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The launch steadily replaced the [[longboat|long-boat]] in the Royal Navy over the latter half of the 18th century. Both were usually the biggest [[ship's boat|boat]] carried by a warship or a merchant vessel in the [[age of sail]]. The transition from longboat to launch was influenced by the [[East India Company]] successfully experimenting with this change.{{r|May 1999|pp=41–43}}
Launches were preferred as having greater carrying capacity, though they could be considered less seaworthy. An important role was the carrying of drinking water. For example, a {{cvt|33|ft|m}} launch of 1804 could carry 14 large "leaguers" (barrels containing {{convert|150|impgal|L}} each), making a load of just over nine and half tonnes of water. A warship's launch would also be fitted with a windlass that allowed a ship's anchor to be carried or to be weighed (raised). A ship's boat would often{{cn|date=September 2023}} be used to [[kedge]] a ship out of a harbour or away from a hazard such as a [[lee shore]] before steam tugs were available to move sailing vessels.<ref name="May 1999">{{cite book |last1=May |first1=W E |last2=Stephens |first2=Simon |title=The Boats of Men of War |date=1999 |publisher=Chatham Publishing |location=London |isbn=1-84067-4318 |edition=2003 publ Caxton Editions}}</ref>{{rp|41-43}}
The launches issued to naval ships varied in size depending on the size of the ship they equipped. An 1815 schedule of ship's boats showed the range of 15 different lengths for launches from {{cvt|34|ft|m}} for a ship of 100 guns down to {{cvt|16|ft|m}} for a 200 ton sloop. As steam power became common in the navy, the need to transport drinking water (which could be distilled in the engine room) and transport anchors and cables to move a sailing ship both disappeared. By the last quarter of the 19th century, launches were only issued in one length, {{convert|42|ft|m|1|abbr=off}}.{{r|May 1999|pp=62, 71}}
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