jolly boat

Etymology
.

Noun

 * 1) A type of ship's boat of the 17th to 19th centuries, used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship.
 * 2) * 1696, John Houghton, Collection for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, London, Issue 187:
 * Boats for Ships. A Jolly-boat. A Long-boat. A Skiffe. A Pinnace. A Water-boat. A Yaul.
 * 1) * 1808–10,, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 346:
 * [H]e went down the ship's side and, seating himself in the stern sheets of the jolly-boat, took the helm, pushed off, and four young lads rowed him ashore.