Work Boats For Sale

I was born near a lake and I've known boats since I was very little. Well, there were very few kinds of boats that I knew of. There were no ferries in the lake. There's just big fishing boats and small fishing boats. Occasionally, I'd see some rafts used for fishing as well.

Now that I sell ships and all different kinds of vessels for a living, I am amazed with the variety of form and functions of boats existing.

By definition, a workboat is a boat used for purposes other than recreation, passenger transport or combat. Tankers, for example, are workboats. So are dredgers, pilot boats, barges, and several other interesting but lesser known type of boats like ambulance boats and multi-purpose workboats. I'll talk briefly about each of these boats. 

Tugboats

Think of rakers at sea. When boats lose power and cannot be fixed immediately but needs to be moved, tugboats are there to the rescue. There are also instances when perfectly working ships need the help of tugboats. In harbors with heavy traffic and in narrow canals, using the big ships' own power isn't really practical. Tugboats will do a better job of moving these ships.

Tugboats may be small in size but they are very powerful. They're strongly built and can be used as ice breakers and as salvage boats.

Pilots Boats

Pilots are highly skilled navigators and, needless to say, crucial in the operation of vessels. They need to be there on time, every time even in harsh weather conditions. That's why pilot boats are designed to withstand bad weather, rough seas and even bumping into bigger vessels! They're also painted with easily visible colors such as orange, yellow and red.

Research Vessels

Also referred to as RV or R/V, research vessels are the boats to use when conducting research at sea. Some RVs perform various research tasks while some RVs are dedicated and highly specialized to perform very specific research tasks at sea.

Research vessels that operate in oceans have to endure rough seas all the time and some work in in the polar regions. This means that they should be built on icebreaker hulls to be able to perform work in the icy regions.

Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS)

I guess you can call an AHT (also called AHTS) “tow boats on steroids”. They are more specialized though as they are designed to move oil rigs into place, anchor them, an even serve as an emergency or rescue and recovery vessel. AHTs are equipped with winches for towing and anchor handling.

Dredgers

Waters near the docks must be deep enough for the ships to safely “park”. However, not all dock locations are deep enough. Dredgers are used to deepen shallow waters. There are types of dredgers that can be used for cleaning rivers, clearing outgrowths, and even pile driving!

Ambulance Boats

In areas where travel is mostly done via water, ambulance boat are indispensable. These boats are well-equipped with life saving devices. Consider them mini-hospitals that can save the patient in transit to a medical facility.

There are several other highly specialized workboats not included in this list. For more information about workboats, you can visit http://workboatsinternational.com.

If you're looking for work boats for sale, there's one website that I highly  recommend. You'll find not just great deals on work boats but even on passenger vessels and pleasure crafts!