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Definition of yacht

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of yacht  (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

Examples of yacht in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yacht.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

obsolete Dutch jaght , from Middle Low German jacht , short for jachtschip , literally, hunting ship

1557, in the meaning defined above

1836, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing yacht

Articles related to yacht.

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Dictionary Entries Near yacht

yacht chair

Cite this Entry

“Yacht.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yacht. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of yacht.

Kids Definition of yacht  (Entry 2 of 2)

from obsolete Dutch jaght (now jacht ), short for jachtschip, literally, "hunting ship"

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Yachtpedia.de

Was ist überhaupt eine yacht.

Was sind die Merkmale einer Yacht?

Ausstattung moderner Yachten

• Was ist eine Yacht?
• Geschichte, Bauweise und Arten
• Yacht, Boot und Schiff
• Was ist ein Yachtclub?
• Segelyacht - Bauart und Bestimmung
• Motoryacht - Merkmale und Bestimmung
• Luxusyacht - ein VIP-Wasserfahrzeug
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Auf dieser Webseiten findet man thematische Artikel über Yachten. Erfahren Sie mehr über die Geschichte, Arten sowie Bauweise von Yachten. Möchten Sie eine Segelyacht oder eine Motoryacht kaufen? Wenn ja, dann finden Sie hier einige nützliche Tipps dazu.

Verschiedene Yachtarten

• 1.1 Etymology
• 1.2 Pronunciation
• 1.3.1 Derived terms
• 1.3.2 Translations
• 1.4.1 Translations
• 1.5 Anagrams
• 2.1 Etymology
• 2.2 Pronunciation
• 2.4 Further reading
• 3.1 Etymology
• 3.2 Pronunciation
• 3.4 References
• 3.5 Further reading
• 4.1 Etymology
• 5.1 Etymology
• 5.3 References
• 6.1 Etymology
• 6.3 References
• 7.1 Alternative forms
• 7.2 Etymology
• 7.3.1 Declension
• 7.3.2 Derived terms
• 7.4 Further reading

English [ edit ]

Etymology [ edit ]

Circa 1557; variant of yaught , earlier yeaghe ( “ light, fast-sailing ship ” ) , from Dutch jacht ( “ yacht; hunt ” ) , in older spelling jaght(e) , short for jaghtschip ( “ light sailing vessel, fast pirate ship ” , literally “ pursuit ship ” ) , compound of jacht and schip ( “ ship ” ) .

In the 16th century the Dutch built light, fast ships to chase the ships of pirates and smugglers from the coast. The ship was introduced to England in 1660 when the Dutch East India Company presented one to King Charles II, who used it as a pleasure boat, after which it was copied by British shipbuilders as a pleasure craft for wealthy gentlemen.

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• ( UK ) enPR : yŏt , IPA ( key ) : /jɒt/
• ( US ) enPR : yät , IPA ( key ) : /jɑːt/ , /jɑt/
• Rhymes: -ɒt

Noun [ edit ]

yacht ( plural yachts )

• 1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC : The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.
• 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers , chapter VI, in The Younger Set , New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company , →OCLC : “I don’t mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,   [ … ] , the chlorotic squatters on huge yachts ,   [ … ] , the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!"

Derived terms [ edit ]

• motor yacht , motoryacht , MY
• sailing yacht , steam yacht , SY
• yacht person

Translations [ edit ]

Verb [ edit ].

yacht ( third-person singular simple present yachts , present participle yachting , simple past and past participle yachted )

• ( intransitive ) To sail , voyage , or race in a yacht .

Anagrams [ edit ]

• Cathy , tachy , tachy- , yatch

French [ edit ]

Borrowed from English yacht , from Dutch jacht .

• IPA ( key ) : /jɔt/ , /jot/ , ( Canada ) /jat/

yacht   m ( plural yachts )

Further reading [ edit ]

• “ yacht ”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [ Digitized Treasury of the French Language ] , 2012.

Italian [ edit ]

Unadapted borrowing from English yacht .

• IPA ( key ) : /ˈjɔt/ [1]
• Rhymes: -ɔt

yacht   m ( invariable )

• the letter Y in the Italian spelling alphabet

References [ edit ]

• ^ yacht in Luciano Canepari , Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
• yacht in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line , Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Norman [ edit ]

Borrowed from English yacht .

yacht   ? ( plural yachts )

• ( Jersey ) yacht

Norwegian Bokmål [ edit ]

From Dutch jacht , via English yacht .

yacht   m ( definite singular yachten , indefinite plural yachter , definite plural yachtene )

• “yacht” in The Bokmål Dictionary .

Norwegian Nynorsk [ edit ]

yacht   m ( definite singular yachten , indefinite plural yachtar , definite plural yachtane )

• “yacht” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .

