60 Fun Facts About Boating

When facing the bow of a boat, which side is starboard?

The word comes from Old English steorbord, the steering side, because ships were once steered with an oar on the right.

Which colour navigation light does a boat show on its port side?

The rule of thumb is that a red port light tells the other skipper "you must give way".

What word did the Royal Navy use for the left side of a ship before 1844?

Whalers went on using the old word into the 1850s, and Mark Twain still wrote it in Life on the Mississippi.

One knot is a speed of one nautical mile per hour, which is exactly how many kilometres per hour?

That is roughly 1.15 mph; a boat doing 1 knot along a meridian covers about one minute of latitude an hour.

The knot takes its name from what speed-measuring device sailors threw over the stern?

Knots tied every 47 feet 3 inches ran through a sailor's fingers while a 28-second sand-glass timed them.

A fathom, the traditional unit for water depth, equals how many feet?

It began as the span of a man's outstretched arms; the Old English fæðm meant "embracing arms".

In which year did an international conference in Monaco fix the nautical mile at exactly 1,852 metres?

The figure approximates one minute of latitude, which actually varies from about 1,843 m at the Equator to 1,862 m at the poles.

What is the bilge of a boat?

The water that collects there is often so foul that "bilge" became slang for nonsense.

The gunwale is the top edge of a boat's hull. What was the original "gun wale" on a sailing warship?

On a canoe the gunwale is the widened edge that carries the thwarts; on a canal boat it is the side deck.

On a small boat, an outboard motor is typically bolted to which part of the hull?

The transom is the flat surface across the stern; on yachts it may hide a hinged swim platform.

The word "yacht" comes from a Dutch word meaning what?

Jachten were light, fast scouting vessels of the Dutch navy; Charles II brought the taste for them to England after his exile.

A superyacht is generally defined as any yacht longer than how many feet?

That is 40 metres; the Commercial Yacht Code already counts a yacht as "large" from 24 metres.

The word "dinghy" was borrowed into English from languages of which country?

It comes from Bengali, Urdu and Hindi words for a small boat, brought back by the British Raj.

The Pesse canoe, the oldest boat ever recovered, was found in which country?

It is a dugout carved from a Scots pine trunk between about 8200 and 7600 BC.

The word "kayak" comes from the Inuktitut qajaq, which means what?

Each kayak was built by the man who used it, sized to his own body for maximum manoeuvrability.

Which German began mass-producing folding kayaks in 1907, a design still used by special forces?

By 1929 his company was turning out 90 foldboats a day, and Britain's SBS still launches Klepper two-seaters from submarines.

At which Olympic Games did sprint canoeing become a full medal discipline?

It had been a demonstration sport in Paris in 1924; kayak sprint has been in every Summer Games since.

Who built the first commercially successful outboard motor, reportedly after rowing across a lake for ice cream?

He was rowing on Okauchee Lake, Wisconsin, on a hot day to buy ice cream for his girlfriend Bess, and founded his motor company in Milwaukee in 1909.

Which teenager who tinkered in Ole Evinrude's Milwaukee machine shop went on to co-found a motorcycle company?

Harley-Davidson, like Evinrude, is a Milwaukee company; both are American icons of engines built for fun.

Mercury Marine, the only US outboard maker, is headquartered in which Wisconsin city?

Founder Carl Kiekhaefer named his motors after the Roman god and, during World War II, made his firm the world's largest chainsaw manufacturer.

Mercury is the only manufacturer offering a V12 outboard motor. How much horsepower does it produce?

The supercharged Verado range also includes V8 and V10 models; the V12 arrived in early 2021.

Which Japanese carmaker introduced the first four-stroke outboard powerhead, in 1964?

Yamaha's first four-strokes followed in 1984, and North American makers initially borrowed Japanese four-stroke technology.

The pontoon boat was invented in 1952 by Ambrose Weeres, a farmer in which state?

He welded steel barrels end to end under a wooden platform; the first boat was called The Empress and he became known as "Mr. Pontoon".

Boston Whaler's famous 1961 magazine ad showed founder Dick Fisher doing what to a 13-foot boat?

The foam-cored hull keeps floating even when cut clean through, hence the trademarked line "the unsinkable legend".

Which company first produced stand-up personal watercraft under the Jet Ski brand in 1972?

"Jet Ski" is a Kawasaki trademark that became the generic name; Yamaha sells the WaveRunner and BRP the Sea-Doo.

Which inventor designed Bombardier's first Sea-Doo of 1968 and later developed the Jet Ski?

The 1968 machine had an air-cooled 320cc engine and a top speed of 25 mph; the brand was relaunched in 1988.

Water skiing was invented in 1922 by Ralph Samuelson on Lake Pepin in which state?

He used two boards and a clothesline for a towrope; the American Water Ski Association recognised him as the first water skier in 1966.

Which Florida attraction, founded by Dick Pope Sr., made water skiing world-famous through its ski shows?

Pope is called the "Father of American Water Skiing"; his son Dick Pope Jr. invented barefoot skiing.

What was Tony Finn's 1985 wakeboarding precursor called, a nod to the two sports it combined?

The name crossed "surfboard" and "water ski"; the first true wakeboard, the Hyperlite, followed in the early 1990s.

Which Australian set the standing 317.6 mph water speed record in 1978 in a boat built in his backyard?

Spirit of Australia was made of wood and fibreglass, cost about $10,000 and ran a Westinghouse J34 jet engine on Blowering Dam.

Wilhelm Maybach and which partner built the 1886 boat with the first petrol engine, tested on the Neckar?

