What happened to the ships boats when clearing for action?

[Destraex]

Been looking through my book collection and generally cannot see ships boats on deck in depictions of battles.

What happened to the ships boats when cleared for action?

 

* Were they towed behind,

* Thrown overboard and recovered later

* Taken below somehow

* Broken up and taken below

 

I am wondering because I have been thinking about the many scenarios where ships boats were used to board enemy vessels or cut them out.

It sounds like most frigates carried at least 5 boats of varying sizes.

 

I don't however think we will see ships boats in game

 

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

Aubrey's books often described boats being destroyed in their davits aboard ship during sudden, unexpected actions.  I believe they were trailed behind during planned-for actions (or when the weather was so hot that it threatened to damage their seams and putting them into the water kept them cool and water tight), but that is a supposition on my part from what I've read in historical-fiction.

[Destraex]

 What are davits exactly? I assume they are the normal postions on the deck of the ship.

 

Why then are 99% of actions depicted in paintings not with any boats trailing? Would it not create drag and tip them over in some weather\seas?

Imagine dragging a tipped over boat.

[Thomas Blackwell]

 

Imagine dragging a tipped over boat.

 

Cut the cable. A ships boats were towed astern during any kind of action to clear the decks for combat. If push came to shove, cut the tow cables and let the boats loose.

[Destraex]

True but why bother with such things during battle. So we are saying standard procedure should be for the sleek elegant ship of war to drag around it's boats like anchors and have men watch them constantly in case they flip over?

[Mirones]

on bigger fleet engagements the SoL's gave the boats to a frigate who tows many of these out of harms reach.

[Baggywrinkle]

What are davits exactly? I assume they are the normal postions on the deck of the ship.

Davits are little cranes to hold the boats away from the hull of the mother vessel whilst hoisting and lowering. Sometimes seen on the stern of warships of the period of NA (see those two black timbers sticking aft from each quarter of Trincomalee in-game), but became more common through the 19th C. For obvious examples see the Charles W Morgan - she's got more davits than you can shake a stick at!

And yes, when possible they were taken out of the combat area by a support vessel. When not they were streamed aft. No vessel, warship or no, was sleek or elegant but they did have powerful rigs. Towing does make a difference, but not much of one. Only left on deck when no time to get them away.

Baggy

[Chilly Willy]

True but why bother with such things during battle. So we are saying standard procedure should be for the sleek elegant ship of war to drag around it's boats like anchors and have men watch them constantly in case they flip over?

Get your self sunk and then decide whether or not it's not worth towing them

[Mirones]

 For obvious examples see the Charles W Morgan - she's got more davits than you can shake a stick at!

Baggy

to bad she is launched 20years past the timeline would be a nice hauler that i would enjoy

[Henry d'Esterre Darby]

What are davits exactly? I assume they are the normal postions on the deck of the ship.

 

Why then are 99% of actions depicted in paintings not with any boats trailing? Would it not create drag and tip them over in some weather\seas?

Imagine dragging a tipped over boat.

 

Depictions of battles are often nothing more than an artist's idea of what might have happened.  They're art, not factual record, especially since the only thing the artist had to go on would be a painting or two previously made of the ships in question, and the verbal story of the action with which to create their art.

 

Towing a sizable boat will cause a small reduction in speed, but as mentioned above, not enough to make a difference unless you're in a very evenly matched chase.  I'm not sure where you get the idea that the towed boats would be prone to capsizing due to drag.  In heavy seas, they'll ride fairly high and dry in general, but if it was coming on to blow or turn seriously foul, they'd be returned to the deck and lashed down extremely heavily and tightly.

[Thomas Blackwell]

You have to remember also that a ship's boats are/were highly regarded. They were a means of connecting the ship to other ships, as well as to the shore.  They could be used as life rafts, or in some cases they were the deciding factor in outrunning an enemy vessel during very calm pursuits.

 

If the weather is too rough to fight in, they will be lashed down tightly on deck.

If the weather is calm and a fight is expected, they will be towed astern.

If the weather is choppy and a fight is expected, they will be towed astern.

If the weather is clam and there is a chase in progress, they will be on deck until cleared for action, at which point they will be towed astern.

If the ship was caught on the wrong side of a chase, the boats may find themselves being launched overboard to be rid of the weight.

 

This was generally the rule for all captains, however a good captain possessed the gift of keen judgment. He knew when to tow his boats astern and when to have them on deck.

[Sir. Cunningham]

[maturin]

At Trafalgar the light winds and slow approach of the British line was a serious liability, so they probably decided to risk the boats rather lose half a knot.

Assuming the painting is accurate.

[Sir. Cunningham]

At Trafalgar the light winds and slow approach of the British line was a serious liability, so they probably decided to risk the boats rather lose half a knot.

Assuming the painting is accurate.

 

All the paintings of Trafalgar where the deck is visible show the boats on the ships, so I'd assume it is.

[Bonden]

In this painting of the battle of Copenhagen (by N. Pocock, both painter and captain/admiral in the Navy), we can see boats towed by the frigates in the forefront

 

[Destraex]

good spot. Shame it is outside the scope of the game.

[Sir. Cunningham]

good spot. Shame it is outside the scope of the game.

 

The Battle of Copenhagen was in 1801, so I'm assuming it is within the scope of the game. Didn't it (the game) span to ~1820 ?

[Mirones]

1670-1820 +-5

[Sir. Cunningham]

1670-1820 +-5

 

Just as I thought then

[Destraex]

i meant the boats in relation to all the answers in general about their use.

[Sir. Cunningham]

i meant the boats in relation to all the answers in general about their use.

 

Ah I see Well yeah, I don't think we'll see our ships dragging their boats behind them in battle, eventhough that often happened in real life. 

[Hawke]

It would be nice to see your crew shredded by all the extra wooden shrapnel created by solid shot ripping through the boats on deck though. 

[Chilly Willy]

good spot. Shame it is outside the scope of the game.

probably as it would take some more rendering possibly eating up GPU

[maturin]

It's probably best not to render the ship's boats being carried on deck, even if the models will look a little bare when out of combat.

 

But we do need to have extra spars rendered! The waist of a ship is generally cluttered with spare topmasts and such, even when cleared for action. Trincomalee looks especially barren in this regard, with her vast expanse of grating in the waist, completely empty.

[Sir. Cunningham]

I'd be happy enough to see the boats on deck as it happened on and off, I wouldn't mind that at all. But really this is a non-issue for me personally.