Boat Insurance Glossary

Welcome to our Boat Insurance glossary, select a letter to navigate to our list of available definitions;

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Boat Insurance Definitions beginning with - 'B'

Beam

• The width of a vessel across its widest section.

Bilge Pump

• A boat's bilge pump is a water pump that is used to remove water from the bilge (the lowest compartment on a boat where water collects). Since fuel can sometimes collect in the bilge, electric bilge pumps are carefully designed to not create sparks.
  
  For boat insurance purposes float switches which turn on the pump when the bilge fills to a set level can be advantageous (particularly if mooring on swing-type moorings).

Buoy Moorings

• Buoy Moorings (also more commonly known as Swing Moorings) are a type of mooring that requires a circular area in which to moor. The key advantage of buoy moorings is that they allow a greater number of vessels to moor in a given area. Typically suited to vessels over five meters, these types of mooring are mostly found on rivers, lakes and harbours. Their size and scale can vary according to the vessel length/ beam they are intended for and they can be produced from a variety of materials such as aluminium, steel and plastic.
  
  NB: For boat insurance purposes, any boat using this type of mooring that also has an auto-bilge pump fitted will get a reduced boat insurance quote!)