A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, usually with multiple decks. A ship usually has sufficient size to carry its own boats, such as lifeboats, dinghies, or runabouts. A rule of thumb saying (though it doesn't always apply) goes: "a boat can fit on a ship, but a ship can't fit on a boat". Consequently submarines are referred to as "boats", because early submarines were small enough to be carried aboard a ship in transit to distant waters. Often local law and regulation will define the exact size (or the number of masts) which a boat requires to become a ship. Compare vessel.

During the age of sail, ship signified a ship-rigged vessel, that is, one with three or more masts, usually three, all square-rigged. Such a vessel would normally have one fore and aft sail on her aftermost mast which was usually the mizzen. Almost invariably she would also have a bowsprit but this was not part of the definition. The same economic pressures which increased sizes to the point of carrying four or five masts, also introduced the fore and aft rig to larger vessels, so few ship-rigged vessels were built with more than three masts. The five-masted Preussen was the outstanding example, but the big German ships and barques were built partly for prestige reasons.

Nautical means related to sailors, particularly customs and practices at sea. Naval is the adjective pertaining to ships, though in common usage it has come to be more particularly associated with the noun 'navy'.

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"Seafaring ships of the great age of exploration were largely wooden, and — with the aid of their human..." http://tumblr.com/xjd4azrcl
michaelk42 (Michael Kerney) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:57:24 -0000
"Seafaring ships of the great age of exploration were largely wooden, and — with the aid of their human..." http://tumblr.com/xjd4azrcl

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