Passenger tourboat of Köln-Düsseldorfer on the river Rhine

Riverboat built "container ship" with the capacity for 500 intermodal containers of the twenty-foot equivalent units size.

A Mississippi River system type riverboat, from an 1850s daguerrotype.

A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such as lake or harbor tour boats. As larger water craft, virtually all riverboats are especially designed and constructed, or alternatively, constructed with special purpose features that optimizes them as riverine or lake service craft—such as dredgers, survey boats, fisheries management craft, fireboats and law enforcement patrol craft.

Inland design differences[link]

These vessels are usually less sturdy than ships built for the open seas, with limited navigational and rescue equipment, as they do not have to survive the high winds or large waves characteristic to large lakes, seas or oceans. They can thus be built from light composite materials. They are limited in size by width and depth of the river as well as the height of bridges spanning the river. They can be designed with shallow drafts, as were the paddle wheel steamers on the Mississippi River that could operate in water under two meters deep.

While a ferryboat is often used to cross a river, a riverboat is used to travel along the course of the river, while carrying passengers and cargo, or both, for revenue. (Vessels like 'Riverboat casinos' are not considered here as they are essentially stationary).

The significance of riverboats is dependent on the number of navigable rivers and channels as well as the condition of the road and rail network. Generally speaking, riverboats provide slow but cheap transport especially suited for bulk cargo and containers.

History[link]

As early as 20,000 BC people started fishing in rivers and lakes using rafts and dugouts. Roman sources dated 50 BC mention extensive transportation of goods and people on the river Rhine. Upstream, boats were usually powered by sails or oars. In the Middle Ages, towpaths were built along most waterways to use working animals or people to pull riverboats. In the 19th century, steamboats became common.

Model of an early 20th century shallow draft stern wheel riverboat, the Upper Sacramento River Steamer Red Bluff.

The most famous early riverboats were on the rivers of the midwestern and central southern United States, on the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers in the early 19th century. Out west, riverboats were common transportation on the Colorado, Columbia, and Sacramento rivers. These American riverboats were designed to draw very little water, and in fact it was commonly said that they could "navigate on a heavy dew". ^[1]

Australia has a history of riverboats. Australia's biggest river, the Murray, has an inland port called Echuca. Many large riverboats were working on the Murray, but now a lower water level is stopping them. The Kalgan River in Western Australia is one of the oldest rivers in the world; it has had two main riverboats. The Silver Star, 1918 to 1935, would lower her funnel to get under the low bridge. Today, the Kalgan Queen riverboat takes tourists up the river to taste the local wines. She lowers her roof to get under the same bridge.

It is these early steam-driven river craft that typically come to mind when "steamboat" is mentioned, as these were powered by burning wood, with iron boilers drafted by a pair of tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double-acting pistons driving a large paddlewheel at the stern churning foam. This type of propulsion was an advantage as a rear paddlewheel operates in an area clear of snags, is easily repaired, and is not likely to suffer damage in a grounding. By burning wood, the boat could consume fuel provided by woodcutters along the shore of the river. These early boats carried a brow (a short bridge) on the bow, so they could head in to an unimproved shore for transfer of cargo and passengers.

Modern riverboats are generally screw (propeller) driven, with pairs of diesel engines of several thousand horsepower.

The standard reference for the development of the steamboat is Steamboats on Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History by Louis C. Hunter (1949).^[2]

Modern riverboats[link]

Many of the riverboats shown below were operating on the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) river.

Luxury tourist transport[link]

Some large riverboats are comparable in accommodation, food service, and entertainment to a modern oceanic cruise ship. Tourist boats provide a scenic and relaxing trip through the segment they operate in.

On the Yangtze River, they typically employ staff for double duties: both as serving staff and as evening-costumed dancing entertainers.

• Tourist riverboats
• 

  Chinese Riverboat

• 

  Yangtze Riverboat

• Wilriver.jpg

  A riverboat on the Willamette River

Smaller luxury craft (without entertainment) operate on European waterways - both rivers and canals, with some providing bicycle and van side trips to smaller villages.

High speed passenger transport[link]

High speed boats such as those shown here had a special advantage in some operations in the free running Yangze. In several locations within the three gorges one way travel was enforced through fast narrows. While less maneuverable and deeper draft vessels were obliged to wait for clearance these high speed boats were free to zip past waiting traffic by running in the shallows.

• High speed planing and hydrofoil riverboats
• 
• 

Local and low cost passenger transport[link]

Smaller riverboats are used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport. Sightseeing boats can be found in Amsterdam, Paris, and other touristic cities where historical monuments are located near water.

The concept of local waterborn public transport is known as Water taxi in English-speaking countries, vaporetto in Venice, water/river tramway in former Soviet Union and Poland (although sightseeing boats can be called water tramways too). Local waterborn public transport is similar to ferry.

The transport craft shown below is used for short distance carriage of passengers between villages and small cities along the Yangtze, while Larger craft are used for low cost carriage over longer distance, without the fancy food or shows seen on the tourist riverboats. In some cases the traveller must provide their own food.

