Why is a boat called “she”? This


is a question that goes back at least 28 years. It might go further, but I wouldn’t know from experience because I wasn’t being asked it before then. It’s a question that also bothers me. It’s like those bumper stickers you see on Jeeps or on Harley owner’s trucks that says, “If you have to ask, you wouldn’t


understand.” I mean, to me, a boat, especially a wooden boat, is a female persona. Just look at her. Where does the question even come from? Isn’t the answer a “Duh?” Apparently not, as often as I find it asked. And other people must get asked too, because when I research the question I get silly websites comparing a boat to a woman


“She”? Let’s start with more obvious reason that for the most part apply today and can be easily understood, and go backwards from there. As I go into my descriptions here, please do not point out the modern day monstrosities created by the Coast Guard and the Navy. Those things, built out of necessity, are the true ugly ducklings of the maritime world. After each descriptor, in your mind, please add “usually” or “mostly”. Boats are beautiful. They have


curves and fine lines. They are elegant. They are sleek. Words used to describe a woman, never a man. A woman is always referred to as the fairer sex. Man has built nothing as fair as a boat. When building a boat there is an art unto itself in creating a “fair curve.”. From stem to stern, from sheer to keel, the curves that are put into a boat take a trained and dedicated eye. While not just anyone can create a fair curve, when the curve isn’t fair the mistake can be seen by just about anyone… from a long way away. These curves aren’t just appealing to the eye, they are necessary for performance. Water flows easily around the fair curve. Her shape (how much belly she has, the curve for the entry, the shape of her rear) all work together to give a boat her speed, stability and overall performance. Now honestly, what man wants to have his curves described, let alone detailed? Back in the days when ships were


Is it the intimacy of a


lover, or the security of a mother’s arms?


By Hans Henriksen 48° NORTH, OCTOBER 2011 PAGE 38


in less than flattering manners. And one site that says it is a linguistic thing from a language no longer used. Sorry. Don’t buy it. I think there is more to it than that. The first boats were made of wood.


Wooden boats, unlike their modern steel and fiberglass counterparts, had a soul: they lived and breathed. Her keel is called a backbone. Her frames are called ribs. As a living creation they could not be called “it.” There had to be a collective reference. So why


made of wood and men were made of steel, lives on board were a tad different. Depending on if you were a merchant, a sailor or a whaler, you could spend as much as three years at a time at sea upon a ship. I once had the opportunity to build a sailing replica of the first ship to cross the Columbia River bar, the Lady Washington. This was both a fun and educational project for me. The lead shipwright, a man named Richard Miles, was a stickler for detail and historic accuracy. As we were building the great cabin, a furniture truck arrived and delivered a chest of drawers for the boat. We had to cut it apart and cut it down to make it fit. This made no sense to us. We had the skills to build such a cabinet better, and actually faster, than it was taking us to reconstruct this thing that was never built to accept the punishment a boat can deal a piece of furniture.


Why a Boat is called


She


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