From Jonah to Jack Tar: the integration of whaleboats into the British Royal Navy

Abstract

One of the most distinctive technologies associated with the 19th century whaling industry is the whaleboat. A fast, manoeuvrable craft, the whaleboat was adopted by the Royal Navy as a ship’s boat, however, the precise date and rationale for this adoption is unknown due to a lack of engagement with the ways in which technologies were transmitted between commercial and naval fleets. Interactions between the whaling and naval fleet in the 18th and 19th centuries can be used to facilitate a discussion on the means by which the whaleboat transitioned from commercial craft to widely deployed naval ship’s boat.