In the age of sail, boats were an essential part of any ship's equipment. They moved stores, towed the ship in calms and in confined waters, and, for warships, were an extension of their armament. With the advent of steam the diversity of boats became even greater. Over the centuries there were almost countless sizes, hull forms and rigs employed, so the exact details have always been a problem to model-makers, marine artists and even those building replicas. This new book, based on a work originally published in 1974, is still the only study of the whole history of this neglected topic. Now revised, expanded and much more thoroughly illustrated, it covers the boat 'establishments' (the sizes and types of boat formally allocated), the methods of hoisting and stowing them aboard ship, the design and construction of the boats themselves, their fittings, rigs and armament - guns, howitzers, and even Congreve rockets.