Barges

Last crawled date: 1 year, 9 months ago

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of bulk goods. Originally barges were towed by draft horses on an adjacent towpath. Barges have changed throughout time. From 1967 to 1983 barges were considered a flat bottom boat that was nineteen feet (5.8 m) in length or larger. Today, barges may be self-propelled, usually with a slow-revving diesel engine and a large-diameter fixed-pitch propeller. Otherwise, dumb barges must be towed by tugs, or pushed by pusher boats. Compared to a towed barge, a pusher system has improved handling and is more efficient, as the pushing tug becomes part of the unit and it contributes to the momentum of the whole. In Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution, a substantial network of narrow barges was developed from 1750 onwards; however, from 1825 competition from the railways eventually took over from canal traffic due to the higher speed, falling costs and route flexibility of rail transport. Barges carrying bulk and heavy cargoes continue to be viable. Originally, British canals had locks only 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, so narrowboats could be no more than 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) wide if they were to be able to navigate the system. It was soon realised that narrow locks were too limiting, and later locks were doubled in width to 14 feet (4.3 m). Accordingly, on the British canal system the term 'barge' is used to describe a Thames, Dutch, or other styles of barge (the people who move barges are often known as lightermen), and does not include Narrowboats and Widebeams (see also canal craft). In the United States, deckhands perform the labor and are supervised by a bos'n or the mate. The captain and pilot steer the towboat, which pushes one or more barges held together with rigging, collectively called 'the tow'. The crew live aboard the towboat as it travels along the inland river system or the intracoastal waterways. These towboats travel between ports and are also called line-haul boats. Poles are used on barges to fend off other nearby vessels or a wharf. These are often called 'pike poles'. tugboat vessel boat harbor ship watercraft shipping freight barge ocean sea port industrial industrial watercraft