1. Ship assist to the stern. Large ships can maneuver just fine out on the open seas, but when it comes to making their way into port or through narrow channels, tug boats often will give assistance from the rear to give the nudges needed for these more delicate maneuvers.
2. Ship assist at the bow. A tug at the rear isn’t always enough to move a large ship sideways or alongside of a dock. In these cases, additional tug boats may attach themselves with lines to the bow of a ship so that the ship is being guided from the rear and the front at the same time.
3. Dead ships. When a ship has lost its power source it is referred to as a dead ship. A tug boat will be used to tow a dead ship into port for repairs.
4. Oil platforms. Oil platforms need to be towed to their drilling spot or sometimes moved from one location to another. Since the platforms have no means of propulsion, tug boats are used to tow them to their resting places.
5. Construction equipment. Cranes and other types of large construction equipment are often transported on barges pulled by tug boats. Water transport does not have the size limitations that can be encountered with highway and rail transportation.
6. Construction materials. Construction materials for bridges, platforms, piers and even construction on land are often hauled on barges that are towed by tug boats. Sometimes it is the only way to get the material to a sea based construction site.
7. Raw materials. Coal, iron ore, lumber and other raw materials are often transported on barges pulled or pushed by tug boats down rivers and other waterways. It is an economical and safe way to transport very large loads of material.
8. Garbage. Yes, even our large loads of waste materials from cities like New York are towed on barges by tug boats.
9. Recreational boats – Small tug boats operate out of different ports and marinas providing towing and other maritime services to recreational boat owners. These could include anything from a sailing craft, speed boats to small yachts. In addition to providing towing services when they end up dead in the water, they also assist with boats stranded on sand bars or those needing navigation assistance.
10. Commercial boats – Commercial fishing boats, salvage boats and other commercially operated boats that do not fit into the ‘ship’ category occasionally need the assistance of tug boats as well. The situations may be similar to those experienced by recreational boaters, engine trouble or a tug off of a sand bar.

You may see tug boats providing assistance to a cruise liner, an oil tanker or large sea platform, but you are just as likely to see them hauling barges of coal or towing a cabin cruiser into its home port in the Florida Keyes. Tug boat captains are well respected for their skill of navigation on the water.

When the boating season ends, many folks are anxious to get their boat out of the water and get it into storage. They might do a few quick winterizing activities, such as thoroughly drying and draining the boat or cleaning the hull, but some folks neglect to take the time to winterize the boat’s motor. The fact of the matter is that your boat insurance isn’t going to cover damage that occurs to your boat’s motor during winter storage, so you need to be diligent about getting it ready for those cold temps and the long months of storage.

Here are the things you need to do in order to winterize your boat’s motor:

• Get your boat out of the water and do the rest of your winterizing. Start with the rest of the winterizing steps. Clean your entire boat, including the deck and cockpit. Make sure you drain your bilge pump. Drain and clean your toilet facilities per your manufacturer’s recommendations. Open up your storage areas so they don’t build up any moisture. Make any necessary repairs.
• Check your owner’s manual. Make sure you can use moisturizing spray lubricants, for example, and see what else the manufacturer recommends and suggests you should avoid when it comes to storage and winterizing.
• Clean the fuel system. To clean your boat motor’s fuel system, fill the tank with some fuel stabilizer and marine fuel. Run your motor for a while to make sure that the treatment gets to the engine and the fuel lines. This keeps your fuel from spoiling or getting gummy over the winter, and helps to avoid oxidation as well as condensation.
• Flush the cooling system. Take out the plug and drain the water from the engines. Use a flushing kit on the engine. After you’ve flushed it, pump anti-freeze into the system. If you don’t flush, you’re looking at the possibility of your lines freezing and causing engine damage.
• Oil the engine. Apply a spray oil to help keep rust from building up. Consider a fogging oil specifically made to not slide off your boat cylinders. Change the lubricant in your gear casing, making sure to not leave any water in there to freeze.

Deciding where to keep your boat will depend on a number of factors that are specific to your personal situation. Your choice will probably depend on the size of your boat, how frequently you use it, your proximity to bodies of water, and whether you like to use your boat primarily in one location or prefer to use your boat in several different areas instead.

Your three basic choices for boat storage are trailering, rack storage, and marina storage. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option.

