Fishing boats have different classification methods. According to the operating waters, it is divided into marine fishing boats and freshwater fishing boats. Marine fishing boats are also divided into coastal, offshore and ocean-going fishing boats. According to hull materials, it can be divided into wood, steel, fiberglass, aluminum alloy, wire mesh cement fishing boats and various mixed structure fishing boats. According to the propulsion mode, it is divided into mobile, windsurfing and manual fishing boats.

Most fishing boats are small in size. However, in order to adapt to continuous navigation and operation in the wind and waves, it is required to have good stability, seakeeping and seaworthiness, and the structure needs to be particularly firm. The load capacity changes greatly during operation.