Longboat

Longboat

A longboat is a type of ship's boat that began wide-use in the 1500s 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 52 ft 4 in (16 m) longboat used by the First Rate Prince, a ship whose length of keel was 115 ft (35 m). 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.

Longboat (horse)

Longboat was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist over extreme distances, who produced his best form on fast ground, he completed the "Stayers' Triple Crown" in 1986 when he won the Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Doncaster Cup. In all he won nine of his eighteen races between October 1983 and September 1986, with his other major wins coming in the Alycidon Stakes, Sagaro Stakes and Henry II Stakes. He was exported to Australia where he was retired from racing following an injury. He proved a failure as a breeding stallion.

longboat

Noun

1. The largest and thus the most capable of boats carried on a ship.