Sailors, what does the term 'boats' mean?

Question

So I was reading this book which is full of nautical terms and slangs, I came across a passage where a bosun's mate yells 'boats' as he jumps back onboard to his yacht from visiting a friend on another boat.

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

I’ve never heard of that before, and as you failed to state a book title, author and chapter/page number it’s impossible to see the context of that quotation. 

But the term “bosun” (also “bo’sun”, “bo’s’n” and “bos’n”) is a contraction of “boatswain”. 

So maybe the bo’sun was simply shouting to announce his return, or perhaps he was calling the boat handling crew to recover his boat back onto the yacht. 

Those guesses may well be wrong. Without context guesses are all I can offer. 

Ask better questions, get better answers.

• Mallone3 weeks agoReport

  I've taken a screenshot of the page, can I send it to your email so you can have a look and answer back
  

Answer 2

For me it means lifeboats. not sure what he was talking about

Answer 3

http://blog.sailtrilogy.com/blog/sailor-slang