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Proceeding Down River In the last issue's "Ship Notes, Seaport & Museum News," the statement regarding SS Columbia's tow from Buffalo, New York, to New York City indicates that the transit will be up the St. Lawrence River. A vessel proceeding to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sea is on a northeas terly heading with the current down the St. Lawrence River. C HARLES D EROKO
Brooklyn, New York
Ship vs. Boat I read, with interest, the article in the Spring 201 6 issue, concerning the question as to when a vessel should be called a boar or when it should be ca lled a ship. When I was in the US Navy, rherewas a simple solution to this-a vessel over 200 feet in length was designated a ship; a vessel under 200 feet in length was designated a craft. With this criterion we had the "landing craft tank" (LCT) with a length of 120 feet; the "landing ship mechanized," (LSM) at 203 feet, and the "landing ship tank," (LST ) at 330 feet. The LSM and LST were commissioned ships and were thus designated, fo r example: USS LST 1084. The LST later received names. As with every rule there are exceptions, and here the primary exception is the submarine where, with undying affection, they are referred to as boats. Any attempt to try to substantiate the classification of ancient vessels, such as Viking ships (at 60 feet) or clipper ships (at 120 feet) would be almost impossible, so for these we have to just accept tradition. BYRO N A. N ILSSON Liverpool, New York To a naval aviator, it is always "The Boat," rega rdless if it is a 1,100-foor-long nuclea rpowered aircraft carrier, or single helo spot frigate! Tooo VoRENKAMP
•"You can put a boat on a ship, bur you can't put a ship on a boat." •''A vessel is a boat or a ship depending on whatever the owner wants to call it! " The US Supreme Court even got involved in this discussion not too long ago with a court case in Rivieria Beach, Florida, that involved a feud between the owner and resident of a floating house/boat and the city's desire to redevelop the city-owned marina in which it was docked. The city ultimately seized the houseboat after a discrepancy about rent at the marina (and other arguments with the owner). The boar's owner, Fane Lozman, rook the case all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was
decided that the srrucrure was a home, not a boat, and thus could not be seized under federal maritime law. "Bur fo r the fact that it floats, nothing about Lozman's home suggests that it was designed to any practical degree to transport persons or things over water. Ir had no rudder or other steering mechanism," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court's opinion in January 201 3. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote: "In its haste to christen Lozman's craft a non-vessel [the court] delivers an analysis that will confuse the lower courts and upset our longstanding admiralty precedent." You can read the Court's opinion at www.supr em eco u rt. gov/o pi n io ns/ 12pdf/ 11-626_p8k0.pdf.
Lozman's floating home was a 60-foot plywood structure with nopropulsion.
PHOTO FROM SUPREME COU RT O F T H E US, OCT 20 12, LOZMAN V. CITY OF REVJERA BEACH , FLORJDA, APP.
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From the editor: We got lots of responses on this topic-too many to print, but here are a few thoughts to add from various readers: •"According to what I remember from my years in the Navy, if a vessel has a commanding officer and a permanent crew, it's a ship." SEA HISTORY 155, SUM MER 20 16
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