Trailering

This is the least expensive method for storing your boat. Keeping your boat (covered, of course) on a trailer in your driveway or garage offers flexibility, cost savings, and spontaneity over the other storage options. If you like to go boating in several different places, you’ll find trailering to be the best option. If you’re the spontaneous sort, who likes to seize the opportunity of a nice weather day, trailering gives you the advantage of being able to take off whenever you like

You’ll pay once for the trailer, which you’ll need for towing anyway, and have no additional maintenance costs or upkeep. Be sure to check your owner’s manual and get the right size trailer for your needs. Also be aware of the required towing capacity for your boat.

Rack Storage

Rack storage is a great option for small boats that don’t get a whole lot of use. You pay a small monthly rental fee in return for warehouse space to store your boat. Typically, with this type of arrangement, you’ll need to notify your storage company in advance when you plan on using the boat. They may need to engage a forklift to retrieve it for you.

Marina Storage

Marina storage offers frequent boaters a home away from home in addition to boat storage. Although the costs are higher than other forms of storage, marinas offer numerous amenities that enhance your boating lifestyle. In many cases, you will find showers, bathrooms, and off-season storage options. In addition, some marinas offer electric, telephone, internet, and satellite TV right at the dock, in addition to water hookups for washing down your boat.

Families that congregate around these marinas often find it interesting and fun to socialize with each other. Since many marinas offer long-term boat storage options, families get to know each other throughout the years, and enjoy spending time together.

Your Choice

The decision of how to store your boat is a personal one. It depends not only on the type and size of boat you own, but also your lifestyle choices, such as how much time you really spend on the water. No matter how you store your boat, you should always carry adequate boat insurance coverage. Vessels can be damaged even while in storage, so be sure your policy covers physical damage to the boat itself, in case something should happen.

So what kind of parent in their right mind would allow a teenager to leave home, get on board a sailing ship and sail across the ocean? While the thought drives most of us parents crazy today, the truth is it really wasn’t so long ago when fourteen to sixteen year olds routinely left home to start their sailing careers.

Before steam ships and diesel liners sent the Age of Sail to Davey Jones’ Locker, most sailing ships had a cabin boy. This cabin boy, whose duties included running messages for the Captain and other officers, swabbing the decks, helping the ship’s cook, and even trimming the sails and manning the helm, generally started his career between the ages of fourteen and sixteen.

Often times, cabin boys were groomed for future leadership aboard sailing vessels. Who better to serve as a ship’s officer than someone who had been sailing since he was a teenager? So, from the 1500s through the mid 1800s, sending your teenager off to sea was often a good way to start him off on a promising career path. Kind of like sending him off to college early. By the time he was a young man, he knew a little bit of everything from how to steer the ship to what kind of boat insurance was needed to cover an ocean voyage.

So next time you shake your head and wonder how any parent could let their teenaged sons or daughters get on a sailboat by themselves to cross the world’s oceans, stop and think about it. As little as one hundred fifty years ago, parents might have shaken their head about how most of us could allow such an opportunity to pass us by.

Photo via ePi.Longo

It all started with rice farmers and merchants who would travel down the often perilous river rapids of mainland China to deliver their goods to market. Because the loss of a boat and its cargo could spell disaster for anyone, the travelers came up with an idea of devising a system where the risk would be shared by everyone.

It was virtually guaranteed that some boats were going to capsize and lose their cargo on the trip, but by banding together and sharing the risks and profits, each of the merchants minimized their potential losses. If a particular merchant’s boat capsized, the remaining merchants would give him a share of their profits, and sometimes even cover the expense of a new boat. This revolutionary idea came about in the 3^rd Century BC. That’s about 2,300 years ago. And you thought boat insurance was a new thing.

The idea took root, and appears to have spread west through Babylonia and into the Greek and Roman Empires. Life and health insurance came into being in the Graeco-Roman period.

Of course, when most of us think about boat insurance, Chinese merchants are the farthest thing from our minds, unless you happen to be in the Chinese boat trade. What we want to know is that if someone steals our boat, or if we hit a rock and sink it while we’re out bass fishing, we’re going to be able to replace it.

