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tugboat, small, powerful watercraft designed to perform a variety of functions, especially to tow or push barges and large ships. In 1736 Jonathan Hulls of Gloucestershire, Eng., patented a boat to be powered by a Newcomen steam engine to move large vessels in and out of harbours. The first tugboat actually built was the Charlotte Dundas, powered by a Watt engine and paddle wheel and used on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland. Screw propulsion for tugboats was introduced in the United States about 1850, the diesel engine about 50 years later. Tugs are still indispensable in berthing large ships. Oceangoing tugs are used for salvage missions.