Swedish [ edit ]

Alternative forms [ edit ].

yacht   c

Declension [ edit ]

• yacht in Svenska Akademiens ordlista ( SAOL )
• yacht in Svensk ordbok ( SO )
• yacht in Svenska Akademiens ordbok ( SAOB )

• English terms derived from Dutch
• English 1-syllable words
• English terms with IPA pronunciation
• English terms with audio links
• Rhymes:English/ɒt
• Rhymes:English/ɒt/1 syllable
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English terms with usage examples
• English terms with quotations
• English verbs
• English intransitive verbs
• en:Watercraft
• French terms borrowed from English
• French terms derived from English
• French terms derived from Dutch
• French 1-syllable words
• French terms with IPA pronunciation
• French terms with audio links
• French lemmas
• French nouns
• French countable nouns
• French masculine nouns
• fr:Watercraft
• French loanwords with irregular pronunciations
• Italian terms borrowed from English
• Italian unadapted borrowings from English
• Italian terms derived from English
• Italian 1-syllable words
• Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
• Rhymes:Italian/ɔt
• Rhymes:Italian/ɔt/1 syllable
• Italian lemmas
• Italian nouns
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• nrf:Watercraft
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• Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from English
• Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
• Norwegian Bokmål nouns
• Norwegian Bokmål terms spelled with C
• Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
• nb:Watercraft
• Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Dutch
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• nn:Watercraft
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• Swedish lemmas
• Swedish nouns
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Yacht : modern meaning of the term and types of boats

The etymology of the term yacht comes from the Dutch word ‘jacht’, which was used in the past to define the fast sailing vessels used to hunt down pirates along the coasts of northern Europe.

Today, the term ‘yacht’ is used to describe all recreational vessels, whether sailing or motor-powered, with at least one cabin that allows the crew to sleep on board.

There is no established definition for the length of this family of boats, but common usage tends to define a yacht as a vessel longer than 33 feet, or about 10 meters.

As mentioned above, a yacht may be equipped with sailing, motor or mixed propulsion. It can have more than one hull, and if it exceeds 25 meters it also deserves the definition of superyacht . When a yacht is over 50 meters it is called a megayacht and, more and more frequently, when it exceeds 100 meters it becomes a gigayacht.

A yacht normally flies a flag that corresponds to the country where the vessel is registered, not least because, if it does not, it may be captured and taken to the nearest port for ‘flag survey’. As far as international maritime law is concerned, the yacht is considered in all respects to be the territory of the country of the flag it flies, to whose sovereignty the crew is subject.

A yacht flying the flag of a country, unless there is well-founded suspicion of illegal activity, can only be stopped for inspection by the military vessels of that country. When a yacht enters the territorial waters of a country other than that of its flag, it is obliged to fly a courtesy flag.

This is tantamount to a declaration of submission to the navigational laws of the country in which it is sailing.

Sailing and motor-powered yachts

The first major distinction is between sailing yachts and motoryachts. The current worldwide spread of these two families has shifted decisively towards motor yachts, which make up about 75% of the total sailing fleet.

Progress and design have produced many different categories of motor yachts, so let’s discover them together.

Motoryachts

Seen from the stern, a flybridge yacht is often equipped with a “beach club”, a platform that facilitates access to the sea and on which water toys are placed or simply used for diving. A staircase, or even two symmetrical staircases, leads from this platform to the main deck. Sometimes there is a “garage” between these two staircases to house the engine room, a tender and other on-board equipment.

The main deck is characterized by the presence of a helm station, inside of which a large open-space salon houses settees and a galley. The helm station often leads below deck, also known as the lower deck, where the sleeping quarters, or cabins, are normally located.

The foredeck often has a large sundeck bordered by a “bowplate” for hauling anchor. The bow is often “fenced in” by the handrails, which are vital grips for safety at sea.

Let’s get to why a yacht is called a flybridge. The flybridge is an upper deck, open 360 degrees and often covered by a hard-top, a roof usually made of fibreglass. The flybridge usually has an additional helm station to steer from a more panoramic position. An additional galley is often located on the flybridge, as well as additional lounge seating and sun decks.

Open Yachts

An open yacht has no flybridge and its main deck is commonly all open. The helm station can frequently be sheltered by a T-Top. Below deck, depending on the length of the yacht, there are living spaces for the crew which may include dinette, cabins and facilities. Open yachts can be walk-around, i.e. with the possibility for passengers of walking freely around the perimeter of the boat, or they can have an enclosed bow and thus have a raised deck.