Next time you visit your agent, break out the old Chinese abacus and make sure that the amount of coverage you have is going to be enough to do what you want it to do, if you should have an accident. All too many boat owners are unpleasantly surprised to find out that their coverage was not what they thought it was. Unfortunately, whether you’re a Chinese merchant or a bass fisherman from the Louisiana bayou, when your boat is lying at the bottom with a hole in it, it’s too late to make sure you have the coverage you thought you had.

Photo via ansik

If you’re looking to have a good time on the water, but don’t want to pony up money for boat insurance, you still have some good options, though. Here are some of the best boats for those who don’t have boat insurance:

• Kayak. These come in several varieties nowadays, including one and two seaters, and kayaks that are designed for river or open water travel. The original kayaks were built by the Eskimos and Inuit, of course, and used to traverse the frigid Arctic waters in search of seals and other game. A decent kayak can be obtained for about $400 and probably doesn’t warrant investing in boat insurance.

• Canoe. A slightly less cool version of a kayak, originally used by Native Americans in somewhat more temperate climates. Today’s canoes come in wood, fiberglass, or aluminum. Generally speaking, two or three people can fit in a canoe. Make sure the whole crew knows how to paddle one, though, or the guys sitting in front might need medical insurance to cover what the man trying to steer from the back will want to do with his paddle.

• Row boat. There probably isn’t a more exhausting way to get from one place to another on the water, and the only reason we can think of for wanting to spend any time in a rowboat these days is to impress a date (and we question how much fun your date is if the rowboat ride impresses her).

• Inner Tube. OK, it technically isn’t a boat. It is, however, a much better date idea than the rowboat. And who doesn’t like tubing down a river? There’s hardly anything more American or more fun. On top of that, the rubber inner tubes are both reasonably inexpensive and unlikely to damage anything when you collide, so boat insurance is unnecessary, which is fortunate, since no one would sell it to you to cover an inner tube anyway.

Let’s get serious. If you plan on doing any boating in anything more substantial that these, protect yourself and your investment. Buy boat insurance, and make sure your coverage will replace your boat if it gets damaged as well as protect you from liability if you have an accident out there.

Photo via Threat to Democracy

Tall ships have been with us since man first ventured off familiar shores and inlets to sail the open ocean in wooden hulled, tall-masted ships, though the name “Tall ships” has only been applied since the early 1900s. Originally, the ships were designed to cross the oceans, and today they often still do.

So, why would anyone continue to sail, especially across the ocean in a tall ship when modern technology has given us more efficient means of travel? If you have to ask that question, chances are you’ve never been sailing.

These days, tall ships serve many purposes. While their days of carrying cargo and passengers for profit are over, they continue to be sailed in ceremonial, educational, and recreational programs.

Many of today’s modern navies continue to maintain a tall ship or two in their arsenal. This includes the US Navy, which still has Old Ironsides, the USS Constitution under sail. Of course, as with all other tall ships, she’s seen all the combat she ever will, but the tradition lives on in the American Navy, and in several other navies around the world. We’re not sure whether or not the lack of chain shot being hurtled at them helps their boat insurance rates, but we’re pretty sure it doesn’t hurt them any.

Many tall ships are used for educational purposes. An example of this are the Appledore IV and Appledore V, docked in Bay City, Michigan, USA. Both two masted schooners are typically used for educational and team building sails. The professional crew consists of a captain and three crewmembers, with many of the typical crew tasks being performed by students.

Other tall ships offer recreational cruises ranging from a couple of hours to several days. Depending on the ship, passengers may be allowed to perform some of the sailors’ duties, or may simply enjoy the cruise.

If you ever get the chance to sail on one of these tall ships, whether it be in the Great Lakes or the open ocean, take it. There really is no better way to enjoy the wide open blue water than aboard a tall ship.

Photo via mikebaird

There’s something about being together in the relatively confined space that a boat offers, with the water surrounding you, which really brings a family together. Not only are there a lot of exciting and fun things you can do on the water, but you get a chance to really spend some time getting to know each other.

These days, families tend to fragment and go their separate ways, even when the children are young. There’s nothing wrong with everyone having their own interests and hobbies, but boating affords an opportunity to do something together, and that’s something you just can’t replace.

