Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. The term barge has a rich history, and therefore there are many other types of barges.
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they can or should not move under their own power, such as in crowded harbour or narrow canals, or cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Some are ocean-going, some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models were powered by steam engines, long ago superseded by diesel engines. Many have deluge gun water jets, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours.
A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a square bow, a shallow draft, and typically have knees, which are large plates mounted to the bow for pushing barges of various heights. These boats usually operate on rivers and inland waterways. Multiple barges lashed together, or a boat and any barges lashed to it, are referred to as a "tow" and can have dozens of barges. Many of these vessels, especially the long distances, or long haul boats, include living quarters for the crew.
Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Described as America's "first specialist marine engineers", Neafie & Levy was probably the first company in the United States to combine the building of iron ships with the manufacture of steam engines to power them. The company was also the largest supplier of screw propellers to other North American shipbuilding firms in its early years, and at its peak in the early 1870s was Philadelphia's busiest and most heavily capitalized shipbuilder.
Willapa Bay is a large shallow body of water near the Pacific Ocean in southwestern Washington. For a number of years before modern roads were built in Pacific County, Washington, the bay was used as the means of travel around the county, by powered and unpowered craft, including several steamboats.
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
USS Wadena (SP-158) was a converted yacht patrol vessel of the United States Navy during World War I. She was built in 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio, as a steam yacht for Jeptha Homer Wade II of Cleveland and New York City. During her Navy career, Wadena made several trips escorting submarine chasers across the Atlantic Ocean, and, later, patrolling in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. on 26 February 1918 Wadena came to the aid of sinking tug Mariner and rescued all of her crew.
Luna is a historic tugboat normally berthed in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Luna was designed in 1930 by John G. Alden and built by M.M. Davis and Bethlehem Steel. She is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. In 1985, the Luna was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
Baltimore is a preserved steam-powered tugboat, built in 1906 by the Skinner Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore, Maryland. She is formerly the oldest operating steam tugboat in the United States, but at present does not hold an operating license issued by the US Coast Guard, so is unable to leave her dock at the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway, Baltimore. Her hull is not capable of operating on open water. Baltimore was built and operated as a harbor inspection tug, capable of acting as a municipal tugboat for city barges, as well as an official welcoming vessel and VIP launch, an auxiliary fireboat, and as a light icebreaker.
Henry Eckford was a small passenger-cargo steamboat built in New York in 1824. She was the first steam vessel in the world to be installed with a compound engine, almost fifty years before the technology would become widely adopted for marine use.
John Payne Ltd was a shipbuilder in Bristol, England, who built coastal colliers and cargo ships, and small craft such as tugs, during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The steamer Goliah was the second tug boat ever built in the United States. The long service life of this vessel caused it to become known as the "everlasting" Goliah. This vessel was readily recognizable by its large size and sidewheels. It should not be confused with a number of other vessels named either Goliah or Goliath which were also operating as tugs. This vessel was also sometimes known as the Defender.
The California Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1854 to consolidate competing steamship companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. It was successful in this effort and established a profitable near-monopoly which it maintained by buying out or bankrupting new competitors. In response to the Fraser Canyon gold rush and economic growth in the Pacific Northwest, the company expanded to ocean routes from San Francisco north to British Columbia. Similarly, as California's economy grew, the company offered service from San Francisco south to San Pedro and San Diego. It exited these markets in 1867 when competition drove prices to unprofitable levels. While the California Steam Navigation Company was successful throughout its life in suppressing steamboat competition on its core Bay Area and river routes, it could not control the rise of railroads. These new competitors reduced the company's revenue and profit. Finally, in 1871, the company's assets were purchased by the California Pacific Railroad, and the corporation was dissolved.
Emma Hayward commonly called the Hayward, was a steamboat that served in the Pacific Northwest. This vessel was once one of the finest and fastest steamboats on the Columbia River and Puget Sound. As newer vessels came into service, Emma Hayward was relegated to secondary roles, and, by 1891, was converted into a Columbia river tow boat.
PS Avalon was an iron paddle passenger vessel built on the River Thames for the Great Eastern Railway in 1864 for their ferry services from Harwich to Rotterdam and Antwerp. Before the end of that year she was bought by British interests to assist with the commissioning of the Confederate iron-clad CSS Stonewall, and renamed City of Richmond. After the war she was renamed Agnes Arkle and sold in Brazil in 1865.
El Dorado was a 153 ton side-wheel steamship, was ordered by Captain J. W. Wright and built by Thomas Collyer, it was originally to be named Caribbean, however she was sold while still on the stocks to Howland & Aspinwall, who were building up a fleet of steamers on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Arctic was a wooden hulled tugboat that worked on the Great Lakes of North America from 1881 to 1930. In 1930 the Arctic was stripped of her machinery, and abandoned at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. On June 22, 2018, the remains of the Arctic were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
104 was an American whaleback barge in service between 1890 and 1898. The fourth whaleback constructed, she was built between October 1889 and February 1890, in Duluth, Minnesota by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company, for McDougall's fleet of the same name, based in Buffalo, New York. She was a whaleback, a class of distinctive, experimental ship designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditional lake freighters. 104 entered service on April 21, hauling iron ore from Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Santa Claus was a sidewheel passenger-and-freight steamboat built in 1845 for service on the Hudson River between Wilbur, New York, and New York City. In her first few years of operation, Santa Claus saw service on a number of different Hudson River routes, most notably between Albany and New York City. She was also employed from time to time as an excursion steamer. A highlight of her career occurred in 1852, when she had the honor of conveying the remains of American statesman Henry Clay from New York City to Albany en route to their final resting place.
The Callendar Navigation Company, sometimes seen as the Callendar Transportation Company, started in business in the early 1900s. Callendar was formed in the early 1900s, and was based in Astoria, Oregon. Callender was to become one of six large towing companies of the Columbia and Willamette rivers in the early decades of the 1900s, the others being Shaver Transportation, Smith Transportation, Hosford, Knappton Towing Co., and Willamette and Columbia River Towing Co. In 1922, Callendar Navigation merged with Knappton Towboat Co., which existed, with a name change in 1990, and which became part of Foss Marine in 1993.
