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Types of Boats
Helping You Choose The Right Boat

There are literally hundreds of types of boats and selecting the right type of make or model for your business or pleasure can be a daunting task. See the common boat types here and follow our guide to choosing your dream boat

From locally dugout canoes, to dinghies, kayaks, narrow boats, sail boats, to executive luxury power boats and yachts, you will be spoil for choice.

The most important factor in deciding what type of boat to go for will be what you want to do with the boat. So too is what is popular for a particular trade or hobby in your locality as well as the dept of your pocket.

Canal boats for example are very popular in England, but not in the United States, and special types of narrow boats are more an oriental common place.

The most common uses boats are put into include:

Fishing
Boat racing
Water Sports (e.g sailing, jet ski, and Kayaks )
Transportation / Cruising / Relaxation
Accommodation (houseboats, e.t.c)

Below is a list of common boat types. We shall discuss some of these boats and how to select the right type of boat for your particular vocation or hobby.

Types of Boats

Air Boat	Gondola	Punt Boats
Banana Boat	Houseboats	River Boats
Barge Boat	Hovercrafts	Row Boat
Bass Boat	Inflatable Boats	Sailing Boat
Bathtub Boat	Jet Ski	Ski Boat
Canoes	Jon Boats	Speed Boats
Catamarans	Kayaks	Surf Boats
Cruisers	Lifeboats	Trawlers
Dinghies	Longboats	Canal Boats
Drift Boats	Motor Boats	Tug Boat
Drifter Fishing Boats	Personal Water Crafts	Wakeboard Boats
Fishing Boats	Pontoon Boats	Yachts

Choosing The Right Boat

Choosing the right type of boat from the tons of types of boats available need not be that daunting, once you've made up your mind on the type of use you intend putting your boat to.

Go through the common types of boat used for your selected purpose, research as many as possible of the boats in that group, and then write down the top five you like. Aim to go on-board and sail or cruise in all the different types you have penciled down.

Try the gadgets in them. Do your fishing, sleeping, racing or whatever you will be doing on the boat assuming you've bought one. Be under no pressure to make a quick decision to picking one. Try these boats in different seasons and weather conditions and see how you like it.

Say you have been able to narrow your choice to say a Tamata sail boat, the next step is to decide if you want the:

Type of body work you want: wooden, fiberglass, aluminum or steel boat
The boat size
The engine size and fuel type
What boat manufacturer to buy from

If you are thinking of boats for specific purposes, the following are types of boats used for:

Fishing

Depending on the type of body of water you want to fish in, the following are common fishing boats used in these respective environments

Canoes - used in rivers
Trawlers - used in sea fishing, large rivers and oceans
Seiners - also used in large rivers, seas and oceans
Long liners - used in same type of waters as the above two
Luhrs Sportfish Boats - rivers and perhaps seas
Pontoons - can be used in small rivers, lakes or ponds
Bass boats - small rivers and lakes
Inflatable boats - often used in fishing on lakes
Fishing kayaks - used in rivers and lakes

Water Sports Boats

Water sports referred to here include rowing, water skiing, (jet skiing), snorkeling, wake-boarding, kayaking, personal water craft cruising and cruising on an inflatable sporting boat.

The types of boats used for water sports include:

Personal Water Craft
Jet ski
Pontoons
kayak
Wakeboarding boats
Inflatables Boats
Surf boat
Rowboat

Racing and Sail Boats

Yachts
Motorboats
Powerboat
Speed boat
Catamaran
Keelboats
Sailing Dinghies
Dinghies

Boats for Live On Board

Houseboats
Narrowboat
Cabin cruiser

You can also now view types of boats from various manufacturers here

SBI!