Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat towards the end of the 17th century. On each warship, the launch was usually the largest boat out of those carried aboard. It could be propelled by oar or sail, with this type remaining in service into the 20th century. Steam launches were introduced on a trial basis in 1867, but as steam-powered ship's boats became more common, the majority were steam pinnaces. Other military examples were the various motor launches used in the 20th century, employed for harbour defence, anti-submarine patrols, escorting coastal convoys, minesweeping and recovering aircrew from crashed aircraft. Generally, these were decked boats, some of which were capable of fast speeds. A powered boat operated by a regulatory or official organisation may be termed a launchsuch as the police launch or a harbour-master's launch. The size range and capabilities vary according to the precise role. In private use, a launch is invariably a powered boat, using a steam, electric, petrol or diesel engine. Some are built to a very high standard of finish, with large amounts of varnished hardwood and polished fittings. Various local historic types are kept in use by enthusiasts and museums.

Etymology

The word launch is derived from the Spanish ''lancha'', which may be translated into English as "

pinnace Pinnace may refer to: * Pinnace (ship's boat), a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels among other things * Full-rigged pinnace The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth ...

". It has been suggested that ''lancha'' is in turn derived from a Malay word. The first instance of "launch" being used as a boat type in English was in 1697.

History

The launch steadily replaced the long-boat in the Royal Navy over the latter half of the 18th century. Both were usually the biggest

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

carried by a warship or a merchant vessel in the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of nava ...

. The transition from longboat to launch was influenced by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

successfully experimenting with this change. Launches were preferred as having greater carrying capacity, though they could be considered less seaworthy. An important role was the carrying of drinking water. For example, a 33 foot launch of 1804 could carry 14 large "leaguers" (barrels containing each), making a load of just over nine and half tonnes of water. A warship's launch would also be fitted with a windlass that allowed a ship's anchor to be carried or to be weighed (raised). A ship's boat would often be used to kedge a ship out of a harbour or away from a hazard such as a lee shore before steam tugs were available to move sailing vessels. The launches issued to naval ships varied in size depending on the size of the ship they equipped. An 1815 schedule of ship's boats showed the range of 15 different lengths for launches from 34 feet (for a ship of 100 guns) down to 16 feet for a 200 ton sloop. As steam power became common in the navy, the need to transport drinking water (which could be distilled in the engine room) and transport anchors and cables to move a sailing ship both disappeared. By the last quarter of the 19th century, launches were only issued in one length, 42 feet. Launches had double-banked oars The usual sailing rig for much of the 19th century was a two-masted ketch rig. A schooner rig was in use from 1878 and the de Horsey sloop rig was adopted from 1884. During the

Demak Sultanate The Demak Sultanate (کسلطانن دمق) was a Javanese Muslim state located on Java's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day city of Demak. A port fief to the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit kingdom thought to have been founded i ...

attack on Portuguese Malacca of 1513, lancaran were used as armed troop transports for landing alongside

penjajap Penjajap, also pangajava and pangayaw, were native outrigger warships used by several Austronesian ethnic groups in maritime Southeast Asia. They were typically very long and narrow, and were very fast. They are mentioned as being used by native f ...

and kelulus, as the Javanese junks were too large to approach shore. In 1788 Captain William Bligh and 18 crewmen were set adrift by mutineers in ''Bounty''’s 23-foot launch. Bligh navigated the open boat more than 4000 miles, losing only one man Tonga to Timor, .

Civilian use in the UK

On the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

the term "launch" is used to mean any motorised pleasure boat. The usage arises from the legislation governing the management of the Thames and laying down the categories of boats and the tolls for which they were liable.

Military use in the UK

''Motor Launch'' was the designation for a type of vessel used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

and some other navies for inshore work defending the coast from submarines. They were typically long and carried relatively light armament – a few depth charges, a gun and a few

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

Sports

In competitive rowing the term "launch" is used to refer to any motorized boat used by the coach to follow practicing boats during workouts.

Notes

References

{{Ship's boats Boat types Ship's boats Motorboats