Electric motors are outboards. A rudder is used to steer. Jet motors use an engine to pump water through a nozzle at the stern, which pivots to steer the boat. Remember, when boating in new areas, certain lakes in the state have specific motor size limitations. There are two basic types of boat hulls.
Planing hulls are flat-bottomed and skim across the water.
Displacement hulls have round bottoms and plow through the water. They are more stable, but not as fast as planing hull boats. There are also multiple-hulled boats such as catamarans and pontoons. Beam - the width of a boat, also the direction at right angles to the centerline of a vessel. Bilge - the lowest point of a boat's interior hull.