What is Longboat?
[[File:Samuel Scott - Two Boats with Crews, Study for The Royal William at Sea - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|300px|{{Center|Two longboats with crews}}]] A '''longboat''' was an open [[:wikt:boat|boat]] used on-board ships during the age of the [[sailing ship]]s. The original name was 'Shallop' but was changed to longboat in the [[18th century]].<ref>Howard Irving Chapelle, ''American Small Sailing Craft, Their Design, Development, and Construction'' (New York: Norton, 1951), p. 10</ref> A ship or vessel would carry several ship's boats for various uses. The most important would be a '''longboat''', an open boat to be rowed by up to eight or ten [[:en:wikt:oarsmen|oarsmen]]. The longboat had rowing benches designed for up to two men to an oar. A longboat was designed for use in rough water and could be rigged for [[:wikt:sails|sails]]. One of its main uses was as a pulling boat. Another was to [[:en:wikt:weigh anchor|weigh anchor]].<ref name=Lavery218>Brian Lavery, ''The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, 1600-1815'' (Annapolis, ND: Naval Institute Press, 1987), p. 218</ref> When a ship was at anchor, longboats carried people and supplies between ship and shore.<ref name=Lavery218/> == References == {{reflist}} {{Transport-stub}} [[Category:Boats]]