Airboats: Essentially a flat-bottom boat propelled by an aircraft propeller and powered by an aircraft or automobile engine enclosed in a safety cage to prevent objects or persons from coming in contact with the propeller.
Steering is accomplished by rudders mounted behind the propeller in the air blast.
This type of boat is ideal for use in shallow swamps and marshes, and is able to be navigated over vegetation, tall grass, cattails, etc.
 
Bow Rider: This is a type of runabout boat with an open area for additional seating in front of the helm, well suited for lakes, inland waterways, and calm bays, not good for open water or heavy seas.
This is a good boat for water sports, skiing, tubing, even fishing, but is normally carpeted and not well suited for fishing.
This type of boat is powered by either an outboard or stern drive, run about 17 to 30 feet in length and are easily trailered.
 
Center console: This type of boat has an open deck, with the console located in the center of the boat with room to easily walk around the console. This is the preferred type of boat for fishing and start at about 15 feet in length and can be up to about 45 feet long.
Normally these boats are powered by outboards; the larger ones can be powered by two or three outboards.

 
Cuddy cabin: This boat is similar to the bow rider, but with an enclosed cabin for a sleeping area, and can have a toilet and sink some may have a cooking area.
This boat is good for water sports and is about the same length as the bow rider, but is more suited for offshore boating than the bow rider.
Normally powered by stern drives, but are also powered by outboards.

Closed Bow Runabouts: This is the sporty version of the bowrider. There is less seating due to the closed bow that is used for storage. They are fast and great for watersports, but are also good for small groups for fishing.
The lengths of these run about 15 to 26 feet and are usually powered by outboards or sterndrives and are easily trailered.
 
Deck Boats: These boats have wide decks to carry more passengers, similar to Pontoon boats, but have a V-bottom hull, which makes it much faster and more maneuverable.
They are also more powerful and can be used for watersports, fishing, with larger groups of up to a dozen or more.
These boats are around 18 to 28 feet in length and are powered by outboards, sterndrives, or jetdrives. They can be trailered.
 
Pontoon Boats: Great boat for larger families or groups to get together for a day on the water.
It is also a safer environment for small children with the side rails, gates, and wide deck area. They also have very comfortable seating so you can sit back and enjoy a leisurely cruise or go for a larger engine and you can enjoy skiing and tubing, also good for fishing, or even a good platform for Scuba diving.
These boats range from about 15 to 30 feet long, and are normally powered by outboards or sterndrives, and can be trailered.

Inflatable Boats: There are two basic types of inflatable boats, the soft or roll up type that is used in a number of different uses from life boats for larger vessels or aircraft. Yacht tenders, Kayaks, PaddleSki, even foldable and outboard powered inflatables.
The SEAEAGLE line is a good example of a quality line of inflatable boats and kayaks. This is a very affordable way to get out on the water for an adventure, or some fishing, or even some sailing.

The second type is the RIB or Rigid Inflatable Boat or RHIB, which stands for Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat, both of which have inflatable tubes and a rigid floor or rigid hull.
These boats have almost endless uses from saltwater and fresh water fishing, all types of water sports, used as dive boats, rescue boats, and many military uses.
They are high performance due to the light weight, shallow draught, and anywhere from 5 to 500 horsepower. they can be up to around 45 feet in length, and some have cabins. Most of them are powered by outboards, but some have inboard power.
The smaller RIBs can be easily trailered, and some of the inflatables and folding boats can be put in a trunk or SUV.