A coupe yacht is a yacht without a flybridge, characterized by a sporty design, with the main deck open aft. Very often it has a sunroof and is always equipped with side-decks connecting the stern to the bow. It is a vessel that, depending on its size, is suitable for medium to long-distance cruising.

This is an important type of yacht, which has its origins on the American East Coast where it was used to catch lobsters. It has a romantic, sometimes vintage aesthetic, and is endowed with sinuous lines that, for some, are evocative of the 1950s. Very suitable for cruising and conviviality, thanks also to a large sofa in the cockpit, the lobster is an iconic boat that offers plenty of comfort and space below deck for at least one cabin and one head.

The trawler is essentially a yacht for owners who want to spend a lot of time on board. This is why interior volumes are maximized and the upper deck is always present. Also part of the trawler family are the famous Menorcan boats, inspired by the llaüts of the Menorca island..

Increasingly popular among motor yachts, too, is the multihull, due to its inherent features of stability and capacity. In most cases it is a catamaran designed for long stays at sea.

Sailing yacht

Sailing yachts are vessels where propulsion should mainly rely on the power transmitted by the wind. In the past, sailing yacht engines were low-powered and mainly used for entering and leaving ports, but today, for obvious reasons of practicality and ease of use, they have enough power to make the sailing yacht cruise at a speed at least equal to its theoretical hull speed. This means that sailing yachts can be used efficiently even in the total absence of wind.

A sailing yacht can be rigged in many different ways, these being the most common in modern times:

Sloop : this is the most common rigging on modern boats, characterized by the presence of a single mast with a mainsail and a jib or genoa. Sloop rigging has become popular over the years because it is the easiest to handle with a small crew and also offers the best ease of use/sailing performance ratio.

Cutter : Widely used for long distance sailing, it is characterized by the presence of a mainsail and two jibs rigged on a single mast. Normally the two jibs are a genoa and foresail that are used individually, depending on the weather conditions.

Ketch : this is the most commonly used rig on two-masted sailing yachts, with a mainmast, rigged with a mainsail and genoa, and a mizzenmast, forward of the rudder shaft, rigged with a single mainsail. The splitting of the sails makes this type of yacht suitable for sailing in bad weather.

Yawl : exactly the same as a ketch but with the mizzen mast located aft of the rudder shaft.

Sailing yachts can be monohulls or multihulls, i.e. catamarans or trimarans, but in all cases they can be divided into these categories:

Easy to handle and with plenty of space above and below deck, this type of yacht is normally characterized by an unbalanced length/width ratio favouring the latter, a small sail area and more powerful than average engines.

The interiors are fully equipped and sophisticated, with each cabin often having its own en-suite head.

The deck plan and sailing equipment are simplified, often electrified and minimal.

Cruiser-Racer

This yacht, while still featuring a luxurious and complete interior, also has all the equipment needed for sail fine-tuning and a generous sail area.

This is a category where special attention is paid to both the overall weight of the boat and the hull shape.

The hull lines are in fact designed to enhance performance and, inevitably, this results in a slightly smaller interior than that of pure cruising yachts of the same length.

Racer-Cruiser

The owner who buys this type of yacht has already competed in club competitions and now wants to engage in higher level racing. The hulls are light and can sometimes be made of carbon, and all the sail adjustments are fine-tuned to achieve maximum performance.

The deck plan is definitely designed for crewed racing and the sail area/displacement ratio is unbalanced in favour of the former, making this yacht more difficult to handle with a smaller crew but, conversely, capable of performance similar to a pure racing yacht.

A pure racing yacht is a sailing yacht built exclusively for racing. Free from any commercial constraints, it is built according to the type of race to be competed in and, above all, the rating to be obtained. The interiors of this boat are minimal. This yacht is capable of planing and sailing upwind at very low wind angles, but is almost never used for recreational purposes.

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Definition of 'yacht'

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a vessel used for private cruising, racing, or other noncommercial purposes.

to sail, voyage, or race in a yacht.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of yacht

Other words from yacht.

• yachty, adjective
• su·per·yacht, noun

Words that may be confused with yacht

• barge , boat , canoe , cruise ship , sailboat , ship , yacht

Words Nearby yacht

• Yablonovy Mountains
• Yablonovyy Range
• yacht chair

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use yacht in a sentence

As City News explained it, the bribes were paid not only in cash but through rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees, boat repairs and more.

In Ashburn, Snyder is always lurking in spirit, even if he is on his 305-foot yacht somewhere in the Aegean.

Driving across country in a gigantic land yacht —with its crushed-velour seats and faux wood siding—was more practical than a two-door hot rod.

Host Jason Moore chats with experts who share tips harvested from their real-life experiences, such as a couple who paid off their $70,000 debt to travel full time and a woman who left her corporate job to work on a yacht .

