So-called for the inevitable presence of a chained bear, usually assigned to swabbing the decks with historical terms or pointed rearwards at the enemy and used as artillery.
"Chain-boat, a rather large boat fitted with a davit over its stern, and two windlasses, one forward and the other aft, in the inside. It is used for getting up mooring chains, anchors, or otherwise." —Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1816), 80
So-called for the inevitable presence of a chained bear, usually assigned to swabbing the decks with historical terms or pointed rearwards at the enemy and used as artillery.
"Chain-boat, a rather large boat fitted with a davit over its stern, and two windlasses, one forward and the other aft, in the inside. It is used for getting up mooring chains, anchors, or otherwise."
—Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1816), 80