A gig is a type of boat. It was optimised for speed under oar, but usually also fitted with a sailing rig for appropriate conditions. The type was in use by Deal boatmen in the 18th century. It first occurred as a naval ship's boat after Deal boatbuilders recommended a different design to boats ordered from them by the Royal Navy to equip the cutters purchased in the 1760s to combat smuggling. The captains of larger warships soon sought permission to substitute a gig for one of the heavier boats which were then used; some even had a gig built at their own expense. The gig therefore became part of the usual complement of ship's boats used in warships.
A painting of HMS Pique's gig in 1835
Lines plan of a 32 ft Royal Navy gig of 1869
A gig that was built in 2007 (and then replaced with a newly built boat), in St Mary's Harbour
U.S. Navy sailors on the USS Essex (LHD-2) raise their captain's gig aboard (2002).
A ship's boat is a utility boat carried by a larger vessel. Ship's boats have always provided transport between the shore and other ships. Other work done by such boats has varied over time, as technology has changed. In the age of sail, especially for warships, an important role was the collection of drinking water. The use of radio, followed by telex, e-mail, etc. has reduced and then replaced the need for written communications to be delivered. A large enough boat may be needed to carry an anchor to some distance away from the ship, so as to kedge out of a harbour or away from a hazard – and also to recover such an anchor afterwards. Warships have always used their boats as an extension to their military role. This includes the provision of a means of escape for the crews of fireships, the landing of troops, or the "cutting out" raids that were used by the Royal Navy, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. All these requirements competed with the need to be able to stow the boats on board in a way that did not interfere with the normal operation of the ship.
HMS Thetis aground. Her boats have just laid two kedge anchors to haul her off and are now sounding the depth of the water in the region of the anchors.
A Royal Navy Montagu whaler being manned with an armed boarding party going to check a neutral vessel stopped at sea. October 1941
A painting of HMS Pique's gig, depicting events in 1835.
A ship's tender of the MSC Orchestra