jolly boat

plural jolly boats · alternative jollyboat

1. A type of ship's boat of the 17th to 19th centuries, used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship.

   Boats for Ships. A Jolly-boat. A Long-boat. A Skiffe. A Pinnace. A Water-boat. A Yaul.

   1696, John Houghton, Collection for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, London, Issue 187

   2 more examples

   [H]e went down the ship's side […] and, seating himself in the stern sheets of the jolly-boat, took the helm, pushed off, and four young lads rowed him ashore.

   1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 346

   When they reached the brig, they found that the jolly-boat had been lowered and laid alongside.

   1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 139

   Synonyms: jolly