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CHAPTER 5
BOAT SEAMANSHIP
The Navy uses thousands of boats, ranging in size
from dinghies to landing craft. These boats are powered
by diesels and by outboard motors. Most of them are
built of steel, aluminum, or fiber glass. The term boat
refers to small craft that are limited in use by their size.
Usually, they are not capable of making regular,
independent voyages of any length on the high seas.
This chapter is important because you, very early in
your career, may be assigned as a member of a boat crew
and later on as a coxswain.
To assume the duties of a coxswain, you must know
the following:
Who is responsible for each task
What the duties of other crew members are, and
be able to carry them out in an emergency
The purpose of each piece of boat equipment
How to read signal flags, so you can return to
your ship if recalled
Small boats carried aboard a ship, which are
lowered to perform various tasks, are known as the
ship's boats.
The distinction between a ship and a boat is largely
one of size; boats are carried by ships.
Boat seamanship encompasses more than a
knowledge of the kinds of boats in operation in the Navy.
Since boat crews are responsible for the upkeep and
maintenance of their craft, they must receive training in
a number of other areas.
Some of the techniques to be mastered require
considerable practice and experience before a boat crew
member can become accomplished in this work.
Included in these skills are the following:
Hoisting, lowering, and securing methods
Operating boats properly under all conditions,
including a knowledge of the Rules of the Road
Knowledge of buoy systems
Boat etiquette
NOMENCLATURE OF BOATS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Define boat
nomenclature. List the parts of a boat and
explain boat construction.
As used in this text, nomenclature refers to the
names given to the various parts or fittings of a boat.
Most boats in service in today's Navy are of molded
fiber glass or of metal skeletons to which metal plates
have been attached to form a hull.
Figure 5-1 gives you an idea of how a boat is
constructed. The backbone of the skeleton is called a
keel, and its ribs are the frames. Bilges are the inner parts
Figure 5-1.–Names of boat parts.
5-1
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