Safe Seamanship in a Nutshell

Seamanship refers to the skill, practice, and techniques involved in handling a boat or ship at sea. It encompasses line handling, anchoring, navigation, troubleshooting, and safety. The first order of good seamanship is to know everything there is to know about your boat, including its layout, construction, capabilities, carrying capacity, and limitations. You also need to learn about its propulsion, electric systems, and how to deal with its common problems.

Knowing what your boat can handle is important for safe seamanship, and may even help reduce operational costs. Look at your boat’s manual and take note of its maximum carrying and load capacity, maximum fuel range, maximum speed and range at certain speeds, maximum draft, and economical cruising speed. If you can, learn about your boat’s wind and sea limitations as well.

You will also need to know local, state, and federal safety regulations. Keep in mind, the US Coast Guard and local agencies can board your boat at any time to check if you’re complying with the set safety equipment rules and regulations. Depending on the size of your boat, you may be required to have navigation lights, emergency flares, a sound signaling device, and a specific number of life jackets. Of course, the larger the vessel, the greater the requirements.

The Many Uses of Workboats

A workboat is just that: a boat that’s used for work. It may be for transporting freight or for commercial fishing; as long as it’s not for leisure or naval service, it is considered a workboat. Among the most widely used of these hardworking vessels is the tugboat.

Tugboats are mainly used to tow larger ships and help them dock in harbors. They are comparatively smaller than ocean-going vessels and yet are able to move efficiently. These small workboats operate on heavy duty machinery which gives them enough power to carry on their tasks. 

Tugboats are usually built in three categories: seagoing tugs, escort tugs, and harbor tugs. Seagoing tugboats are primarily used for pulling structures for relocation like oil rigs and similarly huge objects. Escort tugs, on the other hand, are used to escort bigger vessels navigate canals, while harbor tugs are used to assist ships in and out of ports safely and securely.

These workboats are also used for rescuing disabled ships and towing them to the nearest harbor where they can be repaired. Hence, tugboats are a must in all of the world’s oceans, rivers, lakes and many other water basins. Without these ubiquitous small seacrafts, many bigger ships may not be able to navigate or reach their destination safely. Indeed, workboats like tugs do work hard for whatever purpose they are used.

Tugboats as Workboats: Know these Workhorses

Workboats, as the name suggests, are used for work, and not for military, transportation or recreational purposes. Tugboats, which are essentially workboats, are small yet very powerful boats  that can maneuver vessels by pushing or towing them. They move ships that either cannot move by themselves, such as oil platforms, log rafts and disabled ships that need rescue; or should not move by themselves, since they are in narrow channels or a crowded harbor. There are three kinds of tugboats: harbor tugs, escort tugs and seagoing tugs.

Harbor tugs, or lunch bucket boats, are multiple-utility boats. They tow and assist vessels in and out of ports. They can pull barges or dead ships along ports or inside waterways like rivers and canals. Escort tugs are used to accompany large vessels along narrow, dangerous passages. They can either attach themselves to the bow to pull the other boat forward or at the stern to slow it down. Seagoing tugs can perform a variety of tasks from towing or salvaging a grounded vessel to pulling offshore drilling platforms.

If you’re in the marine industry, a tugboat is a valuable investment you should have. Modern tugboat manufacturers now follow quality construction methods, use high-tech equipment and have an experienced team of tugboat manufacturing experts in their shipyards. This assures you that you get only tugboats that are sturdy, highly manueverable and reliable.