So, what kind of water fun is right for your family? Every family is different, and ultimately, that’s a question you’re going to have to answer for yourself. Here are some of the more popular family activities on a boat:

• Fishing. You don’t need a big boat, or a powerful one to have a blast reeling in whichever kind of fish inhabit your local waterways. Grab your tackle box and your kids and head out early to the marina to grab some bait and fisherman’s gossip. Make sure you find out where they’re biting and what they’re biting on. Then go out and have a great time.

• Water skiing. You need a little more boat for this, with a reasonably powerful engine and boat insurance. You also need some skis, of course. You should always have at least three people when you go water skiing: one to drive the boat, one to ski, and one to serve as a spotter, watching the skier and alerting the driver when he falls or has other issues. Teenagers in particular tend to love water skiing, though kids can be started much younger.

• Sailing. If you buy a sailboat, make sure you take some time to learn how to sail it before you get out on the water. It’s not as easy as it looks. That’s not to discourage you, it isn’t rocket science either, and it doesn’t take long to learn the basics, but you will want to make sure you have a basic understanding of how to handle the craft before you hoist the sail.

• Cruising. That’s right. Some families just like being on the water together. No activities, per se, no agenda. Just the boat, each other, and the water.

Photo via donjd2

• Clean your boat. This one should go without saying, but unfortunately, a lot of boat owners don’t invest even a few minutes in keeping their boat clean. Something as simple as spraying your boat off after you pull it out of the water can keep your boat in the water by avoiding the damage caused by long term exposure to the elements.

• Wax and paint your boat as needed. Make sure you use anti-fouling paint.

• Take care of your batteries. This is even more important for your boat than your car, because boat batteries by their very nature are exposed to more water and moisture. Keep the batteries clean and dry.

• Cover your boat when it’s out of the water. Why anyone would invest the few bucks you need for a boat cover after spending thousands of dollars on the boat itself is beyond us. It’s almost as bad as taking your boat out without any boat insurance.

• Flush your engine. Every time you bring the boat out of the water, you should flush the engine.

• Once per year, take your boat to a marine mechanic and have it looked over thoroughly. We know, this costs money, but it’s a lot cheaper than replacing the boat in most cases.

• Make sure your bilge pump is in working order before going out on the water. We hope you never have to use it, but when you do is a very bad time to discover that it isn’t working.

In short, take care of your boat and your boat will take care of making sure you have a good, safe time out on the water. Taking care of a boat the right way takes time and money, but in the end, it’ll be well worth it when you’re out on the lake and some other guy is sitting at home flipping through the channels with a boat he can’t use in the yard.

Still, the itch to get away hits all of us once in a while. Next time you decide to take a vacation, why not the hitch the boat to the back and find a place with a nice lake? Here are some fine examples of places you can drop your boat in the water next time you’re looking for somewhere different.

• Lake Michigan. If we’re going to put out a list of great lakes, it’s only fitting that we start it off with a Great Lake. Drive north of Chicago into Wisconsin or, especially, Michigan, and you’ll find some fantastic places to drop your boat in the water. Pay good attention to the weather forecasts if you venture out on the Great Lakes, however. Lake Michigan is usually calmer than the others, but like any lake, she can be dangerous if you’re out there on the wrong day.

• Beaver Lake. Located in the heart of the Ozarks, in Benton County, Arkansas, this beautiful 90 mile lake is quickly becoming well known. While the boating here isn’t quite as good as it was when it was less known, there’s still plenty of room to have fun on the lake. This destination is particularly good for the fishermen out there.

• Tellico Lake, Knoxville, Tennessee. This is where most of the major boat manufacturers test their boats, so it can be a great place to check out what’s coming down the pipe in the boating world. And the fishing isn’t half bad, either. Top that off with being close to the city and another fantastic little lake, Lake Loudon. If you happen to be a Vols fan, join them during the boat tailgate parties before UT’s football games.

• Finger Lakes. If you like things fairly pristine, the Finger Lakes in New York are an excellent choice. The series of 11 lakes is not as highly developed as most, and can really be an outdoorsman’s dream. Or, conversely, if you are the sophisticated type who enjoys a good glass of wine, the area is also home to some fantastic vineyards.

Wherever you go, make sure that your boat insurance has you covered both in and out of the water. And remember, you may not be able to go boating on all of our countries lakes and rivers, but that’s no excuse for not trying.

Photo via rkramer62