Brian,
Shouldn't the lenght without bowsprits and boomkins be LOD? Little hard to
convince the marina office to just charge for the lenght of the hull : }
MMC
"Brian D" wrote in message
. ..

Somebody else here stated that the definition for LOA included spars and
bowsprits and what not ...while this definition is truly given by some,
the
national (US) marine fisheries association and the oceanic racing (FICO)
organizations state that LOA does *not* include these other extensions,
but
just the hull and any bulwarks or caprails that exist. The fisheries
folks
say to round to the nearest foot, while the racing folks measure exactly.
Most companies will overstate a boat's length, always rounding UP to the
next highest foot.

Brian D


"Tom Dacon" Tom-at-dacons-dot-com-nospam wrote in message
...
Most people use "length between perpendiculars" (LBP). This is the
horizontal distance (parallel to the water's surface) between the
closest
points on the ends of the boat where you could drop a plumb bob and have
it hit the water with the cord touching the boat. This doesn't include
spars such as bowsprits and boomkins. You'd use the stem, ordinarily,
and
the aftermost point on the deck of the boat, including any cap rail but
not including extensions like boomkins.

That's what most people mean when they say LOD (length on deck). Length
overall (LOA) includes the spars, meaning sprits and boomkins, sometimes
also called "sparred length".

In the old days (before, say, the first world war), the waterline length
was what they used when they said how big the boat was. So a 30-footer
would have been 30 feet on the waterline. The New York Thirtys were
thirty
(more or less) on the waterline, the New York Fortys were forty feet,
and
so on.

Without knowing what your boat's profile looks like in detail, it sounds
to me from your account like it's 23' 9".

But really ... my own boat is 40' 3" between perps. When I bought it I
was
told it was 41', so that's what I tell people when they ask. When I haul
it out in a self-service yard, I say it's just under 40', since a couple
of yards I've hauled at in the past used 40' as a dividing line for
daily
charges. I'd call your bateau a 24-footer.

Tom Dacon

"David Manthey" wrote in message
...
Is there an official way to determine the length of a boat?

For instance, I am captain of a wooden bateaux that the builder
claimed was 23' long. Measured from the very rear of the sternpost to
the very forward of the stem, it is 23' 9". Measured at the height of
the gunwale and including the stem and stern posts, the boat is 23'
0'. Exclusive of the stem and stern posts, the boat is 22' 6". The
typical 'fullen laden' water line is 21', while the length along the
bottom (it is flat bottom, so has no keel), is 19' 6".

So, my questions a (a) when telling someone the length of the boat,
which number do I use, and (b) has there been any standard on this
over time?

Thanks much.

- David
David Manthey

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