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.
"Head boats" like the one shown are our major competition every morning - racing out to get to the best spots first. If you want to know why dive boats leave so god-awful early in the morning, this is one reason. Their behavior depends on the captain - many are friendly and accommodating, others are downright rude, and some won't even answer the radio. Dive boats sometimes recover lost anchors for the friendly boats, which can be quite a production, since some of them have very big anchors!