• 

  Sightseeing boat in Amsterdam

• 

  River tramway Moskvitch in Moscow

• 

  New York Water Taxi

• 

  Vaporetto in Venice

• 

  Low cost transport in China

Goods transport[link]

Multimodal[link]

Roads through this region are inadequate for heavy truck transport and roads along the river are extremely dangerous. As the major rivers are mostly east-west, most railroad transport is typically north-south.

Here, a drive/on drive/off ramp barge is used to transport trucks. In many cases the trucks transported are new and are being delivered to customers or dealers. Perhaps unique to China, the new trucks observed traveling upstream were all blue, while the new trucks traveling downstream were all white.

Bulk cargo[link]

Low value goods are transported on rivers and canals worldwide, since slow speed barge traffic offers the lowest possible cost per ton mile and the capital cost per ton carried is also quite low compared to other modes of transport

• 

  Cargo riverboat

• River boat cargo.jpg

  Riverboat used for bulk cargo transport

• 

  SS Inlander on the Skeena River at Kitselas Canyon, 1911

• 

  In some regions, such as northern Russia, the rivers freeze in winter. The riverboats stay in the "ice prison". The port of Kazan, late March.

History[link]

Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, celebrates "Riverboat Days" each summer. The Skeena River passes through Terrace and played a crucial role during the age of the steamboat. The first steam-powered vessel to enter the Skeena was the Union in 1864. In 1866 the Mumford attempted to ascend the river but was only able to reach the Kitsumkalum River. It was not until 1891 that the Hudson's Bay Company sternwheeler the Caledonia successfully negotiated through the Kitselas Canyon and reached Hazelton. A number of other steamers were built around the turn of the century, in part due to the growing fish industry and the gold rush.^[3]

The WT Preston, a museum ship that was once a specialized river dredge, also called a "snagboat".

See also[link]

• Barge
• Life on the Mississippi
• Ferryboat
• Fireboat
• Hydrofoil
• McKenzie River dory
• P.A. Denny (ship)
• Paddle Steamer
• River cruise
• Narrowboat
• Sampan
• Sternwheeler
• Towboat
• Tugboat
• Charles T. Hinde, a riverboat captain in the 1800's.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Crump, Thomas, Abraham Lincoln’s World: How Riverboats, Railroads, and Republicans Transformed America. (New York: Continuum, 2009) 272 pp. ISBN 978-1-84725-057-5.
• Nolan, John Matthew. 2,543 Days: A History of the Hotel at the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River
• Lehman, Charles F. (2009). A riverman’s lexicon : in Lehman’s terms. Florissant, Mo.: J.R. Simpson & Associates. ISBN 978-0-9841503-0-4.  Nautical terminology specific to towboating and inland waterways.
• Twain, Mark (1883). Life on the Mississippi 

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Magdalena Neuner

Neuner in Wallgau, Germany, in April 2011
Disciplines	Biathlon
Club	SC Wallgau[1]
Born	(1987-02-09) 9 February 1987 (age 25) Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[1]
World Cup debut	13 January 2006[1]
Retired	18 March 2012
Website	magdalena-neuner.de
Olympics
Teams	1 (2010)[1]
Medals	3 (2 gold)
World Championships
Teams	6 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)[1]
Medals	17 (12 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	7[1]
Wins	34
Podiums	63
Overall titles	3
Discipline titles	7
Medal record Women's biathlon Competitor for  Germany Olympic Games Silver 2010 Vancouver Sprint Gold 2010 Vancouver Pursuit Gold 2010 Vancouver Mass Start
Infobox last updated on: 18 March 2012

Magdalena "Lena" Neuner (born 9 February 1987) is a retired German professional biathlete. She is the most successful woman of all time at Biathlon World Championships and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the age of 21, she became the youngest Overall World Cup winner in the history of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). With 34 World Cup wins, Neuner is ranked second all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. She has won the Overall World Cup title three times, in 2007–08, in 2009–10 and her final season in 2011–12. Neuner retired from the sport in March 2012, citing a lack of motivation and her desire for a normal life.

Neuner started biathlon when she was nine years old and won five junior world championship titles from 2004 to 2006. She made her World Cup debut in 2006 and won her first World Cup race in January 2007. One month later, she claimed three gold medals in her first appearance at the Biathlon World Championships. In the 2007–08 season, Neuner won the Overall World Cup and once more claimed three titles at the 2008 World Championships. After a less successful winter in 2008–09, she participated in her first Winter Olympic Games in 2010, winning the gold medal in both the pursuit and the mass start, and silver in the sprint race. Neuner also claimed the 2009–10 Overall World Cup title. At the 2011 World Championships, she won three more gold medals. In her final winter on the World Cup tour, Neuner won two more titles at the 2012 World Championships and claimed the Overall World Cup for a third time.

