R N Gig

Current boat name

R N Gig

Boat class

7381

Function

Military

Type

Length (m / ft)

9.14 / 30ft

Beam (m / ft)

1.82 / 6ft

Leeward

Centreboard

Masts

Two wood

Rig type

twin lug

Propulsion

Oar/Sail

Date of build

1934

Present use

Restoration

A 30ft Royal Naval Gig believed to have been built in 1934. Place of build and Service history are still to be researched and need to be confirmed. This craft may be the only surving Royal Navy gig in good condition. GH Feb 2013. 'A big warship would have carried a number of different open boats. One of these is well known because of its later use by sea training organisations: The Montagu or Montague whaler was quite similar to the gig, a rowing-sailing boat about 6' wide, but lighter and shorter at 24' or 27' long. Both the naval whalers and 30' gigs were carried on the decks of warships. They were used to go from ship to shore, and for training in seamanship, rowing and sailing, and as service boats in dockyards. A captain or admiral would have had his own gig with a smart boat's crew. A major warship would have carried a gig overseas, maybe nested inside the 32' cutter while not in use. She has all her original equipment, except the service sailing rig. That may be no great loss, because tacking the two dipping lugsails was a lot of work. She does have her original teak gratings and rudder, and six long oars although not the originals. She also has her original bronze and brass fittings, apart from one cleat which seems to have gone adrift. Gigs were built of the best available wood, usually Honduras mahogany and teak. Some were clinker-built but many had the smooth skin of carvel construction, with longitudinal planking on the outside of the hull and a separate layer of diagonal planking on the inside, and between them a layer of calico soaked in linseed oil. This gig is copper-nailed carvel' Owner Feb 2013