Jolly boat

This article is about the historic use as a ship's boat. For modern classes of dinghy that use the name, seeJollyboat (dinghy).For the British comedy music duo, seeJollyboat (comedy act).

Types of boat shown in an 1808 engraving, including top left, 'a Jolly boat for oars or sail'

Thejolly boatwas a type ofship's boatin use during the 18th and 19th centuries. Used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship, or for other small-scale activities, it was, by the 18th century, one of several types of ship's boat. The design evolved throughout its period in service.

The term is still used informally when describing modern motorized ship's rescue boats. The word 'Jolly' is also still used in the maritime community to describe a visit ashore using a small boat or an excuse to avoid being on board a ship.

Origins

The term 'jolly boat' has several potential origins. It may originate in the Dutch or Swedishjolle,a term meaning a smallbarkor boat.Other possibilities include the English termyawl,or the 'gelle-watte', the latter being a term in use in the 16th century to refer to the boat used by the captain for trips to and from shore.According to theOxford English Dictionary,the term appears inChamber's Encyclopediabetween 1727 and 1741. It is called simply 'jolly' in the early 19th century novels ofFrederick Marryat.The word may have been in use considerably earlier, as the record of the voyages ofFrancis DrakeandJohn Hawkinshas 'That day the Pegasus jolly was going on shore for water, carying no guarde. The Spaniards perceiving it came downe upon them.'

Design and use

In this illustration fromRobert Louis Stevenson'sTreasure Island,crew members flee from a mutinous ship in a jolly boat.

Jolly boats were usually the smallest type of boat carried on ships, and were generally between 16 feet (4.9 m) and 18 feet (5.5 m) long.They wereclinker-builtand propelled by four or six oars.When not in use the jolly boat normally hung fromdavitsat the stern of a ship, and could be hoisted into and out of the water.Jolly boats were used for transporting people and goods to and from shore, for carrying out inspections of the ship, or other small tasks and duties that required only a small number of people, and did not need the use of the larger boats, such as thelaunchorcutter.Jolly boats were carried on practically all types of warships of theRoyal Navyduring theage of sail,fromships of the linedown tosloopsandbrigs.Ships of the line would carry a barge, launch,pinnace,two cutters, all of various sizes, and a jolly boat, while the brigs might carry only a jolly boat and a cutter.

The application of the jolly boat was developed further during theFrench RevolutionaryandNapoleonic Wars,particularly by thefrigatecommanderSir George Collier.Collier, who was active in the close blockade of the Spanish coast during thePeninsular War,combined the features of a jolly boat with those of awhaleboatand found the result extremely seaworthy and particularly effective in carrying out shore landings.The design was particularly buoyant and was often described as a type of lifeboat. Several captains ordered these boats for their own ships, while theAdmiraltyconsidered the possibility of ordering a general replacement of old-style jolly boats with the new 'lifeboat' design on several occasions, but were deterred by the cost.By 1815 however the Stores Committee had authorised the replacement of the old-style jolly boats with the improved versions as and when it proved practical for a ship's commander to carry this out.

See also

• Betsey(schooner),tale of shipwrecked crew who took to a jolly boat
• The survivors of the sinking of the SSAnglo Saxonin 1940 who survived 70 days adrift in a jolly boat.
• HMY Britannia– now a floating museum in Leith, Scotland – carries two modern jolly boats in davits, one port and one starboard

References

• Adkin, Mark (2007).The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide to History's Most Famous Sea Battle and the Life of Admiral Lord Nelson.London: Aurum Press.ISBN978-1-84513-018-3.
• Gardiner, Robert (2006).Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars.London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN1-86176-292-5.
• Kemp, Peter, ed. (1979) [1976].The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea.Paladin.ISBN0-586-08308-1.
• Lavery, Brian (1989).Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation; 1793-1815.Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-521-7.
• Weekley, Ernest (1971).More Words Ancient and Modern.Ayers Press.ISBN0-8369-5917-5.