backbone", a lengthwise structural member to which the perpendicular frames are fixed. On some boats, a [[deck (ship)|deck]] covers the hull, in part or whole. While a [[ship]] often has several decks, a boat is unlikely to have more than one. Above the deck are often [[Lifeline (safety)|lifelines]] connected to [[stanchion]]s, [[Bulwark (nautical)|bulwark]]s, perhaps topped by [[Gunnel (ship element)|gunnel]]s, or some combination of the two. A [[cabin (ship)|cabin]] may protrude above the deck forward, aft, along the centerline, or cover much of the length of the boat. Vertical structures dividing the internal spaces are known as [[bulkhead (partition)|bulkhead]]s.

The forward end of a boat is called the [[bow (watercraft)|bow]], the aft end the [[stern]]. Facing forward the right side is referred to as [[starboard]] and the left side as [[Port and starboard|port]].

==Building materials==
{{see also|Boat building}}
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Toba Batak prauw met houtsnijwerk op de voorsteven TMnr 60011149.jpg|thumb|Traditional Toba [[Batak]] boat ({{Circa|1870}}), photograph by [[Kristen Feilberg]]]]
[[File:Boats at Bhimili beach in Visakhapatnam.jpg|thumb|Fishing boats in [[Visakhapatnam]], India]]

Until the mid-19th century, most boats were made of natural materials, primarily wood, although bark and animal skins were also used. Early boats include the [[birch bark]] [[canoe]], the animal hide-covered [[kayak]]<ref>{{cite book |last= Streever |first= Bill |title= Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places |url= https://archive.org/details/coldadventuresin00stre |url-access= registration |location= New York |publisher= Little, Brown and Company |year= 2009 |page= [https://archive.org/details/coldadventuresin00stre/page/154 154]|isbn= 9780316042918 }}</ref> and [[coracle]] and the [[dugout canoe]] made from a single log.

By the mid-19th century, some boats had been built with iron or steel frames but still planked in wood. In 1855, [[ferro-cement]] boat construction was patented by the French, who coined the name "ferciment". This is a system by which a steel or iron wire framework is built in the shape of a boat's hull and covered over with cement. Reinforced with bulkheads and other internal structures, it is strong but heavy, easily repaired, and, if sealed properly, will not leak or corrode.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bingham |first=Bruce |title=Ferro-cement: design, techniques, and application. |date=1974 |publisher=Cornell Maritime Press |isbn=0-87033-178-7 |location=Cambridge, Md. |oclc=858712}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ferrocement – The World of Ferroboats |url=https://www.ferrocement.org/ |access-date=2022-12-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>

As the forests of Britain and Europe continued to be over-harvested to supply the keels of larger wooden boats, and the [[Bessemer process]] ([[patent]]ed in 1855) reduced the cost of steel, steel ships and boats became more common. By the 1930s, boats built entirely of steel, from frames to plating, were replacing wooden boats in many industrial uses and fishing fleets. Private recreational steel boats remain uncommon. In 1895, WH Mullins produced steel boats of galvanized iron, and by 1930, became the world's largest producer of pleasure boats.

Mullins also offered aluminium boats from 1895 through 1899 and once again in the 1920s,<ref>WH Mullins boat history, Salem Ohio</ref> but it was not until the mid-20th century that [[aluminium]] gained widespread popularity. Though much more expensive than steel, certain aluminum alloys do not corrode in salt water, allowing them to carry loads comparable to steel at much lower weight.

Around the mid-1960s, boats made of [[fiberglass]] (aka "glass fiber") became popular, especially for recreational boats. Fiberglass is also known as "GRP" (glass-reinforced plastic) in the UK and "FRP" (fiber-reinforced plastic) in the US. Fiberglass boats are strong and do not rust, corrode, or rot. Instead, they are susceptible to structural degradation from sunlight and temperature extremes over their lifespan. Fiberglass structures can be made stiffer with sandwich panels, where the fiberglass encloses a lightweight core such as balsa wood<ref>.. as in the [[Iroqois]] [[catamaran]]</ref> or foam.

