The boats and principal instruments employed in the capture of the whale next claim a description. Whale-boats are, of course, peculiarly adapted for the occupation they are intended to be employed in. A well-constructed Greenland boat possesses the following properties:—It floats lightly and safely on the water, is capable of being rowed with great speed, and readily turned round; it is of such capacity, that it carries six or seven men, seven or eight hundred weight of whale-line, and various other materials, and yet retains the necessary properties of safety, buoyancy, and speed, either in smooth water, or where it is exposed to a considerable sea. Whale-boats, being very liable to receive damage, both from whales and ice, are always carver-built—a structure which is easily repaired. They are usually of the following dimensions. Those called six-oared boats, adapted for carrying seven men, six of whom, including the harpooner, are rowers, are generally twenty-six to twenty-eight feet in length, and about five feet nine inches in breadth. Six-men boats, that is, with five rowers and a steersman, are usually twenty-five to twenty-six feet in length, and about five feet three inches in breadth; and four-oared boats are usually twenty-three to twenty-four feet in length, and about five feet, three inches in breadth. The main breadth of the two first classes of boats is at about three-sevenths of the length of the boat, reckoned from the stern; but in the last class it is necessary to have the main breadth within one-third of the length of the boat from the stern. The object of this is to enable the smaller boat to support, without being dragged under water, as great a strain on the lines as those of a larger class; otherwise, if such a boat were sent out by itself, its lines would be always liable to be lost before any assistance could reach it.