A watercraft is a vehicle, vessel or craft designed to move across (or through) water, including saltwater and freshwater, for pleasure, recreation, physical exercise, commerce, transport and military missions. It is derived from the term “craft” which was used as term to describe all types of water going vessels. (The term craft has since been expanded to include all types of vessels which travel on water (watercraft), in air (aircraft) and in space (spacecraft).)
Most watercraft would be described as either a ship or a boat. However, there are a number of craft which many people would consider neither a ship nor a boat, such as: canoes, kayaks, rafts, barges, catamarans, hydrofoils, windsurfers, surfboards (when used as a paddle board), jet skis, underwater robots, seaplanes, and torpedoes.
