Why the big outboard engine guards (pipes) on this aluminum skiff?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bod/5443474009.html

One pics shows it near a large ship. Are these boats used to transport cargo from ships and their sterns will be bumping into vertical ship sides?

Pipes are 2" which seems almost too big for ideal grabbing, especially if you already have gloves on.

Calls them "guards" not "tow" bars.

Says "set net" but I can't find any pics of these boats putting nets over the stern.

 

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I don't know what the pipes are for, but I don't think I'd have enough coordination to tiller steer two motors at once....

 

A net boat is used to "shoot" a net (normally a beach or purse seine) around a school of fish. They generally have round smooth gunwales and something to keep the net out of the props, like this tubing or a tunneled prop like a Carolina skiff or Oregon sea dory.

Not the best I've seen but useable.

Edit to add.

Best picture is actually here in boatdesign.net.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/me...shing-skiff-here-alaska-52710.html#post733272

 

They are engine guards, in case a wave throws the skiff against another boat or ship. They can also serve to keep nets away from the outboard (s), but their primary reason is engine protection.

 

This isn't the smallest garvey I've seen but most small boats tend to get crowed together at the end of docks or in a corner some place, where they bang and bash against each other, so a guard isn't a bad idea. As a net guard, it's very poorly shaped and located. Typically this type of guard would start at the rail, not inboard of it on the transom and make a relatively smooth transition from the side, around the transom to the other rail. It would also be higher or have some sort of additional structure to keep the engine covers from fouling things. This is a bumper.