Definition of Boat

A boat is a watercraft designed to float or plane on, and provide transport over, water. Usually this water will be inland (lakes) or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were historically designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In Naval terms, a boat is something small enough to be carried aboard another vessel (a ship). Some boats too large for the Naval definition include the Great Lakes freighter, riverboat, narrowboat and ferryboat. However, these examples generally do operate on inland and protected coastal waters. Modern submarines can also be called boats, despite their underwater capabilities and size. This may be because the first submarines could be carried by a ship and were not capable of making independent offshore passages. Boats may be used by the military or other government interests, or for research or commercial purposes; but regardless of size, a vessel in private, non-commercial usage is almost certainly a boat.

In the United Kingdom, public rights of way are paths on which the public have a legally protected right to pass and re-pass. The law differs in each of the constituent countries of the kingdom: notably, in England and Wales rights of way only exist where they are so designated (or are able to be designated if not already); in Scotland, meanwhile, any route that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way, and in addition there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist.