- Captain's gig
The captain's gig is a
boat used on naval ships as the captain's private taxi. It is a catchall phrase for this type of craft and over the years it has gradually increased in size, changed with the advent of new technologies for locomotion, and been crafted from increasingly more durable materials.Wooden captain gigs
In general, during the era of wooden ships, it was smaller and lighter than the
longboat or thebarge or thepinnace . It was usually crewed by 4 select oarsmen, and acoxswain . Generally the oarsmen sat one to a seat, but each only rowed a singleoar on alternating sides. The gig was not as sea kindly as the longboat, but was used mostly in harbors.The gigs generally had a high wineglass
transom [http://www.boaterslife.com/images/articles/1536/gooddog_10c.jpg(image)] , fullskeg , fullkeel , straight stem and somewhat rounded sides. There was in general very little rocker in the keel. Thegunwale s on many were nearly straight from bow tostern . It appears to be the precursor to theWhitehall Rowboat .Some wooden captain's gigs were quite large and were powered by sail, such as the [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h42000/h42569.jpgFrench Captain's Sailing Gig @1918, Brest France] .
Modern captain gigs
With the coming of metal ships and
combustion engines the size of the captain's gig increased and the boats could transport more sailors swiftly. Two examples are the [http://www.usswisconsin.org/Pictures/1950%20Pic/338%20V.Heil%20Captains%20Gig.jpgCaptain's Gig, USS Wisconsin 1950's] and the 1942 USN Jack Ballard pictured to the right.Some modern built craft with sails have been named captain's gig as well. [http://www.ghboats.com/images/9.5/gig1.jpgModern Fiberglass Captain's Gig]
Futuristic captain gigs
In
science fiction , the term is often used to refer to a small auxiliary spacecraft. InStar Trek , the craft are referred to as a "Captain's Yacht" [http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/blueprints/sovereign-class-starship-ncc-1701-e-sheet-18.jpgSci-fi Captain's Gig, USS Enterprise]ee also
*
Cornish pilot gig , a larger boat (crewed by 6 plus a cox) which used to be used to transport pilots out to ships."
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.