Until Thursday, when federal agents escorted him off a 150-foot yacht moored in Long Island Sound, the word often used to describe Steve Bannon was “irrelevant.”

Instead the money allegedly was spent on luxury cars and a yacht club membership, among other things.

Loeb owns a $100 million penthouse on Central Park West and a $50 million yacht .

Solaire has set up charging capabilities at a project it built at a yacht club in Massachusetts, for example.

On my way back into town, I walked by the fortress of tents surrounding the harbor, readying for the yacht show.

Newly-minted Londoner, Lindsay Lohan, is currently chilling out on a yacht in Italy.

I heard her say to one of the servants once that my father had been lost on a yacht , and that he was oh, ever such a handsome man.

He owned a 54-ton yacht named the Opal, and attributed the wonderful health he enjoyed to his numerous sea voyages.

Another yacht had started from the old boathouse at about the time our friends and their new-fangled craft got under way.

Caermarthen ordered out his wonderful yacht , and hastened to complain to the King, who was then at Loo.

The yacht had long turned the head of the island and was beating down alongshore in the eastern bay.

British Dictionary definitions for yacht

/ ( jɒt ) /

a vessel propelled by sail or power, used esp for pleasure cruising, racing, etc

short for sand yacht , ice yacht

(intr) to sail or cruise in a yacht

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Yacht definitions: What is a yacht? And does it need to have sails?

• Top stories

By far the most common question we get asked here at Motor Boat & Yachting is ‘how can you call that a yacht if it doesn’t have sails?’ Here we explain why a boat doesn’t need sails to be called a yacht...

What’s in a name? Quite a lot if you’re a yacht! Not only are the names of yachts a source of endless amusement, but by defining your boat as a yacht in the first place, you’re setting up certain expectations.

Yacht definitions: A brief history

Whilst boating for fun dates back to Ancient Egypt and possibly even further than that, the word yacht comes from the Dutch ‘jachtschip’, which means hunting ship. Jachts were originally a class of sailboat used in the 16th century to hunt down enemies of the Dutch Republic.

However by the 19th century the term ‘yachting’ had developed to mean recreational boating in general, and with the advent of steam boats, sails were no longer the only method of propulsion available to Victorian yachtsmen.

Article continues below…

World’s largest superyacht: Everything you need to know about 183m REV

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In the early 20th century (1904 to be precise), our humble magazine was launched under its original title The Motor Boat , but by the 1950s the ‘& Yachting’ suffix had been added to refer to the general pastime enjoyed by motorboat owners. We even reviewed the occasional motorsailer for those who liked to enjoy the benefits of both power and sail.

Today’s Motor Boat & Yachting is dedicated purely to powered leisure vessels from 25-125ft with the occasional foray above and below that when interest dictates. Current editor Hugo Andreae insists that he is ‘terminology agnostic’ saying, “I’m not bothered whether people refer to their boats as yachts, cruisers, power boats or gin palaces just so long as they enjoy using them. But for the record my 22ft Karnic is definitely a gigayacht!”

Editor Hugo’s Karnic 2250 is his family’s pride and joy, but should it be called a yacht?

What makes a yacht, a yacht?

Some would argue that a yacht has to have sails, and as we’ve seen, that was originally the case, but we here at Motor Boat & Yachting beg to differ, as its common to refer to large motorboats as motoryachts, superyachts or even megayachts without any expectation that they would have sails.

Others assert that a yacht should have to have a cabin in order for it to be fully considered a yacht, or that it has to measure at least 10m in length. If that’s the case then some longer narrowboats could be technically considered as yachts, although you’d be hard pushed to find anyone who agrees with that definition.

The final test for something to be considered a yacht is harder to pin down, but it is generally accepted that all yachts have to have a certain aesthetic or architectural appeal in order to earn this haughty moniker.

The advent of internal combustion in the 19th Century allowed motor yachts, like this fine example from Camper & Nicholsons, to be launched. Photo: Getty Images

Whether a boat is worthy of being called a yacht is clearly subjective, but there’s one thing we won’t budge over – it certainly doesn’t have to have sails!

If it’s sailing yachts specifically that you’re interested in, you won’t find many of them here, but we can heartily recommend our sister titles Yachting Monthly and Yachting World , who know much more about them than we do.

Bigger yacht definitions: Superyacht, megayacht or gigayacht?

Beyond the simple term yacht, there are a few other yacht definitions worth clarifying. The most commonly used of which is superyacht .

The debate still rages over what constitutes a superyacht. Any pleasure yacht with a load line length of 24m or more (not length overall or waterline length as is often misquoted) and a gross tonnage of 80GT is classified as a Large Yacht under MCA coding rules, causing a number of additional regulations to kick in, most crucially the requirement for the skipper to hold a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate. This is the closest thing to a technical definition of a superyacht.

