Ship's boat

This includes the provision of a means of escape for the crews of fireships, the landing of troops, or the "cutting out" raids that were used by the Royal Navy, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.

During the Age of Sail, this included the longboat, captain's gig, jolly boat, and other forms and designations.

For example, there is reason to believe that the same actual boat could have been issued to one ship as an admiral's barge and then at a later date be used as a captain's pinnace.

In the navies they were: (1) the launch, or long-boat, the largest of all rowboats on board, which was of full, flat, and high built; (2) the barge, the next in size, which was employed for carrying commanding officers, with ten or twelve oars (3) the pinnace, which was used for transporting subordinate officers, with six or eight oars (4) the yawl, a smaller pinnace; (5) the cutter, which was shorter and broader than the long-boat and used for the transfer of goods (6) the jolly boat, used for light work; (7) the gig, a long narrow boat, employed for expeditious rowing and fitted with sails, and belonging to the captain.

[2][3] A merchant ship usually carried on board: (1) the launch or long-boat; (2) the skiff, the next in size and used for towing or kedging; (3) the jolly boat or yawl, the third in size (4) the quarter-boat, which was longer than the jolly-boat and named thus because it was hung on davits at a ship's quarter; (5) the captain’s gig, which was one of the quarter boats.

It was also the role of a military vessel's boats to act as landing craft, to deliver boarders and cutting-out (night attack) parties.

The transition from a sailing navy to one powered by steam removed one ship's boat task and greatly reduced another.

So the ability to carry an anchor and cable, though still an essential part of the seamanship of the steam navy, was much less of a common task.

In the following years, their numbers were increased and, in 1867, a 36 feet (11 m) steam pinnace was successfully trialled and produced in a range of sizes.

However, they were in an obvious minority, with large numbers of boats propelled by sail and oar continuing to be used through to the First World War.

[6]: 88–89, 109 In the Royal Navy, the steam pinnace acquired the role of patrolling the entrances to anchorages to protect them from enemy torpedo boats.

They had the capability to carry 14 inches (360 mm) torpedoes in mounts on either side of the hull (a feature introduced about 1875) and some were armed with a three pounder gun and/or a maxim machine-gun.

These soon developed into a distinctive type, similar to the steam pinnaces, but with a long overhanging counter, rather than the transom stern of the more ordinary craft.

Aboard military vessels, ship's boats, often rigid-hulled inflatables, continue to do many of the jobs expected of their Age of Sail predecessor.

HMS Thetis aground. Her boats have just laid two kedge anchors to haul her off and are now sounding the depth of the water in the region of the anchors.
A Royal Navy Montagu whaler being manned with an armed boarding party going to check a neutral vessel stopped at sea. October 1941
A painting of HMS Pique' s gig, depicting events in 1835.
A ship's tender of the MSC Orchestra
A British 56-foot (17 m) picket boat, returning to HMS Triumph after participating in action on April 18, 1915
A selection of boats from a Royal Navy squadron in 1909. [ a ] This demonstrates the continued extensive use of boats propelled by oar and sail at a time when all the warships used steam. The funnel of one steam pinnace can be seen in the picture.