longboat

A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from circa 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat carried by each ship. In the early period of use, a ship's longboat was often so large that it could not be carried on board and was instead towed. For instance, a 1618 survey of Royal Navy ships' boats listed a longboat used by the First Rate Prince, a ship whose length of keel was . This could lead to the longboat being lost in adverse weather. By the middle of the 17th century, it became increasingly more common to carry the longboat on board, though not universally. In 1697 some British ships chasing a French squadron cut adrift the longboats they were towing in an attempt to increase their speed and engage with the enemy.

300px|thumb|Lines for a 31 ft longboat drawn in 1801. The windlass for working an anchor can be seen drawn in red, abaft the mast.The longboat was used for transporting heavy weights. The two most important of these were casks of drinking water, and an anchor and its cable. The supply of water to (particularly) sailing ships was so vital that all the boats of a ship would have some capability to carry water, but the longboat had the greatest capacity. The casks carried by a large boat would be "leaguers", which held . These would be laid in the bilges between the thwarts, filling most of the bottom of the boat and making a load of several tonnes. Anchor handling was of special importance before tugs became widely available. A boat would be used to carry either a stream anchor or a kedge into position so that the ship may be pulled out of harbour or away from a hazard. As well as dropping the anchor in position, the longboat would often be used for weighing (raising) the anchor after use. To do this, a windlass was usually fitted amidships and a davit in the stern (or sometimes the bow) to provide a fair lead from the buoy rope or cable to the windlass. A substantial degree of buoyancy was needed in the stern (or bow) to lift a heavy anchor.