At 180m Azzam is currently the largest yacht in the world, but an 183m gigayacht called REV is currently under construction in Norway. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

However, while this used to mean most leisure boats with an overall length (LOA) of 80ft or more fell into the Large Yacht category, yards have become so adept at designing bigger boats with a load line length of just under 24m that many craft with an LOA of 90ft or more still count as regular pleasure vessels.

For that reason some people prefer to use the simpler definition of a superyacht being any privately owned vessel with an LOA of 100ft or more. Even then some would argue that a true superyacht should be a custom built yacht of at least 35m or 120ft.

Such is the inflationary pressure on yacht sizes and terminology that the term superyacht itself has begun to lose currency among the yachting elite. Owners of craft over 50m now use the term megayacht to categorise their larger vessels, while the lesser-spotted gigayacht is reserved for yachts over 100m.

Fewer than 100 gigayachts have been built to date, making this the rarest of rare breeds. That said with the world’s largest yacht now measuring over 183m, it’s surely only a matter of time before the 200m mark will be broken and yet another term will be needed. Got any suggestions? Drop us an e-mail: [email protected]

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Meaning of yacht – Learner’s Dictionary

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(Definition of yacht from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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Yacht classification definitions

The merchant shipping sector is ruled by safety regulations developed since the beginning of the 20th century, and is familiar with international conventions such as SOLAS, MARPOL and Load Lines. But the application of common safety requirements to pleasure vessels is something relatively new – a continuous work in progress – and is very much dependant on the service and the flag of the yacht.

Defining the problems

Definitions do not help. How often have we read of large yachts, superyachts, megayachts, gigayachts or other bombastic adjectives? How many times have we mentioned MCA, RINA, and Lloyd’s, without having a clear idea of who’s doing what?

A good starting point for understanding the subject is to clarify the main definitions and the roles of the main players:

Large yacht

A large yacht is a pleasure vessel with a load line length equal to or over 24m. Almost all the flag administrations have adopted safety codes dedicated to large yachts and this is, therefore, the only definition having a universal meaning in the international regulatory framework of yachts.

Commercial yacht

A motor or sailing vessel in commercial use (i.e. charter) for sport and pleasure, carrying no cargo and not more than 12 passengers.

Private yacht

A pleasure vessel solely used for the recreational and leisure purpose of its owner and his guests.

Flag administration

The government of the state whose flag the yacht is entitled to fly . This administration sets the safety regulations, manning requirements and fiscal aspects relevant to the yacht registration.

Different flag administrations can inspect the safety aspects of yachts with their own inspectors (see MCA for example) or delegate this activity partially or totally to other recognised bodies such as the classification societies.

The main flag authorities in the yachting industry are: The UK-MCA, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Italy and Luxembourg.

Classification societies

Organisations that establish and apply technical standards in relation to the design, construction and survey of ships.

Classification rules are developed to assess the structural strength and integrity of the essential parts of the hull, the reliability and function of the propulsion, steering systems, power generation and all the other features installed on board which contribute to guarantee the main essential services.

In addition to this ‘third party check’ function, class societies carry out statutory duties on behalf of the major flag administrations in accordance with specific delegation agreements signed with each government.

The main class societies involved in yachting are: American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, Lloyd’s Register, and RINA.

Large yachts: Applicable rules and certificates

Private yachts

The mandatory requirements for these boats are very light. For the majority of flag states, a registration survey and a tonnage measurement, carried out by an authorised surveyor, are sufficient.

The only mandatory international conventions are those relevant to the marine environment: MARPOL and the Anti-Fouling System Convention.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is intended to eliminate the intentional pollution and to minimise the accidental pollution of the marine environment caused by harmful substances.

The Anti-Fouling System Convention’s purpose is to eliminate the presence of harmful substances for the marine environment contained in anti-fouling paints applied to ships.

Classification

While classification is not mandatory, building and maintaining a private yacht in class is the only evidence that the boat has been designed, constructed and operated in compliance with appropriate technical standards. It is therefore highly desirable, especially in relation to insurance and re-sale purposes.

Commercial yachts

All flag administrations require commercial yachts to be certified in accordance with a specific large yacht safety code.

The most popular of these safety codes, and the first that was developed, is the MCA Large Commercial Yacht Code (LY2) published in 2004. It replaced the Code of Practice for the Safety of Large Commercial Sailing and Motor Vessels (LY1) published in 1997.

LY2 is applied by the Red Ensign Group Flags (UK, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Bermuda, Gibraltar, British Virgin Islands, etc.) and is recognised as a reference standard for all the yachting industry.

