Cutter (boat)
[a] On the eastern side of the Atlantic, the two headsails on a single mast is the fullest extent of the modern definition.
In U.S. waters, a greater level of complexity applies, with the placement of the mast and the rigging details of the bowsprit taken into account – so a boat with two headsails may be classed as a sloop.
Government agencies use the term "cutter" for vessels employed in patrolling their territorial waters and other enforcement activities.
Cutters as ship's boats came into use in the early 18th century (dating which roughly coincides with the decked sailing vessels described below).
They were more optimised for sailing than the barges and pinnaces that were types of ship's boat used in the Royal Navy – one distinctive resulting feature of this was the washstrake added to increase the freeboard.
It was pierced with rowlock cut-outs for the oars, so that the thwarts did not need to be set unusually high to achieve the right geometry for efficient use.
The Royal Navy bought and had built a large number for use in controlling smuggling, as "advice boats" (carrying dispatches), or against privateers.
[3]: 26–30 The dimensions of an 18th-century cutter purchased by the Royal Navy in 1763, and roughly in the middle of the size range of the batch of 30 bought that year (HMS Fly) are: length on deck 47 feet 6 inches (14.48 m), beam 20 feet 10.25 inches (6.3564 m), measuring just over 78 tons bm.
The Revenue cutters increased in size to match the vessels they attempted to catch – Repulse, of 210 tons was built in 1778.
A determining factor on size was the number of crew needed to handle the large gaff mainsail with its long boom.
Larger cutters purchased by the Royal Navy were sometimes converted to brigs to make them easier to handle, but still utilising the fast hull.
[3]: 26–29 [2]: 120–123 [6]: ch 9 At about the same time that the decked, fast-sailing cutters of the 18th century appeared, the term was also applied to a new class of ship's boat.
[c] This allowed a higher freeboard, which was helpful if sailing – when the cut-outs were filled with wooden shutters (often mis-called poppets[d]) to keep the water out.
Some Navy Board correspondence of 1712 concerns disapproval of the captain of HMS Rochester for buying a cutter of about 20 feet (6.1 m) in length as a replacement for her pinnace.
However, they were more susceptible to damage than the heavier boats that they replaced and much less capable of carrying heavy weights, such as anchors and water casks.
[e] In 1761, the larger Deal-built cutters had spritsails set on these masts, soon transitioning to a dipping lug fore-sail and a sprit mizzen.
However, right up to the time of the First World War, the majority of the boats in use continued to be propelled solely by sail and oar.
The mainsail (set abaft, or behind the mast) could be gaff, Bermuda, standing lug or gunter rigged.
A more complex definition may be applied in American waters, where a boat with two headsails would be termed a sloop if the mast has a more forward position and the bowsprit is permanently rigged.
In addition the cutters perform the role of ceremonial Livery Barges with the canopies and armorial flags flying on special occasions.
[13] The term cutter is also used for any seaworthy vessel used in the law enforcement duties of the United Kingdom's Border Force, the United States Coast Guard (because of its descent from the Revenue Cutter Service) or the customs services of other countries.
