Boats Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- What is the largest modern warship in service in the world (by displacement)?
- A. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (France)
- B. The battleship Yamato (Japan)
- C. The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier (USA)
- D. The cruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Russia)
- What was the name of Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau's famous oceanographic exploration ship?
- A. The Astrolabe
- B. The Tara
- C. The Pourquoi-Pas?
- D. The Calypso
- Which type of long, slender Venetian boat is propelled by a single standing oarsman at the rear?
- A. The Dinghy
- B. The Pointue
- C. The Vaporetto
- D. The Gondola
- Which French ship holds the world speed record for a large transatlantic liner (winning the Blue Riband in 1935)?
- A. The Normandie
- B. The France
- C. The Liberté
- D. The Île-de-France
- What is the architectural distinction of the French oceanographic research vessel "Tara"?
- A. It has no rudder
- B. It has wheels to travel on dry land
- C. Its rounded aluminum hull allows it to be locked in by pack ice without being crushed
- D. It is propelled by giant automated oars
- Which traditional Chinese vessel, fitted with battened sails that fold like venetian blinds, has been sailing since antiquity?
- A. The Sampan
- B. The Prao
- C. The Coracle
- D. The Junk
- Which unusual craft has a hull shaped like an inverted "V" or "tunnel", allowing it to glide on a cushion of air generated by giant fans?
- A. A Jet Ski
- B. A Hydrofoil
- C. A Sport Catamaran
- D. A Hovercraft
- Which unusual French archaeological and oceanographic research vessel has a streamlined aluminum hull shaped like an inverted "trimaran" to cut through waves without pitching?
- A. The Marion Dufresne
- B. The Alfred Merlin
- C. The Atalante
- D. The Pourquoi-Pas?
- What does the abbreviation 'TEU', used to measure container ship capacity, stand for?
- A. Total Export Volume
- B. Terminal Elevated Unit
- C. Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit
- D. Tonnage Estimate Unit
- Which type of ship is specifically designed to carry vehicles that drive on and off under their own power?
- A. The LNG carrier
- B. The container ship
- C. The bulk carrier
- D. The Ro-Ro ferry
- What was the name of Christopher Columbus's flagship caravel on his 1492 voyage?
- A. The Santa Maria
- B. The Victoria
- C. The Pinta
- D. The Niña
- Which oil tanker caused one of the worst oil spills in history off Alaska in 1989?
- A. The Amoco Cadiz
- B. The Exxon Valdez
- C. The Erika
- D. The Prestige
- Which type of anchor, with articulated flukes that pivot to bite better into the seabed, is most commonly used today on pleasure craft?
- A. The sea anchor
- B. The pivoting-fluke anchor (Danforth or plough type)
- C. The boarding grapnel
- D. The fixed-stock anchor
- In what hollowed-out giant vegetable do competitors paddle to race across a lake at the Windsor regatta in Canada?
- A. A courgette
- B. A watermelon
- C. A pumpkin
- D. A cabbage
- Why can a boat hardly steer when it is stationary?
- A. The rudder works because water flows over it; with no speed it has almost no effect
- B. Because the engine locks the rudder when stopped
- C. Because the tiller is locked
- D. Because the water becomes too dense
- Why does the load line painted on ships' hulls have several marks (summer, winter, fresh water, tropical)?
- A. To show the water temperature
- B. To measure the ship's speed
- C. To decorate the hull
- D. A ship sits lower in less dense fresh water, and must keep more margin in winter seas
- Why does a supertanker's draught limit the ports and straits it can use?
- A. Its hull sits more than 20 metres below the surface and would hit the bottom in shallow water
- B. Because it is too tall to pass under bridges
- C. Because it sails too fast
- D. Because its engine is too noisy
- What are the fenders hung along a boat's hull in harbour for?
- A. Measuring depth
- B. Storing fresh water
- C. Protecting the hull from bumps against the quay or neighbouring boats
- D. Showing the boat's position at night
- Why can a magnetic compass installed near a boat's engine show a wrong heading?
- A. Because the engine heats the needle
- B. Because the waves spin the compass
- C. Metal masses and electrical circuits on board deflect the needle: this is 'deviation'
- D. Because the sea is magnetic
- What colour is the stern light of a ship under way?
- A. White
- B. Red
- C. Green
- D. Blue
Answer key — Boats Quiz
- C. The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier (USA)With more than 100,000 tons at full load and a length of 337 meters, this class of American aircraft carriers is a true nuclear-powered floating city.
- D. The CalypsoA former Royal Navy minesweeper built in 1942, the Calypso became the worldwide symbol of underwater exploration and the red-cap documentaries, from 1950 to 1996.
- D. The GondolaThe gondola is asymmetrical (the left side is wider than the right) to compensate for the gondolier's weight and the fact that he rows from only one side with his "forcola" (the wooden oarlock).
- A. The NormandieThe Normandie was a masterpiece of Art Deco design and naval engineering.
- C. Its rounded aluminum hull allows it to be locked in by pack ice without being crushedOriginally designed under the name Antarctica by Jean-Louis Étienne, Tara's hull has an olive-like shape.
- D. The JunkThe junk is a masterpiece of efficiency: its hull is divided into watertight compartments (preventing it from sinking in case of a leak), and its bamboo-matting sails, reinforced with horizontal battens, remain very easy to…
- D. A HovercraftHaving no physical contact with the water or the ground (since it floats on an air-filled rubber skirt), the hovercraft can move freely from sea to sand, to swamp, or to ice.
- B. The Alfred MerlinRecently launched by DRASSM, this ultra-modern vessel was specially designed to operate deep-sea robots and detect shipwrecks using advanced sonar.
- C. Twenty-foot Equivalent UnitThe TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) is the standard measure used to express the cargo capacity of container ships.
- D. The Ro-Ro ferryRo-Ro (Roll-on/Roll-off) ships are fitted with ramps that let vehicles drive on and off under their own wheels.
- A. The Santa MariaThe Santa Maria was the largest of the three caravels in the 1492 expedition and served as Columbus's flagship.
- B. The Exxon ValdezThe grounding of the Exxon Valdez in 1989 spilled around 40,000 tonnes of crude oil into the pristine waters of Alaska.
- B. The pivoting-fluke anchor (Danforth or plough type)Modern pivoting-fluke anchors, such as the Danforth or plough type, hold the seabed better than older fixed-stock anchors.
- C. A pumpkinIn Windsor (Nova Scotia), giant pumpkins weighing several hundred kilos are hollowed out to serve as boats.
- A. The rudder works because water flows over it; with no speed it has almost no effectThe rudder deflects the flow of water like a wing, pushing the stern sideways.
- D. A ship sits lower in less dense fresh water, and must keep more margin in winter seasSaltier seawater supports a ship better than fresh water: the same ship floats lower on a river.
- A. Its hull sits more than 20 metres below the surface and would hit the bottom in shallow waterDraught is the depth reached by the lowest point of the hull.
- C. Protecting the hull from bumps against the quay or neighbouring boatsThese large, soft plastic cushions, once made of braided rope, absorb knocks and rubbing.
- C. Metal masses and electrical circuits on board deflect the needle: this is 'deviation'As well as variation, the natural difference between magnetic and true north, the compass is affected by the boat itself.
- A. WhiteThe white stern light can only be seen from behind. If you see only a low white light, you are astern of the ship, which is moving away or which you are overtaking.