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. For other uses, see Boat (disambiguation). ...

Wooden Captain Gigs

In general, during the era of wooden ships, it was smaller and lighter than the longboat or the barge or the pinnace. It was usually crewed by 4 select oarsmen, and a coxswain. Generally the oarsmen sat one to a seat, but each only rowed a single oar on alternating sides. The gig was not as sea kindly as the longboat, but was used mostly in harbors. A longboat is a large boat powered by multiple oars and carried on a ship (especially sailed merchant ships). ... Self propelled barge carrying bulk crushed stone A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. ... A pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a tender for guiding merchant and war vessels. ... The coxswain (pronounced cox-ən; often called the cox) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. ... An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. ...

The gigs generally had a high wineglass transom (image), full skeg, full keel, straight stem and somewhat rounded sides. There was in general very little rocker in the keel. And the gunwales on many were nearly straight from bow to stern. It appears to be the precursor to the Whitehall Rowboat. Transom (probably a corruption of Latin transtrum, a thwart, in a boat; equivalents are French traverse, croisillon, German Losholz) is the architectural term given to the horizontal lintel or beam which is framed across a window, dividing it into stages or heights. ... In surfing, a skeg is a stabilizing fin located at the rear of the surfboard. ... For other uses, see Keel (disambiguation). ... The gunwale, pronounced gunnel to rhyme with tunnel, is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat. ... Bow of the Cruise ship Spirit of Endeavour The bows of lifeboat 17-31 (Severn class) in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England The bow (pronounced to rhyme with how) is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is... Aft of the Soleil Royal, by Jean Bérain the Elder. ... Whitehall Rowboats are considered one of the most refined rowboats of the 1800s. ...

Some wooden captain's gigs were quite large and were powered by sail such as the French Captain's Sailing Gig @1918, Brest France.

Captain's Gig 1942 USN Jack Ballard, photo by John Kohnen of John's Nautical and Boatbuilding Page at www.boat-links.com

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 518 pixelsFull resolution‎ (927 × 600 pixels, file size: 45 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a digital photograph of 1942 USN Jack Ballard by John Kohnen. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 518 pixelsFull resolution‎ (927 × 600 pixels, file size: 45 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a digital photograph of 1942 USN Jack Ballard by John Kohnen. ...

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 Captain's Gig, USS Wisconsin 1950's and the 1942 USN Jack Ballard pictured to the right. A coloured automobile engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of fuel and an oxidizer (typically air) occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. ...

Some modern built craft with sails have been named captain's gig as well. Modern Fiberglass Captain's Gig

Futuristic Captain Gigs

In science fiction, the term is often used to refer to a small auxiliary spacecraft. In Star Trek, the craft are referred to as a "Captain's Yacht" Sci-fi Captain's Gig, USS Enterprise Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article is about the entire Star Trek franchise. ...

Links

John's Nautical and Boatbuilding Page is a great link for boating information and photographs of wooden boats in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

See Also: Cornish pilot gig, a larger boat (crewed by 6 plus a cox) which used to be used to transport pilots out to ships. The colourful lignup of gigs on St. ...