We're jealous of how little gas prices affect them!

 

I also use the water in a variety of ways including sailing.

To me, the term is just for fun.

Take football. I live in Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers. When Chicago Bear fans started calling us “Cheese Heads” a guy that was going to trash a piece of furniture removed the foam from a seat cushion and made it into a cheddar cheese looking hat. We embraced the name and now call ourselves Cheese Heads with pride.


Boating slang glossary
I’ve come across a variety of boating glossaries. Some are serious and some are only for humor.

Missing is a glossary that includes real world slang. This would be actual words boaters use yet do not appear in traditional boating glossaries.

I put together the below boating slang glossary.

Blowboater - this is a power boater talking derogatory about sail boaters, referring to the sails. Also see Snailboater.

Boataholic – a person who is passionate about boating.

Boating Dollars - money exclusively stashed away for boating related expenses.

Canboat - this is a power boater talking derogatory about pontoon boaters, referring to the aluminum pontoons that resemble beer cans.

Coasties – referring to the United States Coast Guard, or any water law enforcement member who has served or is serving.

Deadheads (also called sinker logs or snags) – a submerged log causing a serious hazard. Impact at a high speed with a deadhead can punch a hole in a large boat or destroy a small one.

Five By Five, or Five By - Means your radio is load and clear. The first numerical value (1-5) states the strength of your signal, the second numerical value (1-5) states the clarity of your signal.

Footitus – a desire to get a larger boat.

GoFast or GoFast/GoLoud – refers to boats built for speed. These boats are often very loud.

Oilburner – a boat with a Diesel engine.

On the hard - has two meanings. Those that don't know how to park boat in a slip properly and those who are having work done on the boat.

On the hook – a boat that is anchored.

Poleboarder – a term that a kitesurfer uses for windsurfers (like power vs sail boats)

Powerlandar – using your engine to drive onto your trailer.

Sawyers – fallen trees that are still floating. A serious boating hazard. Similar to Deadheads however the log would still be floating.

Smiles per Gallons - regardless of cost, enjoying boating.

Snailboater - this is a power boater talking derogatory about sail boaters, referring to the sails. Also see Blowboater

Soup – another term for fog.

Splash – putting your boat in the water.

Stinkpot –this is a sail boater talking derogatory about gas power boaters, referring to the engine smell.

Velcrumbs - the unwanted items that sticks to velcro

Water gnats – derogatory term for personal water craft, wave runners or jet ski’s.

Yarditus – same as footitus but looking to move up to a much larger boat.

W0X0F - Pronounced wox-off. It means that you are fogged in Acronym W = weather 0 = 1st zero means you can not see horizontally X = obscured visibility 0 = 2nd zero means you can not see vertically F = Fog

 

The hatred is real. The only way to understand why power boaters hate sail boaters is to get on a bigger power boat and see how the idiotic sail boaters behave. To understand why sail boaters hate power boaters, you need to get on a sail boat and see how the idiotic power boaters behave.

You've obviously never been in a channel and radioed a sail boat and said "if you slow down I'll give you a no wake pass" only to be greeted with a flip of the bird and a terse response of "What's your hurry ass hole." That invokes the 25 ton 14 knot pass.

 

My father-in-law shares many similar stories from his trip from DC to the Bahamas a few years back. On the way down they took the ICW. He said it was painful, sail boaters yelled at him the whole way even when he thought he was doing the right thing and being considerate. That was one of many reasons they took the ocean on the way home.

 

Probably because they insist on tacking back and forth in a narrow channel impeding all other traffic.

Jeff

 

Or have their main sail up flapping in the breeze and engine running and screaming they have the right of way.

 

No, I've never had the pleasure of being in any channel and having them do that. I can see that causing some hatred on both sides. I've also watched inexperienced folks trying to tack and just not getting it, and actually getting into serious trouble - and that's on a good-sized lake - I'd hate to see it in a narrow channel.

Like I said, the lake I boat on is huge, and the only time I get close to a sailboat, or them to me, is going thru bridges and the like, and that only takes a few minutes or so.

I guess it takes all kinds, and as Four Suns basically stated, both sports have their a*holes.

I'll never forget last summer, I was standing on land at a channel in an old railroad bed (maybe 40-50' wide, and at the most 100' across water to the other side between land fingers.) getting ready to watch the July 4th Fireworks, so the sun had already set, and it was getting fairly dark. I heard 2 fishing Ranger type boats coming at 50-70 mph across the bay, they hardly slowed at all going thru the channel (with no wake zone bouys out a couple hundred feet on both sides of the channel). And, there's no way they could see if anyone was anchored there, or coming in from the other side (the railroad bed is up about 20-30' from the water line that time of year). I wish I could have seen their registration #'s, or the Coast Guard would have been there... I couldn't believe it! So, what do you call this group of boater types?

I can see it being used as Presentation said, similar to "Cheese Head". It just seems to be being used in a more derogatory manner when I've seen it used here. I guess folks are generalizing a lot these days about certain group profiles.

