Shallop is a name used for several types ofboats and smallships (Frenchchaloupe) used for coastal navigation from theseventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on thechalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a little larger than a banksdory togunboats.
Smaller shallops could maneuver far up narrow creeks to take on cargo because they could reverse their sails, oars and rudder for the return trip and so did not need to turn around.[1] The shallops used by English explorers were about 30 feet (9.1 m) long and equipped with oars and a mast with one or two sails. These larger English shallops could take over a dozen people and usually had a shallow draft of about 2 feet (0.6 m).[2] The larger vessels of this design could carry a substantial load and be armed withcannon.
CaptainJohn Smith used shallops to explore theChesapeake Bay in the summer of 1608. The boats were disassembled and stowed aboard theSusan Constant, being reassembled when the colonists arrived inNorth America.[2]
The Danes armed large boats called shallops for use as gunboats, particularly in theGunboat War (1807–1814) betweenDenmark–Norway and theBritish Navy during theNapoleonic Wars.
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