What word do you use for "driving" a boat ?

[MtB]

22 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have a slightly different problem, sometimes I moor the car and park the boat, as for git gaps, just don't go there 

 

Quite a few boaters moor the dog outside the Tesco Express, too. 

 

There is a comfortably-off member here who tells a tale about waiting outside M&S Foodhall with the dog, while Mrs was inside shopping. He'd just finished his expensive Starbucks coffee and still had the cup in his hand when a passer-by reached out and dropped a handful of coins into it, lol! 

 

 

[Edward_H]

23 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

The RYA use the ugly words Helm, Helmsman and Helming.

 

When I sailed on large ocean-going vessels the man steering the ship was known as the helmsman (he was the man at the helm).  I recently did a RYA sailing course and the helmsman was referred to as the "helm" The reason the RYA have for this deplorable misuse of the English language is that it is gender neutral.  They also plan to replace the term "man overboard" with "person in the water".  "Helming" is a word that I have recently come across for the first time and is one that I would never use.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Rob-M said:

Joe told me the same, learning to steer to the bread and cheese.

Its in a book, I cant remember which one, but I haven't read one for years

[MtB]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Its in a book, I cant remember which one, but I haven't read one for years

 

I think it was a Marx brother who said "I don't like books. I know this because I read one once."

[David Mack]

 

 

[MtB]

14 hours ago, Edward_H said:

When I sailed on large ocean-going vessels the man steering the ship was known as the helmsman (he was the man at the helm).  I recently did a RYA sailing course and the helmsman was referred to as the "helm" The reason the RYA have for this deplorable misuse of the English language is that it is gender neutral.  They also plan to replace the term "man overboard" with "person in the water".  "Helming" is a word that I have recently come across for the first time and is one that I would never use.

 

I agree with you Edward_H. A similar example of grating and clumsy language conceived on the altar of gender neutral-ism exists in the world of cricket, where we are instructed by TPTB not to use the terms 'batsman' and 'batswoman', but to say "batter" instead. 

 

It almost physically hurts my ears to hear this used on the BBC these days.

 

[Momac]

At one time quite a few years ago we  were almost asked to not use the term ''manhole'' on drainage drawings but that idea didn't last long.

[David Mack]

Access chamber

[alias]

2 hours ago, MtB said:

A similar example of grating and clumsy language conceived on the altar of gender neutral-ism exists in the world of cricket, where we are instructed by TPTB not to use the terms 'batsman' and 'batswoman', but to say "batter" instead. 

 

In the same way people who used to be called actresses are now to be known as actors.  The only exception that I've noticed is that princesses seem to want to keep that title, rather then becoming princes.

[Stroudwater1]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

I agree with you Edward_H. A similar example of grating and clumsy language conceived on the altar of gender neutral-ism exists in the world of cricket, where we are instructed by TPTB not to use the terms 'batsman' and 'batswoman', but to say "batter" instead. 

 

It almost physically hurts my ears to hear this used on the BBC these days.

 

Absolutely- besides It would have wrecked John Arlott cricket commentator saying when Peter Willey of England was bowling to Michael Holding  of West Indies 

 

“The batsman’s Holding, the bowlers Willey”

 

Sadly years later I read that Willey never bowled to Holding when Arlott was commentating, so apocryphal . 

 

[alias]

33 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Absolutely- besides It would have wrecked John Arlott cricket commentator saying when Peter Willey of England was bowling to Michael Holding  of West Indies 

 

“The batsman’s Holding, the bowlers Willey”

 

Sadly years later I read that Willey never bowled to Holding when Arlott was commentating, so apocryphal . 

 

 

However, at the Oval in 1976 Holding did bowl to Willey, so the bowlers holding might have been true...

[brianthesnail96]

This thread has made me realise that I seem to swap between "steerer" and "driver" depending on situation - "do you mind steering for a bit, I'm just nipping inside" or "do you want to drive this lock or work it?" 

 

Never helm though... 

 

Left and right are usually offside and towpath side as appropriate. Got a bit confusing on the BCN new main line though.

[NB Thistle]

23 hours ago, Edward_H said:

When I sailed on large ocean-going vessels the man steering the ship was known as the helmsman (he was the man at the helm).  I recently did a RYA sailing course and the helmsman was referred to as the "helm" The reason the RYA have for this deplorable misuse of the English language is that it is gender neutral.  They also plan to replace the term "man overboard" with "person in the water".  "Helming" is a word that I have recently come across for the first time and is one that I would never use.

