Scale: 1:12. Steering oar from a contemporary full hull model of a ship’s launch (circa 1826) measuring 37 feet in length, mounted on its original wooden baseboard. These were the largest type of ship’s boat, some measuring up to 40 feet in length. They could either be rowed pulling six double-banked oars or sailed with a two-masted dipping lugsail.

This model shows the introduction of double diagonal planking which allowed a thin, lightweight but very strong hull to be built, ideal for carrying aboard the larger warships in the early 19th century. Their primary use was for transporting the crew too and from the shore as well as for carrying large and heavy items of stores and ordinance. Launches were also large enough to operate almost entirely independently from their mother ship, and in areas like the Caribbean often functioned as tenders cruising against small privateers and coastal traders.