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Once we have specific verbs to refer to the action of operating a vehicle, my question is:

What verb should I use to "drive" a boat/ship?

Loureiro Gui
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6 Answers6

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You pilot it. And on larger watercraft having an enclosed room containing the pilot’s wheel, that room is called the pilot house.

The verb was either borrowed from pilot (n.) or from the French piloter, according to Online Etymology Dictionary:

pilot (v.) 1640s, “to guide, lead”; 1690s, “to conduct as a pilot”, from pilot (n.) or from French piloter.

pilot (n.) 1510s, “one who steers a ship”, from Middle French pillote (16c.), from Italian piloto, supposed to be an alteration of Old Italian pedoto, which usually is said to be from Medieval Greek pedotes “rudder, helmsman”, from Greek pedon “steering oar”, related to pous (genitive podos) “foot”.

As others have pointed out, pilot (v.) has also acquired a specialized modern sense (“to lead a ship through a difficult or dangerous area of water”, Macmillan Dictionary) and pilot (n.) now generally means such a specialist. But the general sense of steering a ship is still in use today, just as it was in the 19c and 20c. This explains how the terms were borrowed by balloonists and airmen when those technologies came on the scene.

Community
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MetaEd
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    The pilot, however, is oftentimes not at the helm (at least on a larger ship). Really, as has been mentioned, this question needs a bit more specificity. – batpigandme Sep 14 '13 at 13:49
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    I always thik of the pilot as the one who knows how to navigate through tricky passages but is not necessarily at the helm, as in this definition. – terdon Sep 14 '13 at 13:55
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    A ship's pilot is neither the captain nor the helmsman: I wonder why an aeroplane's pilot is both? – Tim Lymington Sep 14 '13 at 23:30
  • These comments refer to the noun; OP asked about the verb. The noun "pilot" often refers to a profession in the maritime context, but can also refer to the person at the helm. The verb refers to the act of guiding or steering the ship. – MetaEd Sep 15 '13 at 00:48
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    @TimLymington It is untrue that the maritime pilot is neither the captain nor the helmsman. It depends on the situation and the size of the craft (and the crew). They can often be the same person. A licensed captain is a trained pilot; the captain or the pilot may well take the helm. – MetaEd Sep 15 '13 at 01:39
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    Possibly national differences: in British waters, a pilot is specifically qualified on one stretch of water, and a skipper who called himself a pilot merely because of his captain's ticket would be in trouble or (in some circumstances) in jail. Similarly, though pilots give helm instructions, they virtually never actually steer, largely for insurance reasons. – Tim Lymington Sep 15 '13 at 09:30
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    A "pilot" is specialist for one body of water in the US as well. – JenSCDC Oct 02 '14 at 00:37
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If it’s a sailing boat, you sail it. If you’re the captain of a ship, you skipper it, and if you’re the helmsman, you steer or helm it, but otherwise, there’s no general term. I did once hear a former captain of the Royal Navy aircraft carrier ‘Ark Royal’ say that he drove it, but that was in jest.

Barrie England
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  • Isn't the helmsman the one at the wheel? According to M-W, they are 'the person at the helm'. There may be a job title usage too, but coupling the sense given here by M-W with most definitions' statement that 'a helmsman is a person who steers the ship etc', the person at the wheel steers the ship. // Skipper is defined as 'act as the skipper of'. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 08 '15 at 22:15
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navigate

v.tr.

  1. To control the course of a ship or aircraft. To plan, direct, or plot the path or position of (a ship, an aircraft, etc.). To act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance.

  2. To voyage over water in a boat or ship. To travel over, through, or on (water, air, or land) in a boat, aircraft, etc. sail. To move on, over, or through (water, air, or land), esp. in a ship or aircraft. To travel on water propelled by wind or by other means.

v.intr.

Rare to voyage in a ship; sail.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/navigate

tchrist
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Talia Ford
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2

You can say either row or propel. You can also paddle a boat.

tchrist
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user49727
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The case with the boat would greatly rely on the boat you use or refer to. But "rowing" is more commonly used.

DiTap
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You 'steer' a boat especially if it is not a paddle boat

user76893
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    This is too simplistic, especially in light of the top two answers already discussing it. Steering implies, well, steering. You can steer a car or a motorcycle, too, but the OP is not asking for an equivalent of that. – RegDwigнt May 21 '14 at 18:55
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    @RegDwigнt But can't you also pilot a car, a motorcycle, or a plane? – Elian May 21 '14 at 21:10
  • @RegDwight Look at the AHDEL, Collins definitions for 'helmsman'. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 08 '15 at 22:10