Gallery of Ships

A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying goods or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, based on size, shape, load capacity, and tradition.


schooner barge
A beached schooner barge. Compare the hull form with a square barge.

The schooner barge was the final development of the working sailing ship. The design originally evolved in the 1870s on the Great Lakes, where it was found that sailing ships could be more profitably towed from place to place than sailed. No longer subject to the vagaries of the wind, such trips could be made on a scheduled basis, and with reduced labor costs. The idea spread into general use, resulting in the conversion of many sailing ships into barges. Ironically, most of the vessels that were converted to schooner barges were not actually schooners, but square-rigged ships. Square-riggers, with their large and expensive crews of skilled sailors, became uneconomical to operate in the face of ever-improving steam power, while more efficient schooners managed to compete for a few years longer.


Steamer is an early term for any vessel power by a steam engine rather than sails.

Shipwreck Delaware
The Delaware, an 1880s screw steamer

Early steamers were propelled by large paddlewheels. "Side-wheelers", with the paddlewheels on each side, were more seaworthy, and therefore more common in ocean waters, while "stern-wheelers", with a single large paddlewheel at the back, were more common as riverboats. Later, these were replaced by more efficient screw (or propeller) vessels.


tanker ship drawing
Typical 1930s oil tanker

A tanker is a cargo ship designed to carry liquid cargoes, usually but not always fuel oils.


A tugboat is a small sturdy and powerful vessel designed to push or tow other vessels and barges

Tenacious tugboat
Tenacious

You will see them in every sizable port; smart, businesslike small ships, low in the water and surging out to a large inbound ship. Tugs represent power for pushing and pulling, an engine with just enough hull for adequate buoyancy. Thick fenders for close-quarters work, pushing a big ship alongside the quay against the wind, hauling her off at the end of a towing wire.


barge beached
Notice the blocky shape and structure of this stranded but otherwise typical old wooden barge. Barges usually have minimal crews, to tend the lines.

A barge is a vessel that does not have its own means of propulsion ( usually. ) Barges are towed or pushed from place to place by tugboats, or anchored in place to serve as temporary work platforms, floating docks, or storage. Some barges are self-propelled, in a limited way. These are known as scows, and their limited propulsive power restricts them to protected waters without the assistance of a tugboat.


A number of small warships are sunk in New Jersey and New York waters.

subchaser (model)

A subchaser was a small coastal patrol vessel of World War I or II. Subchasers were lightly armed and even more lightly constructed, mostly out of plywood, powered by two diesel (WWII) or three gasoline (WWI) engines. Roughly the same design was used in both wars - 110 ft long, about 100 tons. Almost a thousand were built over both World Wars, and several are lost in the waters around this area. Many private yachts and some larger fishing trawlers were converted to perform this function also, like the Tarantula and the Moonstone. Conversely, some subchasers were converted to other duties after the war, such as the Bronx Queen, pictured below in military trim. Real subchasers were designated SC-, while converted yachts were designated SP-, PY- ( patrol yacht ) or PYc ( patrol yacht - coastal. )


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