Great minds think alike...Tom and Bill say it's a boat.

By the way Bill, have you ever met Tom? Maybe gave him a ride on your sub? No? :hmm:

I am thinking a compromise is in order here. :hmm:

Why don't you just call it a

SHOAT.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Start a new tradition.

For me, being Dutch, subs are boats. No discussion about that. Was just surprised that there seems to be a difference for the USN. Even in this thread. Bill says boat, yet Neal his officer (and the thread I referred to) said Ship.

The reason why is easy:

Heart says boat, head says ship. Tradition is more romantic...thus why they are called boats. Though romanticising is for old farts (think the young saplings), so they refer to them as "ships". When the young saplings become old farts, they revert back to calling them boats to recapture the romance of youth...and so on and so forth.