'Helming' has been used for what the person in the back end of a sailing dinghy is doing since the early 1990s to my knowledge. Probably longer but I wasn't doing it then. Helm and crew are the role descriptions in a two person dinghy.

[MtB]

4 hours ago, alias said:

 

However, at the Oval in 1976 Holding did bowl to Willey, so the bowlers holding might have been true...

 

Pretty sure I've heard the sound clip. And it is pretty obvious from all the 'corpsing' that the opportunity to say that on the air was anticipated well in advance and massively enjoyed by all concerned! 

 

 

[David Mack]

Brian Johnston, not John Arlott. And apparently he never actually said it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Johnston

 

[Tam & Di]

2 hours ago, NB Thistle said:

Helm and crew are the role descriptions in a two person dinghy.

 

Bur NOT on a narrowboat or even a canal cruiser.

[Twopints]

11 hours ago, MtB said:

 

I agree with you Edward_H. A similar example of grating and clumsy language conceived on the altar of gender neutral-ism exists in the world of cricket, where we are instructed by TPTB not to use the terms 'batsman' and 'batswoman', but to say "batter" instead. 

 

It almost physically hurts my ears to hear this used on the BBC these days.

 

Batter should only ever be used on Cod and chips.

[Stroudwater1]

24 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Brian Johnston, not John Arlott. And apparently he never actually said it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Johnston

 

Im pretty sure originally it was attributed to Arlott. That was part of the joke in that Johnson could easily have done it deliberately yet Arlott would have only said it accidentally. Arlott retired shortly afterwards and Johnson’s star continued to rise for many years especially with the other “leg over” Agnew  one often replayed. So it’s easy to see the attribution change in time. 
Interestingly Wiki only states Johnson’s commentaries were scanned for the quote and not found! 
 

Just now, Twopints said:

Batter should only ever be used on Cod and chips.

 

And chips, please. 

[NB Thistle]

13 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

 

Bur NOT on a narrowboat or even a canal cruiser.

True.

[ditchcrawler]

So why is there an inland waterways helmsman certificate RYA Inland Waterways Helmsman's Course | Course Finder

[Tam & Di]

Because the RYA has no knowledge of or particular interest in inland boating

[Mike Todd]

14 hours ago, Twopints said:

Batter should only ever be used on Cod and chips.

Cod, yes but chips, never! Even worse than on a Mars bar - but you do have to go North for that. (Allegedly)

[colin stone]

Warships get driven by the helm, often called Quartermaster or just QM, who is given conning orders. 

Captains get known by being a good ship driver.

Driving is a much more active and positive word than steering or helming and suggests being in charge.

 

Easy P and S with the correct colour wheelhouse deck. I did a warship bridge deck in the same after noticing young Officers of the Watch  writing Port Red Starboard Green on the appropriate sides of the Bridge windows in front of the Pelorus.  The Dockyard team laid the carpet over a weekend.  I had a nightmare that they would get the colours the wrong way round🤔🤞

 

 

 

[Justin Smith]

On 29/08/2026 at 20:20, Edward_H said:

When I sailed on large ocean-going vessels the man steering the ship was known as the helmsman (he was the man at the helm).  I recently did a RYA sailing course and the helmsman was referred to as the "helm" The reason the RYA have for this deplorable misuse of the English language is that it is gender neutral.  They also plan to replace the term "man overboard" with "person in the water".  "Helming" is a word that I have recently come across for the first time and is one that I would never use.

I have always thought "man" in these sort of contexts can just as easily apply to both sexes anyway so there is no need for awkward gender neutral words.  Humanity / Humankind : All human beings collectively, regardless of sex or age (e.g. "the history of man" or "Brotherhood of Man").

Edited August 31 by Justin Smith

[Arthur Marshall]

7 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

I have always thought "man" in these sort of contexts can just as easily apply to both sexes anyway so there is no need for awkward gender neutral words.  Humanity / Humankind : All human beings collectively, regardless of sex or age (e.g. "the history of man" or "Brotherhood of Man").

I think the argument is that the word "man" isn't really gender neutral. It does contain an implied assumption that the dominant part of the species is male. Understandably, this can be resented by women - it would only be percieved as fair if, say, blokes steering boats would be happy to be called helmswomen, which, if it is seen as silly (which it is) asks why the opposite isn't, either.

I don't like "batter" either, but batswoman is awful. Once you let them play... at least they didn't decide on batsperson! And, of course, technically, if you have a batsman, you should have had a ballsman and fieldsmen. So batter, actually, is much more consistent with the rest of the terminology.