Other flags have developed similar codes. Luxembourg, Italy, Marshall Islands, Malta, Belize and The Netherlands are some examples.

While introducing a stricter set of rules and regulations compared to private yachts, commercial registration offers yacht owners the possibility of making a profit from the chartering activity of their boats, and allows them to take advantage of all the other benefits of a commercial operation (in particular VAT exemption on the purchase, sale, bunkering, provisions, dry-docking, and others).

Mandatory certificates

The number and type of the mandatory certificates depends on the size of the vessel; the following is an indicative list:

• International Tonnage Certificate : A measurement of the internal volumes of the yacht expressed in gross tons (GT). This measurement should not be confused with displacement tonnage, which quantifies the weight of a vessel.
• Large Yacht Code Certificate : Covers life-saving appliances, fire protection and means of escape, navigational and signalling equipment, intact and damaged stability, manning and crew accommodation.
• Class Certificate : This mainly deals with the yacht’s hull, machinery, electrical equipment and outfitting.
• International Load Line Certificate : This certifies the weather-tightness of the yacht.
• Safety Radio Certificate : This is applicable if gross tonnage exceeds 300GT This concerns the radio communication and distress installations.
• MARPOL Annex I Certificate : This is applicable if gross tonnage exceeds 400GT This deals with the disposal of oil and bilge water from machinery spaces.
• MARPOL Annex IV Certificate : This is applicable if gross tonnage exceeds 400 or the yacht is certified to carry over 15 persons. This deals with the disposal of sewage from ships.
• MARPOL Annex V : This is applicable to all ships. It covers the disposal of rubbish.
• MARPOL Annex VI : This is applicable if gross tonnage exceeds 400GT as well as to all main and auxiliary engines with a power exceeding 130kW. It concerns the emissions from main and auxiliary engines (NOx and SOx).
• Safety Construction and Safety Equipment : These are additional prescriptions on machinery, electrical parts, life-saving and navigational equipment for yachts with a gross tonnage above 500GT.
• International Safety Management Certificate : This is only applicable to yachts having a gross tonnage greater than 500GT. A certified management company is requested to carry out this service, preparing operational manuals, procedures for drills, and taking care of the maintenance of the yacht and its installations.
• International Ship and Port Security Certificate : This is only applicable to yachts having a gross tonnage greater than 500GT and deals with the anti-piracy certification. A certified management company is requested to provide the ashore assistance and establish on-board procedures and operational manuals.

The GT Factor

The gross tonnage value (GT) is a key issue, not only as a reference for the registration fees applied by the different flag administrations, but also because it determines whether an international convention, rather than a particular safety standard, applies to a yacht.

The table below summarises how the conventions and relevant certificates come into force depending on the gross tonnage of the yacht. In particular, the following values may have a critical impact:

300GT: In many codes, when you reach this value the yacht must be certified in unrestricted service (stricter requirements regarding stability, load line and life-saving appliances).

400GT: This is the threshold for almost all the environmental conventions such as MARPOL and Anti-fouling System.

500GT: This is the threshold for the application of the SOLAS Convention, meaning stricter requirements on machinery, safety systems, materials of construction, fire protection, life-saving appliances and navigational equipment. Furthermore an external certified management company is requested for the ISM and ISPS certifications.

The tonnage issue could also arise on existing yachts when undertaking major refits or modifications, in that any change to the internal volumes of the boat – such as adding enclosed deckhouses or superstructures, or modifying the hull transom or bow – will modify the tonnage value with the risk of subjecting the yacht to stricter mandatory rules.

UPDATE: Since this article was originally published, LY2 has been superseded by Large Commercial Yacht Code Revision 3 (LY3) .

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What is a Yacht?

A yacht does not have to meet any specific requirements to be considered a yacht. For our purposes a yacht is any recreational boat of around 30 feet or more that includes at least one cabin and is used for cruising or racing. This definition is not a hard and fast rule to go by as there is no settled definition for the word at all or what specifically makes a boat into a yacht.

Because a yacht is not a specific type of easily identified vessel like a pontoon boat or a fishing boat, we’ll cover the features of what makes a yacht worthy of the name so make it easier for you to identify one in the wild.

Defining What a Yacht Is

The difficulty in defining the term “yacht” is that, unlike the specific vessels mentioned above, a yacht is more of a description than a type. Yachts can be sailboats or motorboats, center console boats, house boats or any other kind of vessel that meets the generally accepted size and feature expectations of a yacht.

