"Ship's Boats" Topic

Hi,

I would like a little more info on the number and sizes of ship's boats carried by vessels in the Pirate and Napoleonic eras.

From the brief bit I have read, it seems that ships could carry anywhere between 1 – 4 of these, depending upon the mother vessel's size.

I would like to confirm if that is correct, and how many various vessels might have, e.g. Sloop/Schooner, Cutter, Brig, Brigantine, Frigate, Ship of the Line, etc.?

Also, I would like to know if these are usually the shorter boat variant, or the longer ones frequently seen, and how many men they would typically carry? I imagine possibly a mix of the two, on larger vessels.

Finally, are these frequently armed with a cannon/carronade, and/or swivel guns, or is that a rare practice?

Any assistance you can provide, or links to sites for further reading would be greatly appreciated, since I would like to be able to run some hit-and-run raids, and amphibious assaults, but those are hard to do without the right equipment.

Best regards,

Rob

Some quick info….

In 1805 a Britsh 74 typically carried:

A launch (or longboat) of 32ft
A Barge of 32ft
A Pinnace of 28ft
two Cutters of 25ft
A Jollyboat of 18ft

Smaller ships had correspondingly fewer, and smaller mixtures. Barges and longboats could be armed with a carronade and were by this time designed more for rowing than sailing, meaning they were broader and fuller than pinnaces and cutters, which were designed for sailing.

French ships carried somewhat fewer boats.

Ships operating closer to home ports often seem to have left some of the boats in port, particularly if on blockade duty.

Thanks for the info guys.

Are boats used during the pirate era (1700's), 1805, and 1812 similar, or are they usually different?

I have seen photos of very beamy ship's boats, and then much longer, thinner ship's boats (long boats). Maybe they just vary by style, but I imagine they might have also have become thinner in beam over time, since the longer, thinner ones would be faster, and easier to paddle.

I'd like to know which boats might be more likely to be used in the 1700's, for pirate vessels, merchants, and warships.

I'd also like to know if the ships boats changed much in design between 1805, and 1812, or if they can be used interchangably.

Heloo,

this is copy-paste work some time ago..I cannot remember from where and who wrote it..sorry.

I recommend for reading :

Jean Boudriot, The Seventy-four Gun Ship

Brian Lavery, Arming and Fitting English Ships of War 1600-1816

Longboat
Biggest boat on board. 14 m or less, facilities for a sail , 8 to 14 pairs of sculls. Used for goods transport.

Cutter
Also called pinnace. 5 to 8 pairs of sculls and sailing facilities. In the 17th c., there was only one cutter on board. Used for transporting light goods.

Skiff
Or jolly- boat. 3 to 4 pairs of sculls, mostly no sail. Used for transporting personnel.Smallest boat on board until the second half of the 18th c.

Gig
Narrow, but fast boat for personnel transport. 3 pairs of oars, no sail. The gig was exclusively used to transport the ship's master, or, at the most, his officers. When introduced in the late 18th c., the gig assumed the duties of the skiff. Only one on board.

Dinghy
Smallest boat, 3.5 to 4 m long, 2 to 3 sculls or oars. Also introduced in the late 18th c. A vessel carrying a dinghy did mostly not carry a skiff and vice- versa.

Barge: large boat, narrowish, often with an overhanging transom. Usually a kind of personal transport for higher ranking officers.

Pinnace: slightly smaller and proportionally broader (usually) that a barge. Somewhere in the region of 6-10 oars. Often used in the same way as a barge by lower ranking officers.

Yawl: small boat, 4-8 oars.

The types of boats remained pretty much the same over time, although the names seem to have changed. A broader beam makes for a more stable boat that can carry more. A narrower beam, relative to length, increases the speed. If you want to, check "The Boats of Men-of-War" by William E. May which will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the subject and a great deal more.

IIRC, a Porcupine class frigate carried 3 yawls and a pinnace.