Keelboat
Encyclopedia
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s: one a riverine cargo-capable working boat, and the other a classification for small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s.
Historical keel-boats
A Keel boat, Keelboat, or Keel-boat is a type of usually long narrow cigar-shaped riverboat, or unsheltered water bargeBarge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
which is sometimes also called a poleboat—that is built about a slight keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
and is designed as a boat built for the navigation of rivers, shallow lakes, and sometimes canals that were commonly used in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
including use in great numbers by settlers making their way west in the century-plus of wide-open western American frontiers. They were also used extensively for transporting cargo to market, and for exploration and trading expeditions, for watercraft transport was the most effective means to move bulk or weight before the advent of the modern post-world war II transportation networks.
Keelboats were similar to riverboat
Riverboat
A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...
s, but like other barges were unpowered and were typically controlled with oar
Oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
s or poles—usually the latter. Keelboats have been used for exploration, such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
, but were primarily used to transport cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
or settlers in the early 19th century. The process of moving a keelboat upriver was extremely difficult, though current dependent. Most of these keelboats were 50 to 80 ft (15.2 to 24.4 m) long and 15 feet (5 m) wide. They usually had a cabin in the middle, but were sometimes constructed with an open deck. Mike Fink
Mike Fink
Mike Fink called "king of the keelboaters", was a semi-legendary brawler and boatman who exemplified the tough and hard-drinking men who ran keelboats up and down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers....
is probably the most noted keelboater in history.
Historical account of two Keel Boats published in the original "Courier Journal" Of Lafayette, Indiana 1833
Modern keelboats
A keelboat is technically any sailboat with a keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
—as opposed to a centerboard or daggerboard
Daggerboard
A daggerboard is a retractable centreboard used by various sailing craft. While other types of centreboard may pivot to retract, a daggerboard slides in a casing. The shape of the daggerboard converts the forward motion into a windward lift, countering the leeward push of the...
.
ISAF (International Sailing Federation
International Sailing Federation
The International Sailing Federation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world governing body for the sport of sailing....
) usage differentiates keelboats (including the 12-meter class) from generally larger yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s, despite overlap in the sizes of boats in the two classes. The Olympic Games uses keelboat to describe keeled boats with up to a three-man crew, as opposed to larger-crewed boats such as the 12-metre class.
A yacht can also be differentiated from a keelboat with the addition of a toilet or "head" as the term "keelboat" is commonly understood to mean a sailboat with a keel that is designed purely for recreational / racing purposes and "yacht" describe a sailboat with a keel designed for overnight transport.