The definition I gave above includes a few key points:

• A yacht is a recreational boat
• A yacht is 30 feet long or more
• A yacht has at least one cabin
• A yacht is used for cruising or racing

This description allows you to weed out some things such as:

• Boats under 30 feet which most recreational boats are
• Specific purpose boats like commercial fishing vessels, barges, tugboats
• Most pontoon boats, speed boats for racing, jon boats and recreational fishing boats

Reaching a Definition

Usually when people think of yachts they’re thinking of a medium to large vessel that is well appointed and higher end with a lot of luxury features. The word evokes a sense of value and expense. We consider a yacht to be an expensive boat.

Yachts can be very similar to a cabin cruiser or day sailing boats , but the difference seems to be in size and what may be included above and beyond a “normal” boat. For these reasons, “yacht” as a term is sometimes hard to define and definitions will not be consistent from one source to another.

Motor Yacht Vs. Sailing Yacht

The initial definition of yacht that we provided doesn’t specify if a yacht is a boat that requires wind power to move or an engine. But the fact is that a yacht can be a sailing vessel or a powered vessel and either one can still qualify as a yacht.

Motor Yacht

The power source for a motor yacht is an engine. Some yachts are hybrid vessels which can run under sail but also have a backup engine in case of emergencies or if the wind is not reliable. These are sometimes called motorsailers.

Motor yachts are considered leisure vessels more often than sailing yachts due to how they work. A motor yacht takes less skill to operate than a sailing yacht.

Sailing Yacht

Sailing yachts run strictly on wind power. Most larger sail boats with cabins could be considered yachts. Many boaters still consider a sailing yacht a boat for people who are more adventurous and a little wild as they represent that idea of cutting loose at sea.  A sailing yacht is harder to operate than a motor yacht and requires more skill.

A motor yacht is going to get you where you want to go faster than a sailing yacht. That’s not to say these aren’t fast sailing vessels as modern yachts can reach great speeds, but they are still at the mercy of the wind. For that reason you’ll often see far more motor yachts around than sailing yachts as they tend to be more convenient for most boaters.

Motor yachts have no concrete average speed thanks to numerous factors that go into what makes a yacht. The largest yacht in the world is nearly 600 feet long. Obviously a boat of this size has many variables that will affect its speed compared to a 60 foot yacht. That said, yachts of any size tend to have cruising speeds that range from 20 mph to 30 mph.

Because a sailing yacht is powered by wind only it will be slower, on average, than a motor yacht. Sailing yachts often reach speeds of just 5 mph to around 10 mph. The size and construction of the vessel, its weight, and the skill of the captain can all affect these numbers.

A motor yacht has to make space for an engine room, which can get quite huge especially on large yachts. Space is also needed for fuel tanks. On some mega yachts they have fuel tanks that can hold over a million liters of fuel, which is absolutely staggering and requires a large portion of the vessel.

Motor yachts are more likely to devote space to luxury amenities like hot tubs or even swimming pools. The largest motor yachts have multiple luxury cabins, helipads, tenders, gyms and more. Some motor yachts can have up to 8 decks. You can expect a motor yacht at 150 feet to have around 50% or more space available than the exact same length in a sailing yacht. 

Sailing yachts can be designed smaller than motor yachts because they don’t need engine or fuel space. So a smaller sailing yacht can hold as many passengers as a larger motor yacht without sacrificing comfort or luxury. A sailing yacht is going to have a smaller and probably narrower structure than a motor yacht.

Sailing yachts often offer comfortable cabins but usually have few hotel-like luxuries on board.  A sailing yacht needs a lower profile to function properly. They will have fewer decks as well.

Motor yachts lend themselves more towards really having fun at sea. These are true recreational vessels. This is owing to the fact motor yachts are more likely to have tender garages and include jet skis and other equipment for getting out and having fun. 

Motor yachts also tend to be the ones that are more outfitted like small resorts. You can find dance floors, bars, swimming pools, jacuzzi tubs, gyms and more on some big luxury yachts. At some point they really start to look like small cruise ships. With the extra decks and of course because they don’t have masts in the way, there’s a lot more space for this kind of thing. 

Modern sailing yachts have been designed with more luxury features than older models and it’s not unheard of to find a jacuzzi on a sailing yacht or even a cinema on some, but it’s still a rarity when compared to motor yachts.

Sailing yachts can be used for some more limited type fun at sea – lots of snorkeling, swimming, fishing and so on, just not to the extreme that a motor yacht will do. A lot of the appeal of a sailing yacht is the fact that it’s for sailing, so the act of sailing itself is the draw. Usually people who own and operate sailing yachts want to engage in the activity of sailing, rather than the extra things you might enjoy on a motor yacht.

