A small boat with a cheerful name
The jolly boat was a small ship’s boat, used for short trips and errands rather than for heavy work. Aboard naval and merchant vessels of the age of sail and beyond, it was the light, handy boat that could be launched quickly to carry people and light goods between the ship and the shore, or to other vessels. Its name is a reminder of the informal language of the sea, and the origin of the word jolly in this sense is uncertain.
Because the term was used in a loose way and the type varied between navies, periods and countries, it is best understood as a role as much as a precise design. A jolly boat was the small, general-purpose boat of a ship.
The ship’s boats
Large sailing ships carried several boats, each with its own use, and a typical arrangement included boats of different sizes. The larger ones handled anchors, stores and water casks and could carry many people. Others were fast and light, intended for officers or for rowing messages. Boats might be hung from davits on the sides or stern, or stowed on deck, depending on the ship.
Within this set the jolly boat was generally among the smaller and lighter. In a ship of the line, a frigate or a merchant ship, it was often the boat kept ready for quick use. In many ships it was hung from davits at the stern, which made it easy to lower in a hurry without the long preparation that a larger boat required. This placement is the reason it is so often associated with the stern of a vessel.
What it did
Typical tasks for a jolly boat were modest, but they were constant:
- carrying the captain’s or officers’ messages to other ships or to the shore
- fetching small supplies, fresh food, mail or newspapers
- taking a few passengers or crew members between ship and quay
- carrying out small jobs around the ship, such as inspecting the hull or reaching a mooring
- standing ready for emergencies, including rescuing someone who had fallen overboard
The boat was typically rowed, though it might have a small sail, such as a lug sail, for use in suitable conditions. It was normally crewed by a small number of men, often the youngest or least experienced, and in a naval vessel it was often in the charge of a junior officer or a coxswain. Boats like this were part of the routine of shipboard daily life, and the sound of oars and the call of a boat’s crew were everyday features of any anchorage.
In the navy and the merchant service
In the Royal Navy and other navies of the age of sail, boats were a vital link with the shore, particularly in dockyards and anchorages. The work of ships’ boats in ports such as the Royal dockyards was part of the constant movement of people and stores. Naval regulations and custom determined how many boats a ship should carry, and the jolly boat was typically a small, light one among them.
Merchant ships carried boats too, though often fewer and of simpler design. In a large East Indiaman or a trading vessel, the ship’s boats were needed for loading and unloading, for carrying people through surf, and for dealing with harbour work. Smaller merchant vessels might have had only one boat, and it might have been called a jolly boat or simply the ship’s boat.
Changing boats, changing names
As ships changed, so did their boats. Steam-powered vessels and later motor vessels adopted motor launches and lifeboats, and the traditional small rowing boat became less central. Over time the name jolly boat faded in everyday use on large ships, although the word survived in nautical writing, in historical accounts and in the names of modern small craft. Some preserved historic vessels still carry reproduction ship’s boats that give an idea of how they looked.
Because the jolly boat was not a fixed type with a precise specification, claims about exact dimensions, rig or crew should be treated cautiously. It is better to think of it as the ship’s smallest regular working boat, whose appearance changed with the ship and the century.
Why it matters
The jolly boat is easy to overlook beside great warships, yet ships could not work without their small boats. They were the link between a vessel at anchor and everything around it. The jolly boat shows that maritime history is not only about big ships and famous battles but also about the small tools that made daily operations possible.