During her seven World Cup seasons, Neuner won 34 World Cup races and achieved 63 podium finishes. As part of Germany's World Cup team, she won ten relay races and three mixed relay events. During six appearances at Biathlon World Championships, Neuner claimed 17 medals: twelve gold, four silver and one bronze. In addition, she has won seven junior world championship titles. Neuner was known as one of the fastest cross-country skiers in biathlon. She had been noted for her volatile shooting performances in the standing position, particularly in the early years of her career, often at the expense of better results.

Neuner has lived in the Bavarian village of Wallgau since birth. At the age of 16, she joined the German Customs Administration to become a member of the government-funded Customs-Ski-Team. Since winning three world championship gold medals in 2007, Neuner is one of her home country's most popular female athletes. She was named German Sportswoman of the Year in 2007 and 2011.

Early life[link]

Magdalena Neuner was born in the German alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the second of four children of bank clerk Paul Neuner and his wife Margit.^[2] She has an elder brother Paul, and two younger siblings—her brother Christoph and her sister Anna. Her sister is also an aspiring biathlete who participates in junior competitions and is a member in the youth squad of the Bavarian Ski Association.^[3]

Neuner grew up in the small Bavarian village of Wallgau, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.^[4] She started alpine skiing when she was four years old and later tried various other winter sports at her hometown ski club SC Wallgau.^[2] At the age of 16, Neuner finished high school (Realschule) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and decided to pursue a career in biathlon. Her parents were reluctant, but they eventually supported her ambition to become a professional biathlete.^[5]

Career[link]

Early career and World Cup debut[link]

Neuner started biathlon when she was nine years old after she had participated in a try out course at her local ski club.^[6] She won 29 races at the biathlon Student's Cup of the German Ski Association (DSV),^[3] claiming the overall title in her respective age-group for four years in a row from 1999 to 2002.^[2] After finishing school, Neuner joined the German Customs Administration in August 2003 to become a member in the government-supported Customs-Ski-Team (Zoll-Ski-Team). She officially holds the rank of Erste Zollhauptwachtmeisterin (first head customs officer),^[7] although she is a full time professional athlete with no customs obligations. One of her team mates is alpine skiing world champion Maria Höfl-Riesch.^[8]

In December 2003, Neuner won the German Cup for 17-year olds, which led to her appointment for the 2003–04 European Cup competition for juniors.^[4] With four wins at European level, Neuner qualified for the 2004 Junior/Youth World Championships in Haute Maurienne, France, where she won the sprint and relay events, as well as silver in the pursuit.^[4] One year later at the 2005 Junior/Youth World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, she claimed two silver medals (pursuit and relay), and again won the sprint discipline.^[1] With her success at junior level, Neuner at 18 years old, was considered one of Germany's biggest biathlon talents ever. Even before achieving any results at senior level, she had signed a sponsorship deal.^[9]

Neuner at the World Cup in Antholz, January 2006

2005–06 World Cup season results
No.	World Cup location		Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass Start	Relay
5	Ruhpolding, Germany		–	41	21	–	DNS
6	Antholz, Italy		–	19	11	DNS	–
	Turin, Italy		Not nominated
7	Pokljuka, Slovenia		–	DNS	DNS	–	–
8	Kontiolahti, Finland		–	4	20	9	–
9	Oslo, Norway		–	18	13	25	–
Key:"—" denotes discipline not held; DNS—Did not start[1]

During the 2005–06 season, Neuner made her first appearances in the Biathlon World Cup. Germany's women's national coach Uwe Müßiggang had already considered her for the team two years earlier, however, her parents and her hometown coaches Bernhard Kröll and Herbert Mayer were reluctant to let her start prematurely.^[2] On 13 January 2006, Neuner made her debut in the World Cup sprint race in Ruhpolding, Germany, where she substituted for the injured Uschi Disl. Although her first appearance ended unsuccessfully, coming in 41st place,^[10] she was appointed for nine more World Cup races for the remainder of the season.^[1]

Neuner returned as one of the favourites at the 2006 Junior/Youth World Championships in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, where she won two more titles (pursuit and relay) in addition to a silver medal in the sprint race.^[1] She did not participate in the 2006 Winter Olympics for the German team. At the World Cup in Kontiolahti in March 2006, Neuner achieved her first top ten finishes: she was fourth in the sprint and came in ninth in the mass start race.^[11][12]

Three world championship titles (2006–07 season)[link]

While she had only competed in ten races during her first World Cup winter, Neuner became a fixture in the German team in the 2006–07 season.^[4] She proved to be one of the fastest cross-country skiers in biathlon, and at 19 years old, regularly set the fastest course times.^{[13][note a]} On 5 January 2007, Neuner won her first World Cup event, the sprint race in Oberhof, Germany.^[14] Her victory on home soil, before a crowd of 19,000 people, received considerable media attention and put her into the national spotlight for the first time.^[15] Two days later at the pursuit race, she forgot to reload her rifle after warm-up. She was handed a new magazine during the prone shooting and managed to finish third despite a total of six shooting errors.^[16]