Cost of Motor Yachts vs Sailing Yachts

Motor yachts are more expensive than sailing yachts. The initial cost can vary widely but it’s the long term costs that nail you. Fuel and maintenance costs over time for a motor yacht will always keep raising the price. The largest motor yachts may cost millions of dollars to buy outright and also have yearly operating costs in the hundreds of thousands or even millions if they are fully crewed. The highest priced yacht in the world has a $1.5 billion price tag.

A sailing yacht continues to coast along at a much lower cost in terms of necessary maintenance. After all, you never need to refuel your sailing yacht. Some smaller yachts may cost under $30,000. 

Yacht Classifications

Yachts are often classified by size. As we defined early, any vessel over 30 feet can potentially be a yacht. But if you are talking about a vessel that is over 400 feet in length, it’s not an accurate picture to use the same term. 

We often classify yachts using common size or metric prefixes. You may have heard the terms “superyacht” and “megayacht.” These are ways of attempting to differentiate between the sizes of yachts because some of these vessels can get massive. The world’s largest yacht, the Azzam, is about 600 feet long. 

Large Yacht

According to the Commercial Yacht Code, a large yacht is any yacht that has reached 79 feet or more. At this size the boat needs to have an actual crew to keep it running. Anything under 79 feet would just be a standard yacht.

Super Yacht

To qualify as a super yacht, a vessel has to be at least 131 feet in length. Obviously this size means it needs a fairly extensive crew and, if it’s not a commercial vessel, it’s probably owned by someone extremely wealthy in order to maintain it. 

The term mega yacht is a bit sketchy which is no surprise given how there’s only a loose definition for the word “yacht” in the first place. Mega yacht and superyacht are often used synonymously. However, for some people, the term mega yacht can only be applied when the vessel reaches at least 200 feet. This doesn’t seem to be a definite rule though so if you hear the term it’s still best to look at the specs of the boat to see what’s being referred to. 

You hear this term a lot less frequently but it’s been tossed around to account for those yachts that would even leave a mega yacht in the dust. After all, if a super yacht is 131 feet and a mega yacht is 200 feet then a yacht like Azzam, at 600 feet, should probably be known by a different term since it’s so much bigger.

Giga yacht is sometimes used to represent these largest yachts. But again, this is an informal label for such a large boat and there are no hard and fast rules about what size a boat has to be in order to be called a giga yacht. In general it just means the biggest of the big. 

Racing Yachts

If the point of the yacht is specifically to be involved in racing, then it will likely be stripped down of many of the more luxurious but unnecessary amenities seen in recreational and cruising yachts. Usually a racing yacht has less space for relaxing or sleeping, for instance, but there are definitely yachts being built that offer a lot of nice features while still being designed to race.

The Bottom Line

There are no distinct rules for the size of a yacht or what it can even do. A yacht can operate under motor power or under sailing and you can use it to race, to just have fun, or for cruising. They can range in size from just 30 feet all the way up to the massive 600 foot Azzam. 

A yacht is a vessel that is fairly luxurious and used recreationally for a variety of purposes. A luxury yacht may be chartered for business or events and come with a full crew while smaller motor powered yachts and sailing yachts tend to be used for pleasure cruising.

My grandfather first took me fishing when I was too young to actually hold up a rod on my own. As an avid camper, hiker, and nature enthusiast I'm always looking for a new adventure.

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Definition of yacht noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

By Claire Moses and Jenny Gross

• Published March 26, 2024 Updated March 27, 2024

The Dali was less than 30 minutes into its planned 27-day journey when the ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday.

The ship, which was sailing under the Singaporean flag, was on its way to Sri Lanka and was supposed to arrive there on April 22, according to VesselFinder, a ship tracking website.

The Dali, which is nearly 1,000 feet long, left the Baltimore port around 1 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday. The ship had two pilots onboard, according to a statement by its owners, Grace Ocean Investment. There were 22 crew members on board, the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement. There were no reports of any injuries, Grace Ocean said.

Before heading off on its voyage, the Dali had returned to the United States from Panama on March 19, harboring in New York. It then arrived on Saturday in Baltimore, where it spent two days in the port.

Maersk, the shipping giant, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had chartered the vessel, which was carrying Maersk cargo. No Maersk crew and personnel were onboard, the statement said, adding that the company was monitoring the investigations being carried out by the authorities and by Synergy Group, the company that was operating the vessel.

“We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected,” the Maersk statement said.

The Dali was built in 2015 by the South Korea-based Hyundai Heavy Industries. The following year, the ship was involved in a minor incident when it hit a stone wall at the port of Antwerp . The Dali sustained damage at the time, but no one was injured.

Claire Moses is a reporter for the Express desk in London. More about Claire Moses

Jenny Gross is a reporter for The Times in London covering breaking news and other topics. More about Jenny Gross