Yacht's, recreational boats are incredibly popular. Typically coming in two forms- sailing or power yachts, there is a vast array of yacht's on the market. In recent years yachts have increased in luxury and when people speak of yacht's the type people tend to think about is racing or cruising yachts, as opposed to the sailing types.



Starting in length at 32 feet, their height can reach hundreds of feet high. A super yacht refers to one or 200 feet, or 70 metres. However for a boat, this height is small in comparison to cruise liners and other large boats.

Yacht's were originally dutch sailing vessels in pursuit of pirates! It was when Charles II chose a yacht as his transport for his return to England from the Netherlands it became more widely used in transporting important people in this perios. Progressing from this, it was used to described various vessels for people or cargo, powered by sails or engines and use for a variety of purposes.

Until the last half of the 21st century, most yachts were made of wood or steel, but this has changed and now a wide range of materials are used. Most often it is fiberglass, then steel or aluminum amongst others. More modern products such as plywood are also often utilized in yacht's. wood is mainly generally relied on for small and personal yachts one would construct as a hobby.

It is useful to distinguish between some of the different types of yachts that exist;

Firstly, sailing yachts come in different forms-

Day sailing- these tend not to have a cabin, as they are designed for hourly or daily use and not for overnight journeys

The next size up is weekender yachts which are able to operate in shallow waters, clever use of space allows for a cabin, bedroom for up to three people and kitchen area on these yachts.

Next is cruising yachts, very common and popular for private use and can be very complex in design. These are often family vessels with many cabins below deck and can be quite spacious. These yachts are capable of taking a relatively few people long distances, many thousands of miles in fact.

Luxury sailing boats are normally 82 feet or longer. These combine basic accommodation with amenities and luxury! Particularly on the larger boats. The largest of these types are often heavily automated and involve little work, for instance computer-controlled electric winches controlling the sails, amongst other facilities.

Racing yachts are the last of this type, they work by trying to reduce the wetted surface area, which then creates drag, keeping the hull light whilst having a heavy keel, tending to have a wide beam and a flat bottom, to provide buoyancy. In extreme conditions these can go at a speed of up to 35 knots!

Motor yachts come in the following types;

Day cruiser yacht (no cabin, sparse facilities),

Weekender yacht (basic cabins and appliances)

Cruising yacht (sufficient for aboard living for long periods)

Sport Fish yacht (living amenities and fishing equipment)

Luxury yacht (very luxurious, spacious and livable permanently

Such yachts have either one or two combustion engines which burn diesel. Due to costs of diesel these are typically quite a bit more expensive to run than sailing yachts