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 For most people, when they think of sea going boats, they will almost invariably conjure up an image of a sailing yacht. This is fairly understandable, most people know that a boat is a small vessel, and many will have never seen a ship, however, most people are familiar with the concept of a yacht. Although yachts form a large part of the sea or ocean going boat traffic globally each year, we need to consider commercial craft such as trawlers and dive boats, which are also very prolific in certain areas of the world.
Sea going boats will differ from their inland counterparts by the fact that almost all of them (with exceptions such as a catamaran or trimaran) will have a keel. A keel is a weighted and shaped section of the hull found underneath the ship; it is designed to keep the boat stable in high seas or bad weather.
Another major difference between sea going and inland craft is the need for the skipper or captain to be qualified and licensed to sail the vessel. Unlike small inland craft, which anyone can skipper, a sea going boat, even the smallest yacht, requires that the skipper undertake certain, almost world recognised, examinations before the vessel is legally allowed to navigate within nationally controlled waters. Additionally, all sea going vessels must be registered with a home port and carry an identification code so that they may be identified by the authorities easily.
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