In
the late 1700s to the early 1800s, the development of the steam engine reached
its peak, and it was integrated as the new source of power for riverboats. The
first tugboat, however, was not made until 1802, when William Symington of
Scotland equipped his paddlewheel boat with his patented steam engine.
Unfortunately, Symington's boat was banned by canal proprietors after only 6
hours into its maiden trip for fear that it would erode the canal banks with
its paddlewheel.
A
few years after engineer Robert Fulton brought the steamboat to America, its
potential for towing was quickly realized. Thus, a steamboat was specially
built for towing sailing ships into the New York harbor. In just ten years
after this, the towing industry grew in ports around the world, and the
competition for tugboat services became fierce.
It
was the diesel engine that forever changed the life of the tugboat. Aside from
the fact that it is lighter and much simpler to run, the engine also needs less
people to operate. Eventually, further tugboat innovations and demand was
created due to the start of World War I and World War II. Today, you can still
see tugboats in all their glory, towing in and out of ports everything from
cargo ships to aircraft carriers.
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