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A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water.[1] It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Although there are cross-over types that blur this definition, rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers (such as pontoons), and are typically not propelled by an engine. One of the first ways humans built water transport was to tie together logs or wooden reeds to create a flat platform that floated. Traditional or primitive rafts were constructed of wood or reeds. Modern rafts may also use pontoons, drums, or extruded polystyrene blocks.

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boats and boating equipment and supplies

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A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon (μονόξυλον) (pl: monoxyla) is Greek -- mono- (single) + ξύλον xylon (tree) -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In German, they are called Einbaum ("one tree" in English). Some, but not all, pirogues are also constructed in this manner.

Dugouts are the oldest boat type archaeologists have found, dating back about 8,000 years to the Neolithic Stone Age.[1] This is probably because they are made of massive pieces of wood, which tend to preserve better than, e.g., bark canoes. Along with bark canoe and hide kayak, dugout boats were also used by indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Picture: A dugout canoe (dowbanka) boat made out of a single wooden log dating from the end of the 19th century at Radomysl Castle, Ukraine

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A pirogue (/pɪˈroʊɡ/ or /ˈpiːroʊɡ/),[1] also called a piragua or piraga, is any of various small boats, particularly dugouts and native canoes. The word is French and is derived from Spanish piragua [piˈɾaɣwa], which comes from the Carib piraua.

Pirogues are usually propelled by paddles that have one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be punted with a push pole in shallow water. Small sails can also be employed. Outboard motors are increasingly being used in many regions.

Picture: pirogue

A pirogue on the Niger River, Mali.

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A fishing skiff is a typically small flat-bottomed open boat with a pointed bow and a flat stern originally developed as an inexpensive and easy to build boat for use by inshore fishermen.
Picture: Ancient Etruscan Fishing Skiff

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The word "catamaran" is derived from the (Indian) Tamil word, kattumaram (கட்டுமரம்), which means "logs bound together."[8][9]A catamaran (from Tamil kattumaram)[1] is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or Vakas, joined by a frame, formed of Akas. Catamarans can be sail- or engine-powered. The catamaran was first discovered being used by the paravas, a fishing community in the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, India. Catamarans were used by the ancient Tamil Chola dynasty as early as the fifth century C.E. to move their fleets to invade such Southeast Asian regions as Burma, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

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A junk is a type of ancient Chinese sailing ship that is still in use today. Junks were used as seagoing vessels as early as the 2nd century AD and developed rapidly during the Song dynasty (960–1279).[1][2] They continued to evolve in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout South-East Asia and India, but primarily in China. Found more broadly today is a growing number of modern recreational junk-rigged sailboats.

The term junk may be used to cover many kinds of boat—ocean-going, cargo-carrying, pleasure boats, live-aboards.

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A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of bulk goods. Originally barges were towed by draft horses on an adjacent towpath.

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A bracera or brazzera (pronounced [ˈbratsera]) is a traditional Adriatic coastal cargo sailing vessel originated in Dalmatia and first recorded in the 16th-century chronicles. Along with its larger sisters - trabakuls and peligs, braceras formed the backbone of the commercial fleet on the Adriatic Sea with one masted one being the most prominent and best known. This solid and very mobile boat with wide hips and blunt bow was particularly suitable for commerce and communication between the many islands of the Adriatic as well as neighboring coasts.

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Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven[1] and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Norsemen (commonly known as the Vikings) for commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age, many of the longship's characteristics were adopted by other cultures, like Anglo-Saxons, and continued to influence shipbuilding for centuries. The longship's design evolved over many centuries, and continuing up until the 6th century with clinker-built ships like Nydam and Kvalsund. The longship appeared in its complete form between the 9th and 13th centuries. The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat-building traditions until today. The particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations. They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool) and had numerous details and carvings on the hull.

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The Umiak is a boat used by the Greenland and later by the Alaskan Eskimos for transport. It was called the woman’s boat, as opposed to the kayak, the men’s hunting and fishing boat.

Like the kayak, the umiak was made of seal or other animal skins stretched over a driftwood or whalebone frame and was paddled. Unlike the kayak, it was an open boat, either round in shape or elongated much like the birchbark canoe. The umiak was used by women for transporting themselves, children, the elderly, and possessions; the umiak was also used by the men for whaling.

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Gondolas are Venetian (Italian) rowboats that are small enough for one person to row, and narrow enough to navigate canals. Gondolas have been in use for hundreds of years, and are still the main way people in Venice, Italy travel over the canals that surround their city.

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The shikara is a type of wooden boat found on Dal Lake and other water bodies of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Shikars are of varied sizes and are used for multiple purposes, including transportation of people. A usual shikar seats half-a-dozen people, with the driver paddling at the rear. Like the Venetian gondolas, they are a cultural symbol of Kashmir. Some shikars are still used for fishing, harvesting aquatic vegetation (usually for fodder), and transport, while most are covered with tarpaulins and are used by tourists.

The craft relies on deodar wood (which does not decompose in water) ranges from 25 to 41 feet in length. The pointed front end is followed by a central section made of 8 planks of wood and the boat eventually ends in a flat rear segment. Two planks of wood lend to each of the side elevations a vertical height of 1.5 feet. It has a conspicuous spade shaped base.[2]

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Whaleboat: Whaleboats were used to hunt for whales. They were designed to include harpoons, weapons that speared whales. Since many whale populations are now endangered, this type of boat is no longer widely used.

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Pontoon  A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. These pontoons (also called tubes) contain a lot of reserve buoyancy and allow designers to create massive deck plans fitted with all sorts of accommodations such as expansive lounge areas, stand-up bars, and sun pads. Better tube design has also allowed builders to put ever-increasing amounts of horsepower on the stern.[1] Pontoon boat drafts may be as shallow as eight inches, which reduces risk of running aground and underwater damage. The pontoon effect is when a large force applied to the side capsizes a pontoon boat without much warning, particularly a top-heavy boat.

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A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. They were fast sailing ships that had long, slim shapes and tall masts. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "Clipper" does not refer to a specific sailplan; clippers, by sailplan, may be schooners, brigs, brigantines, etc., or indeed "ships" as restrictively defined in the Age of Sail. Clipper ships were mostly constructed in British and American shipyards, though France, Brazil, the Netherlands and other nations also produced some.

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A stern wheeler is a steam driven river boat from the 1880s that had rear paddles (other steam powered river boats had paddle wheels on either side).

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Steamships developed in Western Europe and the United States to transport people and cargo.

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In the 1910s, steam powered ships were converted to use coal, oil, or diesel power to transport people and cargo instead of steam.

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A tanker is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine.