We've known this problem for over 60 years.
From the problem to the right boat.
Weeds and algae
Algae, water hyacinth and reed beds slow the flow.
Aquatic weed control
Weed cutting boats and weed harvesters: they cut, collect and unload on the bank.
Sediment and silting
Rising beds, falling flow.
Dredging
Dredgers and root-cutting boats for mud and sediment.
Difficult access
Banks, shallows, marshes — where others can't reach.
Amphibious access
Amphibious boats for banks, marshes and non-navigable areas.
Ongoing maintenance
One pass is never enough. Canal maintenance means coming back.
Ongoing support
Spare parts and service, always up and running.
video
Nobody on board. Everything under control.
Our remote-controlled weed harvester: it cuts and collects like a Chub, but is steered from the bank with a joystick.
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Steered from the bank
A dedicated joystick: the operator stays on land, away from the water.
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Safe under bridges
In urban canals with narrow-span bridges, a sudden rise in water puts nobody at risk.
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Cuts and collects
Front conveyor with cutter bars, raised and lowered remotely.
Weed harvesters and work boats, up close.
Single/Twin-Propeller Weed Cutting Boats
Small weed cutting boats for cutting only: aquatic weeds, reeds and bankside bushes in canals and small watercourses.
- Cutter bar at the bow, inverted-T or L-shaped, tilting 90° to the right and left
- The cut material floats and the current carries it to a collection point
- Length: usually up to 6 m
- Propulsion: one or two anti-weed screw propellers, steerable and tilting, suited to shallow water (even 30 cm)
- Optional: bow rake
Fresa Root-Cutting Boats
Boats with knife or tine rollers that rip roots out of canal and lagoon beds, oxygenate the water and level the bottom.
- Two or four rollers, depending on hull size
- Can also work short stretches out of the water, moving on their rollers
- Front or side cutter bar, on request
Stella Star-Cutter Boats
Small to medium boats with two screw propellers at the stern for propulsion and two star cutters at the bow for cutting, independent and depth-adjustable.
- Ideal for opening up watercourses choked with dense vegetation
- Size and working features defined with the customer
Harvester Weed Harvesting Boats
Aquatic weed harvesters that cut, collect and unload algae and invasive vegetation onto the bank.
- Depth-adjustable front conveyor with three cutter bars (one horizontal, two vertical)
- Central storage conveyor and height-adjustable rear or side unloading conveyor that unloads straight onto the bank
- Also collects floating or semi-submerged debris down to 2.5 m deep, even large items: logs, tyres, scrap iron
- Anti-weed screw propellers or paddle wheels; draught as low as 30–35 cm
- On request, the Civetta support boat (9 m, 17 m³) carries the harvested weed to the shore
Pick-Up Weed and Debris Collection Boats
Cutting, collecting, uprooting and unloading invasive vegetation and floating or semi-submerged debris. With the excavator fitted on board, it also clears logs from waterways.
- U-shaped cutter on a depth-adjustable conveyor that loads the central container
- Hydraulic loader crane at the stern: picks up logs and debris, uproots rhizomes, digs, opens up watercourses and unloads onto the bank or a truck
- Stern stabiliser legs: they keep the boat fully stable while the excavator is working and unloading onto the bank
- Anti-weed screw propellers or paddle wheels; draught as low as 35–40 cm
- Ideally 2 operators: one steers and runs the conveyor, the other operates the crane
- On request, the Civetta support boat (9 m, 17 m³) carries the harvested weed to the shore
Chub Compact Weed Harvesters
Small to medium boats that cut and collect algae and invasive aquatic weeds.
- Depth-adjustable front conveyor with three cutter bars (one horizontal, two vertical), loading the container on the central deck
- Weed compactor on request, to increase storage capacity
- Also collects floating or semi-submerged debris down to 2.5 m deep
- No self-unloading: emptied from the shore with a crane
- Anti-weed screw propellers or paddle wheels; draught as low as 30–35 cm
Amphibious Boats
Any of our weed cutting and harvesting boats can be made amphibious: it works on water and on land, and climbs out onto the bank by itself.
- Three pairs of twin rubber-tyred wheels, or tracks
- Cutting equipment agreed with the customer
Dredgers
Boats with an excavator arm to open up watercourses in marshy areas, dredge the bottom and also work from the banks.
- Excavator arm with bucket, mounted on the hull
- Central container that tips to one side, to unload the dredged material onto land
- Stabiliser legs at the stern for safe working and unloading
- Anti-weed screw propellers or paddle wheels; draught as low as 30–35 cm
Vongola Clam Harvesting Boats
For cleaning the beds of clam farms and harvesting, storing and grading clams. Since the 1990s they have done on board the work that used to be done entirely by hand.
- Flat-bottomed hull with a bow conveyor and a bottom-removal device designed, engineered, built and tested in-house
- Central deck of about 35 m² for screens, pumps and graders
- The clams leave the boat already packed, ready for depuration
- Supplied across almost the entire Venetian Lagoon and to many fishermen's cooperatives in Chioggia, Goro and the surrounding area
- The Province of Ferrara studied their impact on clam seeding and fishing in a book; the TV programme Pianeta Mare also covered them
Material Transport Barges — Push Boats
Large barges with a wide cargo deck, for transporting material.
- Self-propelled
- As push boats for other boats or pontoons
- Unpowered, pushed by other push boats
Passenger Transport Boats
Aluminium catamarans for carrying passengers on rivers and canals, including the Naviglio in Milan. We build the hull to the size that suits the required capacity.
- Aluminium catamaran hull
- Hull size based on the number of passengers, up to the maximum allowed for oversize road transport
- Usually powered by outboard motors
- The final fit-out can be completed by other suppliers, on our structure
Floating Restaurant
Floating platform for restaurants, built on request. For Tintero Boat in Legnago (Verona) we built the steel hull and frame; everything else was done by other companies.
