Definition of stern boat. : a ship's boat carried at or near the stern.
Hard credit inquiries can only affect your FICO score for a maximum of 12 months. Usually, if they have any impact, it will be primarily in the first 6 months. They will drop off your credit report after 2 years. The exact impact inquiries have on your score depends on a number of factors. There can be a larger impact with a shorter credit history and fewer accounts.
Personally I recommend clustering credit applications in addition to the usual auto / mortgage you absolutely should. Not only do inquiries count against you, but new tradelines do as well, and generally there's at least a week or two before a new tradeline reports (up to around 2 months even).