Barges Defined
Here, we’ll take a closer look at barges in general.
A barge is defined as a flat-bottomed boat, and they’re generally built for the transport of heavy goods across rivers and canals. Originally, canal barges had to contend with the railway during the industrial revolution, losing out due to the rails’ higher speeds, falling costs and route flexibility.
On the Great British system of canals, barges describes boats that are wider than a narrowboat and the men that move them are known as lightermen. In the US, the deckhands perform the labor, and are supervised by a mate or leadman. The captain and pilot steer the towboat that used to push one or more barges. The crew live on the towboat as it travels the inland river system. Poles – often called “pike poles” are used to keep barges from colliding with other vessels and as it nears wharfs.
In pre-industrialized or poorly developed infrastructure regions, barges were actually one of the more efficient means of inland transportation. These were powered on waterways by long slender poles, hence their moniker of “poleboats”.
The expression “I wouldn’t touch that with a 10 foot pole” comes from the barge poles.
Today, barges are used for the transporting bulk items, and relatively speaking, the costs of hauling these goods are very low. Barges can also be used for transporting extremely heavy or bulky items. Generally, a barge measures 195 by 35 feet with a weight capacity of 1,500 tons. It’s not uncommon for really large objects to be shipped in sections.
Not all barges are self-propelled, but those that are are used when traveling in placid, still waters.
Briefly, barges are used for transport and for entertainment purposes. Speaking of entertainment, a new study has shown that online entertainment, like watching Hulu or playing online slots, is the perfect way to unwind after a long, hard day’s work on the dock.