- We build the floating hull and the steel load-bearing structure
- The final fit-out can be completed by other suppliers on our structure
Custom Metal Fabrication
We are also a metal fabrication shop: we work iron, steel, stainless steel and aluminium in our workshop and, to drawing, take on any kind of job, even outside the marine world.
- Shore conveyors: fixed barriers that catch floating debris and unload it on the bank
- Sluice gates and their operating mechanisms, installation included
- Off-road boat trailers, with cable winch and slipway rollers
- Gates, grilles, fencing and furnishings
- Turning, drilling and milling for third parties
- Any other job to drawing: tell us what you need
Built by hand, in Codogno.
From steel plate to launch: every boat is built in our own workshop.
Our shipyard in Codogno (LO), Italy
A freshly tack-welded hull
Stainless steel hull, structure complete
Painting a conveyor
Fitting the control console
Ready for deliveryEvery job is different. So is every boat.
Listening and site survey
Water body, depth, width, access.
Custom design
The right hull, engine and equipment.
Built in our shipyard
In Codogno, with care, since 1962.
Testing
Tested in real working conditions.
Long-term support
Spare parts and service for the whole life of the boat.
From drawing board to water, we handle it.
We organise transport and launch: the boat arrives on site ready to work.
Loaded up, outside our shipyardSixty years on the water.
The shipyard is founded
Nettuno Costruzioni S.r.l. is founded in Codogno: work boats for inland waters.
Dario Delledonne takes over the shipyard
Nettuno Motobarche is born. Work with public bodies begins in Italy, then worldwide.
Still family-run
After Dario's passing, the shipyard carries on with Manila Delledonne and Giorgio Spagna: a new company name, entered in 2019 as No. 1 on the Provincial List of firms authorised to build vessels.
Sweet Home: a work of art that floats.
March 2024: with the river Po in flood, Sweet Home floats
On the lawn of San Colombano park in Suzzara
CorTen steel: gabled roof and double opening
Lifted by mobile crane in front of our shipyard
Loaded on the truck, ready for the journey to SuzzaraWe don't only build work boats. In our Codogno shipyard we built Sweet Home, the CorTen steel installation designed by the artist Umberto Cavenago for the Museo del Premio Suzzara: a house that is also an ark.
It rests on the lawn of San Colombano park, between the embankment and the river Po, and is anchored so that it rises with the floods. In March 2024, with about 1.20 metres of water, it floated just as planned: the same marine steelwork as our boats, serving an artist's idea.
- Work
- Sweet Home, 2021
- Artist
- Umberto Cavenago
- Commissioned by
- Museo del Premio Suzzara
- Material
- CorTen steel
- Dimensions
- 350 × 400 × 900 cm
- Location
- San Colombano park, Suzzara (Mantua, Italy), on the river Po
- Built by
- Nettuno Motobarche, Codogno
Not just builders. Your technical partner.
Custom-built — never a compromise.
Direct work with public bodies — in Italy and abroad.
Family-run — same shipyard, two generations.
Long-term support — beyond delivery.
From our Codogno shipyard to four continents.
Lakes, lagoons, rivers and canals where our work boats operate.
Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Middle East, India, Central Africa, Philippines, North America
Frequently asked questions about aquatic weeds and algae.
How do you get rid of weeds and algae in a lake, pond or canal?
With a boat sized for your canal, not a standard one. We assess the water body and build the right weed cutting boat or harvester.
What is a weed cutting boat (aquatic weed cutter)?
A work boat with cutter bars that cuts algae, aquatic plants and reeds below the waterline and along the banks.
How does an aquatic weed harvester work?
It cuts the vegetation, loads it onto a conveyor and unloads it on the bank, so no plants are left rotting in the water.
How do you remove water hyacinth from lakes, reservoirs and rivers?
With a weed harvester or pick-up boat that collects the floating plants and brings them to the bank, without chemicals.
Can floating trash and plastic be collected too?
Yes: our pick-up boats and shore conveyors collect floating and semi-submerged debris.
How do you remove silt from a canal?
With a dredger or a root-cutting boat: they remove mud and sediment and restore the canal to the right depth.
What's the difference between a standard and a custom-built weed cutting boat?
A standard boat is designed for the average case. A custom-built one is designed for your canal — better results, fewer passes.
How much does an aquatic weed harvester cost?
It depends on size, propulsion and equipment, because every boat is built to order. Tell us about the water body and the work to be done and we will prepare a tailored quote.
Who handles canal maintenance for drainage boards, municipalities and regional authorities?
Nettuno — for decades alongside drainage and land reclamation boards, municipalities, provinces and regional authorities across Italy.
Is there an amphibious weed harvester for areas boats can't reach?
Yes — tracked drive for banks, shallows and marshland that conventional boats can't reach.
Is there a remote-controlled weed harvester, with nobody on board?
Yes: our remote-controlled boat cuts and collects like a Chub and is steered from the bank with a joystick. It is designed for urban canals with narrow-span bridges, where a sudden rise in water level would put anyone on board at risk. Remote control can be fitted to any of our models.
Do you deliver your boats outside Italy?
Yes: we have delivered boats in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. We organise transport and launch.
Do you work with dealers and distributors abroad?
Yes: we often supply our boats to dealers abroad, who look after customers in their own country. If you would like to represent Nettuno in your market, get in touch.
How long does a Nettuno work boat last?
Decades of heavy use — some boats from the 1970s and '80s are still cited by customers as a benchmark.
Tell us about your problem.
Tell us what you need to solve. We'll work out the right boat.