Passenger ship on the river Rhine

Riverboat with capacity for 500 TEU

A riverboat is ship designed for inland navigation. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (often TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of Container ships and Container A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size Inland navigation is Transport with ships via Inland water ( Canals Rivers etc These vessels are usually less sturdy the ships built for the open seas, with limited navigational and rescue equipment, as they do not have to survive the high winds or large waves that are seen on large lakes, seas or oceans. They are limited in size by width and depth of the river as well as the height of bridges spanning the river.

While a ferryboat is often used to cross a river, a riverboat is used to travel along the course of the river, while carrying passengers and cargo, or both, for revenue. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and (Vessels like 'Riverboat casinos' are not considered here as they are essentially stationary). A riverboat casino is a type of Casino found in several areas of the United States which use a Riverboat as a casino

The significance of riverboats is dependent on the number of navigable rivers and channels as well as the condition of the road and rail network. A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Generally speaking, riverboats provide slow but cheap transport especially suited for bulk cargo and containers. Bulk cargo is Commodity Cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers

History

As early as 20,000 BC people started fishing in rivers and lakes using rafts and dugouts. A raft is any flat floating structure for travel over water It is the most basic of Boat design characterized by the absence of a hull. A dugout is a Boat which is basically a hollowed tree trunk Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Roman sources dated 50 BC mention extensive transportation of goods and people on the river Rhine. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge Upstream, boats were usually powered by sails or oars. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end In the middle ages, towpaths were built along most waterways to use working animals or people to pull riverboats. A towpath is a Road or Trail on the bank of a River, Canal, or other inland waterway A working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks In the 19th century, steamboats became common. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller

Model of a shallow draft stern wheel riverboat, operated early 20th century - click for more information about this particular craft

The most famous early riverboats were on the rivers of the midwestern and central southern United States, on the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers in the early 19th century. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. Out west, riverboats were common transportation on the Colorado and Columbia Rivers. It is these early steam driven river craft that typically come to mind when "steamboat" is mentioned, as these were powered by burning wood, with iron boilers drafted by a pair of tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double acting pistons driving a large paddlewheel at the stern churning foam. A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving a Propeller This type of propulsion was an advantage as a rear paddlewheel operates in an area clear of snags, is easily repaired, and is not likely to suffer damage in a grounding, while by burning wood, the boat could consume fuel provided by woodcutters along the shore of the river. These early boats would carry a brow (a short bridge) on the bow, so they could head in to an unimproved shore for transfer of cargo and passengers.

Modern riverboats are generally screw (propeller) driven, with pairs of diesel engines of several thousand horsepower. A diesel engine is an Internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle (named after Dr

Modern Riverboats

Many of the riverboats shown below were operating on the Yangtze (Chang Jaing) river.

High speed passenger transport

High speed boats such as those shown here had a special advantage in some operations in the free running Yangze. In several locations within the three gorges one way travel was enforced through fast narrows. The Three Gorges ( Gorgesogg|listen now}} region is a scenic area along the Yangtze River in the People's Republic of China with a total While less maneuverable and deeper draft vessels were obliged to wait for clearance these high speed boats were free to zip past waiting traffic by running in the shallows.

High speed planing and hydrofoil riverboats

Local and low cost passenger transport

The transport craft shown below is used for short distance carriage of passengers between villages and small cities along the Yangtze, while Larger craft are used for low cost carriage over longer distance, without the fancy food or shows seen on the tourist riverboats. planing Boat 's hull skims across the surface of the Water rather than pushing through the water in the way a traditional Displacement hull A hydrofoil is a Boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull. In some cases the traveller must provide their own food.

Smaller riverboats are used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport. Sightseeing boats can be found in Amsterdam, Paris, and other touristic cities where historical monuments are located near water.

The concept of local waterborn public transport is known as Water taxi in English-speaking countries , vaporetto in Venice, water/river tramway in former Soviet Union and Poland (although sightseeing boats can be called water tramways too). A water taxi or water bus is a Boat used to provide Public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment Local waterborn public transport is similar to ferry.

Sightseeing boat in Amsterdam	River tramway Moskvitch in Moscow	New York Water Taxi	Vaporetto in Venice
Low cost transport in China

Goods transport

Multimodal and bulk cargo transport

Multimodal

Roads through this region are inadequate for heavy truck transport and roads along the river are extremely dangerous. Moskvitch (Москвич (projects 515 544 544 is a series of Soviet local sail passenger river ships. See also Transportation in New York City New York Water Taxi is a Water taxi service offering commuter and sightseeing service mainly to points along the As the major rivers are mostly east-west, most railroad transport is typically north-south.

Here, a drive/on drive/off ramp barge is used to transport trucks. In many cases the trucks transported are new and are being delivered to customers or dealers. Perhaps unique to China, the new trucks observed traveling upstream were all blue, while the new trucks traveling downstream were all white.

Bulk cargo

Riverboat used for bulk cargo transport

Low value goods are transported on rivers and canals worldwide, since slow speed barge traffic offers the lowest possible cost per ton mile and the capital cost per ton carried is also quite low compared to other modes of transport

See also

A riverboat on the Willamette River

In some regions, such as northern Russia, the rivers freeze in winter. The riverboats stay in the "ice prison". The port of Kazan, late March.

• Barge
• Ferryboat
• Fireboat
• Hydrofoil
• McKenzie River dory
• Sampan
• Towboat
• Tugboat
• P.A. Deny (ship)

References