[[Strip-built|Cold molding]] is a modern construction method that uses wood as the structural component. In a single cold-molding process, very thin strips of wood are layered over a form. Each layer is coated with resin, then another layer is laid on top at a 90-degree angle. Subsequent layers may be stapled or otherwise mechanically fastened to the previous layer, or weighted or vacuum-bagged to provide compression and stabilization until the resin sets. An alternative process uses thin plywood sheets shaped over a disposable male mold and coated with epoxy.

==Propulsion==
{{See also|Marine propulsion}}
The most common means of boat propulsion are as follows:
* Engine
** [[Inboard motor]]
** [[Stern drive]] (Inboard/outboard)
** [[Outboard motor]]
** [[Paddle wheel]]
** Water jet ([[jetboat]], [[personal water craft]])
** Fan ([[hovercraft]], [[air boat]])
* Man ([[Watercraft rowing|rowing]], [[Watercraft paddling|paddling]], [[setting pole]] etc.)
* Wind ([[sail]]ing)

==Buoyancy==
{{Main|Buoyancy}}

A boat [[displacement (fluid)|displaces]] its weight in water, regardless of whether it is made of wood, steel, fiberglass, or even concrete. If weight is added to the boat, the volume of the hull submerged below the waterline will increase to keep the weight above and below the surface balanced. Boats have a natural or designed level of buoyancy. Exceeding it will cause the boat first to ride lower in the water, second to take on water more readily than when properly loaded, and ultimately, if overloaded by any combination of structure, cargo, and water, sink.

As commercial vessels must be correctly loaded to be safe, and as the sea becomes less buoyant in brackish areas such as the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]], the [[Load line (watercraft)|Plimsoll line]] was introduced to prevent overloading.

==European Union classification==
Since 1998, all new leisure boats and barges built in Europe between 2.5m and 24m must comply with the [[European Union|EU]]'s [[Recreational Craft Directive]] (RCD). The Directive establishes four categories that permit the allowable [[Beaufort scale|wind]] and wave conditions for vessels in each class:<ref>"The Barge Buyer's Handbook" – DBA publications {{ISBN|9780953281954}}</ref>
*Class A – the boat may safely navigate any waters.
*Class B – the boat is limited to offshore navigation. (Winds up to Force 8 & waves up to 4 metres) 
*Class C – the boat is limited to inshore (coastal) navigation. (Winds up to Force 6 & waves up to 2 metres) 
*Class D – the boat is limited to rivers, canals, and small lakes. (Winds up to Force 4 & waves up to 0.5 metres)
Europe is the main producer of recreational boats (the second-largest producer in the world is Poland). European brands are known all over the world – in fact, these are the brands that created RCD and set the standard for shipyards around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cabin boats manufactured in Europe |url=https://theyachters.com/cabin-boat/ |website=theYachters.com}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Abora]]
* [[Barge]]
* [[Boat club]]
* [[Cabin cruiser]]
* [[Car float]]
* [[Dinghy]]
* [[Dory (boat)|Dory]]
* [[Flatboat]]
* [[Halkett boat]]
* [[Inflatable boat]]
* [[Launch (boat)]]
* [[Log canoe]]
* [[Narrowboat]]
* [[Naval architecture]]
* [[Panga (skiff)|Panga (boat)]]
* [[Pirogue]]
* [[Poveiro (boat)|Poveiro]]
* [[Rescue craft]]
* [[Sampan]]
* [[Ship's boat]]
* [[Skiff]]
* [[Tour boat]]
* [[Traditional fishing boat]]s
* [[Tûranor PlanetSolar]]
* [[Yacht]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{Wikiquote|Boats}}
{{Wiktionary|boat}}
* University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – [http://content.lib.washington.edu/fishweb/index.html Freshwater and Marine Image Bank] (enter search term "vessels" for images of boats and vessels)
{{Ship types}}
{{Boats and boating}}
{{Water sports}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Boats| ]]
[[Category:Watercraft]]
[[Category:Fishing equipment]]