I just went on a Carnival Cruise Lines cruise ship and a paper in the
cabin said the following:

Depth: 44 feet
Draft, max: 24 feet

What is the exact difference between "depth" and "draft"?

Hi davidjhp,

The difference between the depth and the draft of a ship is the depth
is measured from the keel to the upper continuous deck. The draft is
the depth of water (from the waterline to the bottom of the ship)
needed to float a ship.

"The depth of a vessel involves several very important vertical
dimensions. They involve terms like freeboard, draft, draft marks, and
load lines. The vessel?s depth is measured vertically from the lowest
point of the hull, ordinarily from the bottom of the keel, to the side
of any deck that you may choose as a reference point. Therefore, it
has to be stated in specific terms such as depth to upper deck
amidships. It is impractical to measure depth in any other way, since
it varies considerably from one point to another on many ships. For
example, the depth is greater at the stern than amidships.

The term "depth" is where the measurement is taken from the
bottom--from the keel upward. Ordinarily, if such a measurement were
being made in a room of a building, taken from the floor to the
ceiling, it would be called height."

Global Security: Shipboard Measurements
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/measurement.htm 

You can see diagrams to explain this measurement at both the above
site and the following site:

http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/tech/fluids/cargo.htm


"What is a ship?s draft? The draft of a ship is how deep it sits in
the water - the draft is measured from the water line to the underside
of the ship?s keel. Ships with a draft of 11.6 metres at Melbourne and
10.8 metres at Geelong can enter and leave Port Phillip at any state
of the tide. With tidal assistance this is increased to 12.1 metres
and 11.6 metres respectively."

Port of Melbourne: Did you know...? 
http://www.portofmelbourne.com/community/didyouknow.asp


So in other words, the cruise ship you were on measures 44 feet from
the bottom of the ship (or keel) to the deck. This is the depth. And
the measurement from the waterline to the bottom of the ship is at a
maximum of 24 feet. This is the draft.


Search criteria:
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"cruise ship" depth draft
"cruise ship" "depth is" 
ship "depth is measured"
ship "draft is measured" 

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions regarding my answer
please don't hesitate to ask before rating it.

Best wishes,
Rainbow

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Request for Answer Clarification by davidjhp-ga on 11 Jan 2005 10:10 PST

In sentence #1 you used a term "upper continuous deck", I cannot find
that in a dictionary, please define that term.  I prefer a very very
simple and short definition.

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Clarification of Answer by rainbow-ga on 11 Jan 2005 17:06 PST

Hi davidjhp,

To clarify, the upper continuous deck, also called upper deck, is the
top most deck that runs completely tip to stern.

"The Upper Deck is the top most deck that runs completely tip to
stern. This is the strength deck of the ship. But, the Promenade Deck
also fills that roll to a great degree, even though you might consider
it the first deck of the superstructure - or tier of decks that rise
above the strength deck. Above the Promenade Deck, the Sun Deck,
Sports Deck and Navigating Bridge Deck level where you can see the
wheelhouse and starboard bridge wing."

See the diagram for a better understanding:
SS United States
http://www.ss-united-states.com/vt1.html

I hope that helps.

Best wishes,
Rainbow