M/V or M/Y

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PS...my current and previous boat have a "Yacht Certification" placard on them.
 
How dare one call a sailboat with a motor and no mast to hoist sails. Perhaps built intended to be a sailboat, but no longer.
 
"Engine" and no masts.

Why not just pleasure boat .. covers it all for us.
 
markpierce wrote, "Oh! the debauchery of a pleasure boat."

The reference to debauchery while afloat calls to mind the time-honored, evocative and technically precise boating term used to refer to a certain category of yacht: "gin palace."

I've never heard anyone utter the term over the VHF, but it's been muttered occasionally in my pilothouse, or in the cockpit of my sailboat - er, S/V.
 
BandB said:
I have heard sailboats many times announce they're under power. I've also known when they didn't indicate for them to be asked by canal or lock masters. In areas where minimum speed is required, I've heard them asked their speed.
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But even then, I doubt that means the sailor thinks he's all-of-a-sudden turned into a powerboater. :)


psneeld said:
the only time a true, unaltered, non hybrid sailing vessel becomes a vessel under power for discussion purposes is in the collision regs....otherwise it is a sailing vessel, sailing vessel undersail, sailing vessel under both, sailing vessel under power, sailing vessel with no masts, ad nauseum...it ain't rocket science.

with all those desriptions...would one change the documentation every time something changed?

of course not.
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Yep. If a powerboat loses all engines, the owner probably doesn't all-of-a-sudden decide his boat is a raft. Aside from temporarily, of course. :)

-Chris
 
A term may be interpreted differently in different legal or nomination procedure systems depending on the country.

In France, the motoryachts are leisure boats which have a standard length of 12m and above, with one or two gas or diesel engines as per navigation requirement in the bigger river systems or the oceans.

Off topic but interesting:

Glossary of Nautical Terms :
Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

Glossary of shipping terms (U.S Department of Transportation) :
https://www.marad.dot.gov/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Glossary_final.pdf

For TF's francophones: Glossary of Nautical Terms English-French / French-English :
Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life
And
http://media.wix.com/ugd/5b2399_2dd931651d094fc38a23bc807b7c0b95.pdf
 
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GFC said:
Where and when do you ever need to identify what type of boat you have? .
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I suppose you don't actually need to identify what type of boat you have, but it's a bit of a courtesy. Suppose there are three boats waiting for a bridge opening. By describing your boat, it's easier for the bridge tender to know which boat is which.

In my area, bridge tenders want to know the name of your boat and the home port. If you've identified and described your boat, it's easier for the bridge tender.
 
markpierce said:
How dare one call a sailboat with a motor and no mast to hoist sails. Perhaps built intended to be a sailboat, but no longer.
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When I posted that question, I was thinking of the two or three "former" sailboats that are semi permanently anchored just downriver from my marina. They have no masts and never go anyplace. They often drag anchor and end up in the marsh. Someone puts a line on them and tows them back into the river for a couple months, then back into the marsh they go.

We typically call them "sailboats" but they won't be sailing anywhere again.
 
WesK said:
When I posted that question, I was thinking of the two or three "former" sailboats that are semi permanently anchored just downriver from my marina. They have no masts and never go anyplace. They often drag anchor and end up in the marsh. Someone puts a line on them and tows them back into the river for a couple months, then back into the marsh they go.

We typically call them "sailboats" but they won't be sailing anywhere again.
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Wes: Sounds like you may be at Reynolds Park on the St. Johns, in GCS. If so, yes - the cove just north of there seems to be where boat dreams go to die.
 
There are lots of places with abandoned or nearly abandoned sailboats waiting to die...either by dumpster or storm.


Hurricane Matthew put dozens up on shore from NC to FL.
 
LRC said:
Generally MV is used for commercial craft, and MY is used for pleasure, that way one can easily distinguish the difference over the radio.
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Good point and I agree. I use MY.:thumb:
 
eyschulman said:
If you are wearing a blazer and white slacks it is a MY. If you are wearing motor oil and grease stained work type clothing most likely a MV and I don't know what you call it if you are wearing grease stained blazer and oil stained white slacks.
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Sagaciously stated and obviously correct.
 
When I first asked this question I hadn't expected such a varied response. I wasn't trying to be pretentious, I just remember that during the 30 years that I sailed, I always identified our boat on the VHF as "This is the Sailing Vessel My Cyn". I just wondered what the general consensus of the learned members of the Trawler Forum considered proper radio etiquette. I believed that a power boat (which when sailing we called Stinkpots) should identify themselves as a 'Motor-something'. It seemed like an easy choice, Motor Vessel or Motor Yacht. I know now that nothing is as easy as it first seems.

In an homage to our Sisters and Brothers in France, I think I'm just going to use Bateau à moteur, so when you hear "Ici et Bateau à moteur Encore". You'll know it's me.
 
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I just use "pleasure boat" when talking on the radio.
 
FWIW, they are referred to as "Ship Prefixes":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_prefix

MS (M/S) = Motor Ship (interchangeable with MV)
MV (M/V) = Motor Vessel (interchangeable with MS)
MY = Motor Yacht

IMHO, I don't think anyone on this site can reasonably use "MS". I believe that MV and MY would be more appropriately interchanged. Even then, I don't think of most recreational power vessels to be Yachts either.

For me, that leaves me with "MV".
 
To put this to rest I asked my granddaughter the proper terminology. It is a Yacht if it has a club flag and a twirly thing up top. There ya go.
 
The Other Gary said:
To put this to rest I asked my granddaughter the proper terminology. It is a Yacht if it has a club flag and a twirly thing up top. There ya go.
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Wifey B: Duh...well, of course. She's smart. A Yacht Club Flag is clearly an indicator. It reasons you couldn't have one of those on anything but a yacht. Glad someone finally resolved it. :)
 
I have seen many British (GB) using TSMY - Twin Screw Motor Yacht -
or SSMY - Single Screw Motor Yacht-.
 
It is Valentine's Day!
 
BandB said:
Wifey B: Private explanation of my silliness sent. :)
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Thanks, I got it, it was very funny !!! From now I will be very cautious when someone will invite me for a ride aboard his SSMY / TSMY :hide: :D
Please keep going on your "silliness" which I call " humour" :thumb:
 
Pilou said:
Thanks, I got it, it was very funny !!! From now I will be very cautious when someone will invite me for a ride aboard his SSMY / TSMY :hide: :D
Please keep going on your "silliness" which I call " humour" :thumb:
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Single screw requires a big engine? Talk about thread drift.
 
Nightsky said:
Single screw requires a big engine? Talk about thread drift.
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Yes you are right. I have seen many SSMY in Great Britain with 1 big Gardner engine, too bad the company doesn't exist anymore. (I'm back to the thread :hide::D)
 
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Pilou said:
Yes you are right. I have seen many SSMY in Great Britain with 1 big Gardner engine, too bad the company doesn't exist anymore.
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There are enthusiastic rebuilders. Recently saw an advert for a boat with twin freshly rebuilt Gardners, in NZ I think.
 
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