They were trying out their new "longcase clock" engine; the first public demonstration was on a lake in Cannstatt.

The first international motorboat race, held at Cork Harbour in 1903, competed for which newspaper baron's trophy?

The Harmsworth Cup was meant as a contest between nations; Americans first won it in 1907.

The Miss Budweiser hydroplanes raced from 1963 to 2004 under which owner?

Twenty-two boats carried the name and won more than 130 races; Villwock and Chenoweth were the star drivers.

Don Aronow's racing team gave its name to which type of fast offshore boat, later beloved of smugglers?

The name also nods to the hull shape and to what such boats were used to smuggle; Miami Vice made them famous.

The rigid inflatable boat was developed in the 1960s at Atlantic College in which country?

They glued a plywood sheet to the torn bottom of an inflatable rescue boat in 1964; the RNLI's Atlantic-class lifeboats are named for the college.

The Zodiac company, famous for inflatable boats, originally built what?

Alain Bombard's 1952 Atlantic crossing in a Zodiac and Jacques Cousteau's Calypso fleet made the boats famous; in France "zodiac" means any inflatable.

Which company is credited with developing the modern bass boat, patenting a design in 1948?

Holmes Thurmond's boats were first built in Marshall, Texas; the company, now owned by Yamaha, built the first fibreglass bass boat in 1961.

The 1934 electric trolling motor used the starter motor from which car?

O.G. Schmidt named his firm Minn Kota after the two states on either side of his factory; it still makes trolling motors.

The Danforth anchor, with two flat triangular flukes, was invented in the 1940s for use on what?

It is light and stows flat, but tends to skate over gravel and weeds; the Northill anchor was the one designed for seaplanes.

The CQR plough anchor was patented in 1933 by which British mathematician?

CQR stood for Coastal (or Clyde) Quick Release; Peter Bruce designed the rival claw anchor in the 1970s.

In anchoring, what does "scope" mean?

A scope of at least 4:1 is normal in moderate conditions, and 5:1 to 7:1 for light modern anchors that bury themselves.

Under international collision rules, what must two power-driven boats meeting head-on both do?

Rule 14 makes both boats give way; in a crossing situation the boat that has the other on its starboard side keeps clear.

The COLREGs "rules of the road" were adopted in 1972 by which organisation?

They entered into force on 15 July 1977 and are now being reviewed with autonomous ships in mind.

Which of the COLREGs requires every vessel to keep a proper look-out at all times?

Rule 13 covers overtaking and Rule 17 the stand-on vessel; Rule 2 is the catch-all on responsibility.

In IALA Region B ('red right returning'), which colour marks the port side when entering harbour?

In Region A (Europe, Africa, most of Asia) it is the reverse, remembered as "Is there any red port left?"

Per the US Coast Guard, roughly how many people die in recreational boating accidents in the US each year?

About 70% of those deaths are drownings, mostly from small powerboat accidents, and alcohol is the leading contributing factor.

What was the number one contributing factor in US recreational boating deaths between 2003 and 2012?

It accounted for 15% of fatalities in 2003 and 17% in 2012; a Canadian study put the true share there at 46-56%.

What was Captain John Ross Ward's 1854 RNLI life vest, ancestor of the life jacket, made of?

Kapok pouches replaced the rigid cork in 1904, and synthetic foam took over from kapok in 1972.

The first inflatable life preserver, invented in 1928, picked up which nickname from wartime aircrew?

An inflated wearer looked as buxom as the actress; airmen it saved could join the Goldfish Club.

In which US region did the flat-bottomed jon boat design become popular in the late 19th century?

Tourists liked being able to fish standing up without fear of tipping over in the shallow Missouri Valley waters.

A planing boat differs from a displacement boat in that, as speed increases, what happens to its draft?

That is why a speedboat seems to skim the surface; the deep-vee planing hull is used in about 75% of modern powerboats.

Kerala's tourist houseboats are reworked versions of which traditional rice barge?

The name means "boat tied with ropes"; the hulls are coated in cashew-nut oil and roofed with bamboo and palm leaves.

Which US city is known for its floating homes on Lake Union and Portage Bay?

There were about 480 floating homes on Lake Union alone as of 2010; Sausalito, California, has the other famous colony.

Bayliner, one of the world's biggest boat brands, was founded in 1957 by whom?

Brunswick bought the company from him in 1986 for $425 million; it now has 400-plus dealers in 60 countries.

Which type of naval vessel is traditionally called a 'boat' no matter how large it is?

In naval terms a boat is otherwise a vessel small enough to be carried aboard a ship; Great Lakes freighters and ferries also keep the name.

The Plimsoll line was introduced on vessels to prevent what?

Sea water is less buoyant in brackish areas such as the Baltic, so a correctly loaded hull rides lower there.

Around which decade did fiberglass become popular for recreational boats?

Known as GRP in Britain and FRP in the US, it does not rust or rot, though sunlight and temperature extremes slowly degrade it.

Under the EU's Recreational Craft Directive, Class D boats are limited to which waters?

Class D allows winds up to Force 4 and waves of half a metre; Class A boats may safely navigate anywhere.

Ferro-cement boat construction was patented in 1855 by boatbuilders of which nationality?

They called it 'ferciment': a wire framework shaped like a hull and covered in cement, heavy but easily repaired and leak-proof if sealed.

Where is the world's oldest recovered boat, a pine dugout, on display?

The canoe was hollowed from a Scots pine trunk between 8200 and 7600 BC.