Boat

Edward: "Boat? I see no boat here. Do you?"

Jennifer: "Ugh. I mean ship, obviously. I don't see the difference anyway."

Edward: "Ah! It's a very simple one, Jenny. A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry a ship."

—Edward Kenway to his daughter Jennifer Scott, 1722.^[src]^-[m]

A boat is a watercraft which, while ranging widely in size, is invariably smaller than a ship.^[1] Most boats are not designed for carrying heavy cargo and are instead used exclusively for passenger transport.^[2]

History[edit | edit source]

Throughout Egyptian history, rowboats built from wood, called feluccas, as well as reed boats, were used to navigate the Nile river.^[3] Venice, an Italian island city cut by many canals, likewise employs rowboats called gondolas as a daily means of transportation.^[4]

Canoes, rowboats characterized by their pointed ends and open top, were used in many regions of the world throughout much of human history, including the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou during the 18th century.^[5] In Southeast Asia, various nations utilized watercraft inspired by the design of Chinese junks; the Ayutthaya Kingdom employed large canoe-like rowboats for both trade and naval warfare.^[6] At the time of the Industrial Revolution, steam riverboats were employed for travel along the River Thames in London, England.^[7]

In modern times, the vast majority of boats in use are motorboats, powered exclusively by engines, the fastest of which are also referred to as "speedboats".^[8] In 2023, the Doom Eagle criminal organization utilized several speedboats in their attack on an Abstergo Industries diving bell ship, including one that the Assassin Nathan Zhang used to rescue Animus test subject Noa Kim, the Templar turncoat Shimazu Sei, and her bodyguard Yuki, and escape with them to Singapore.^[9] Later, a team of Assassins sent to rescue Noa and Nathan from an attack by Abstergo's Sigma Team also used a speedboat as their getaway vehicle.^[10]