Four primary types of motors are found on boats – outboard, inboard/outboard, inboard, and jet. They all have advantages and disadvantages.

Outboard motors vary greatly in size and clamp onto the transom. The whole motor pivots on its mounting to aim the wash and steer the boat. The boat turns in the opposite direction the tiller arm is pushed. Electric motors are outboards. The inboard/outboard motor is bolted inboard at the stern with the drive unit through the transom. The inboard is mounted lower in the boat and farther forward than an inboard/outboard. A rudder is used to steer. Jet motors use an engine to pump water through a nozzle at the stern, which pivots to steer the boat.

Remember, when boating in new areas, certain lakes in the state have specific motor size limitations.

There are two basic types of boat hulls. Planing hulls are flat-bottomed and skim across the water. Displacement hulls have round bottoms and plow through the water. They are more stable, but not as fast as planing hull boats.Most boats are a compromise between planing and displacement hulls (deep-V, modified-V, cathedral, etc.). There are also multiple-hulled boats such as catamarans and pontoons.

TERMINOLOGY

Aft - near or at the stern of the boat.
Beam - the width of a boat, also the direction at right angles to the centerline of a vessel.
Bilge - the lowest point of a boat’s interior hull.
Bow - the forward part (toward the front) of a boat.
Draft - the vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the keel; the minimum depth of water in which a vessel will float.
Forward - aboard a boat, the direction to the front, to the bow.
Freeboard - the vertical distance from the waterline to the gunwale.
Gunwale - the upper edge of the side of a boat.
Hull - the structural body of the boat; does not include superstructure, masts or rigging.
Keel - the main structural member of a boat; its backbone; the lateral area beneath the hull that helps to provide stability and reduce the sideways drift of a boat.
PFD - personal flotation device (life jacket, vest, preserver).
Port - the left side of the boat.
Starboard - the right side of the boat.
Stern - the after (back or rear) portion of the boat.
Transom - the transverse part of the stern (where an outboard motor is attached).
Waterline - the intersection of a boat’s hull and the water’s surface.
USCG - the United States Coast Guard.
USPS - the United States Power Squadrons.