VtSeaRay

 

Also, they do not take showers or baths and they do not wear underwear.

 

, and they do not wear underwear.

Not always a bad thing....

 

same reason why cyclists hate rollerbladers.

 

All four of my kids were in Annapolis Sailing School last summer for a week. One of the disappointing things was the classroom work involved complaining about power boaters. Everyday my kids would come back and tell me about the remarks and cut downs on "stupid power boaters".... so I guess the American Sailing Association starts the attitude at a young age.

On the flip side, I used to sail (and may end up back there someday) and I've seen my share of idiots on the water... I think every power boater should have to go on a sail boat from Annapolis to Rock Hall and they'll "get it." (the hatred that is... not sailing)

 

My Father had a sailboat from when I was 12 or so until I was 18. Learning both sides, I still get PO'd at sailboaters who don't volley back a courtesy wave. Most Ragboaters have a distain for us powerboaters and I don't get it. So I wave at all passing boaters as I was taught. If I get the stare with no reciprocated wave.....they get the bird. It's ridiculous

 

Reminds me of when I owned a motorcycle and when the Mrs. and I owned a corvette. My hand would get tired from waving to all of the other bikers and vetters. friendly group they are.

We wave to every boater we pass, or passes us. Some return the wave, some stare at you like you have 2 heads...oh well.

 

As a fellow New Englander, let me offer another comparison - it is very similar to the relationship/animosity between X-country skiers and snowmobilers. Some (but not all) of the sail crowd consider their chosen form of boating to be more "pure", or whatever, and look down their noses at "stinkpotters" as not being as skilled, or patient or whatever. And, there are some of them that seem to delight in taking advantage of the rules of the road to deliberately inconvenience a powerboater. As has been pointed out several times already in this thread, there are jerks in both camps. (Let's not even go to the personal watercraft rant!) I do remember being on a very large passenger ferry on a regular run in Casco Bay and having some numbskull in a 19' daysailer deliberately cross our course, causing the ferry captain to have to take violent evasive action to avoid a collision. To top it all off, he shook his fist and cussed us out as we went by!!!
I offer that as an example, that's all..............it only takes a few to influence the perception of the many....

Cheers,

Bill

 

What I hate are those damned jetski people using my wake to jump. I paid good money to make that wake! It's mine!

 

What I hate are those damned jetski people using my wake to jump.

That topic came up on another boating forum. Why do people get upset if some PWC is 300+ feet behind you jumping a wake? I was jumping a guy's wake (way behind him and on the open river) last summer and he stopped the boat and came back to me and chewed me out... ridiculous... if you don't want PWC's jumping your wake, don't make one.

 

The fast fishermen in the Ranger-type craft are not boaters, at least they don't think of themselves as such, even though they are required to play by our rules. They are ignorant SOBs who happen to use fast boats as a means (secondarily) or getting to the fishing hole before their buddies, and (primarily) of getting away from their wives as fast as they can.

 

We only jump wakes created by boaters in our party. They know it is being done, and its done where there is no one around.

While cruising the lake, I will jump ripples caused by wakes but I do not get close enough to consider myself even 'on their wake'.

Jumping is a serious sport that requires attention of all people involved. Skis can turn on a dime, and sometimes not in the direction intended when jumping/landing.

 

I don't mind jet ski's jumping my wake if they don't mind me practicing my aim with a water balloon launcher.

 

Now THAT would be funny. I could appreciate some in a powerboat launching water balloons at me.

I have a sailboat, jetskis, and a SeaRay.

* I have taken hard power boat wakes that broke water over the bow of my sailboat.

* I have seen sailboat RACES that crossed channels. (WTF!! 100 sailboats crossing the channel at one time? How do I go around those bozos? -> that's a problem no matter what type of watercraft you have!)

* I have had to take evasive action to avoid running down jetskis that cut in front of my SeaRay.

So. . .I have learned that there are no shortage of idiots. Sailboats, being slower, have a harder time dodging powerboat stupidity. Powerboaters have to dodge slowmoving sailboat idiots more often than other power boats. And jetskis move their menace into everyone's buisness.

 

Four of my fourteen boats have been sailboats, ranging in size from 27' to 42' and I keep my boat in a mostly sailboat marina.
The stereotypes on both sides are somewhat grounded in reality and there are clearly a**holes on both sides.

When I am on a powerboat I try to be as courteous as possible with my wake, but as Gary said, if you're not going to respond to my request for a slow pass, then I can't help you. Yes, I AM in a hurry or I wouldn't have bought a power boat. Also, regardless of what sail is up flapping in the breeze, if your engine is on, you are UNDER POWER. And a simple courtesy wave every now and then wouldn't kill you either. I try to give a wide berth to sailors where I can. And if I do have to pass close, I pass on the downwind side if possible. I realize that when a bunch of sailboats are all bunched together, they are probably racing, so using them as slalom pylons may not be a very good idea.

