rod classes?

[Scotto]

Hi there, I am thinking about starting to do a bit of boat fishing and I am busy looking for some gear and was wondering what the "class" of the rod means?
Does it mean it goes off the type of fish you are targeting, or predicted weight of fish you are after? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
On a further note I have heard of lads using a Penn 535 as a boat reel (which I have one of) and was wondering if that was sound advice or not?
cheers.

[dt1]

Scotto, i use a penn 525 with a 4-1 gear ratio for all my fishing ,shore/boat/kayak..........Dave.