On the other hand, sailors (in general) relish in their well-deserved reputation for cheapness. I've seen people in my marina fishing a rusty hose clamp out of the dumpster. There is also a built in assumption that sailors are more skilled than power boaters and there is some arrogance that comes along with that assumption. Having done both, I would agree that IN GENERAL there is more skill required to make a sailboat go where you want it to go than is required to make a powerboat go where you want it to go, but that doesn't make anyone any smarter/better/superior. And the hate on their side comes from the fact that many power boaters do not follow the simple steps I outlined above and are perceived to be rude. When you are sailing a boat, especially in light winds, and someone swamps you it literaly knocks the wind out of your sails and it may take a few minutes to get back on a roll, by which time surely another power boat will come along and wake you. It can be frustrating.

Most of the sailors I know at the marina secretly admit that they wish they could cruise at 26 knots. Every now and then we take a few of them to/from Annapolis for lunch and they are blown away.

As far as I'm concerned, if it floats it's fine by me. can't we all just get along?

 

I don't have a lot of sailboaters in my area and if I encounter any they are typically running in the channels with sails down and under power so it's pretty obvious. Question on if a sailboat is under sail - if a powerboat makes a pass how do you avoid making their sails go slack? Is it a 'vacuum' thing and caused by speed or proximity?

 

if a powerboat makes a pass how do you avoid making their sails go slack? Is it a 'vacuum' thing and caused by speed or proximity?

The way you take the wind out of his sails is to pass in between him and the wind. So you want to pass them on the down wind side. I.e. if you are heading north and the wind is coming from the east, you'd want to overtake a sailboat to the west side of the sailboat (putting him to your staboard) regardless of which way he is headed (see chart below). Of course, this is assumes that you can pass him on this side way vis-a-vis other boat traffic, channels and rules of the road.

 

In the last two years sailboters have done nearly 5K worth of damage to my 420-one due to 'securing" his POS ragbote with dry rotted lines (not ropes) which parted in 20 knots of wind and allowed the SS Bird Feces Target to tear up the starboard side of my boat. last summer a sailboat pulled into the Quantico marina, attempted to stand off the fueld dock, put the sailboat into reverse, and backed into my 420 DA at 4 knots SOG. My boat was in the slip, engines off, lines (not ropes) secured with my family aboard. Tore up the ragbote transom and bent my anchor, amongst other things. Are they all idiots? No. Are some of them? yes.

regards
Skip

 

They have the reputation of being cheap around my marina. The majority of them are on moorings so they come in and take up valuable space on our fuel dock to load/unload their stuff. They also come in and tie up the fuel dock taking on water and buying a whopping two gallons of gas. Oh and don't forget that they use the bathrooms and facilities and don't pay for any of it.

I must say that there was an older fellow next to me working on his sailboat last week while we were both on the hard and I enjoyed talking to him. He actually "seemed" normal!

 

I just converted from sail to power. All my life I sailed. All kinds of boats small - big, new - old. I think for the most part sailors with older boats are not that fond of stinkpots. Newer 'nice' sailboats are also not really liked by other owners of older sailboat. I don't understand why. It could be the purity thing. I can tell you however that my wife took one step on our 2004 Sea Ray 340 and that sealed the deal. Perhaps sailors are jealous, heck powerboat are really nice and most powerboaters keep their boats in excellent condition. Powerboaters are fun. Think about it, you only use a powerboat when the weather is near perfect, on the water with friends etc. A crappy day for a powerboater is near perfect for a sailor windy, overcast. Heck even a little rain is not big deal. They are different.

Next time just try to compare old sailboat owners to new sailboat owners. Let me know if you notice a difference.

 

I was out to dinner last night in a small cove in Florida (on vacation) and a nice sailboat pulled in and dropped the anchor...I looked at the name and it said "no more Mondays"....Thats why I am jealous of one particular sailboater in one particular cove.

www.onwetpaint.com

 

Because it's fun?

 

Around here, most of the ragboters aren't that bad. Its the 16yr olds in daddy's 150k center console who think they have right of way no matter who's path they cross that piss me off. I have had them pass me within 15ft at twice my speed even though there is 100ft of channel. I will say that some of those ragbotes sure can ugly up an otherwise nice marina, like a little baby ruth floating in the neighborhood pool, nobody claims it but everyone talks about it . Many of them don't even appear to be seaworthy, just an object for marine growth. SB

 

I am a kitesurfer. We do hate pole-boarders, because they hate us first (I pole-boarded for 7 1/2 years). I also hold a Captain's license for sailing large sloops. Still, those guys are fun to hate, because they hate us first.

 

One thing I am sure about, Sailor make just as much fun of Powerboaters as the otherway around. The key is to know what the heck you are doing and not look like an idiot or be a jerk to anyone else. Sometime looking like an idiot will find you don't have to go looking for it.