Boarding Pike
A boarding pike was a long, thrusting spear used by naval crews to board enemy ships or repel boarders. They were a key weapon in 17th, 18th and early 19th century naval battles.
How were they used? Boarding pikes were used to force entry onto an enemy ship's deck. They were also used defensively to repel enemy boarders. Boarding pikes were often used in combination with cutlasses and boarding axes.
Boarding pikes were typically 8–12 feet long. They had a heavy wooden stave with a steel head. The head was attached to the stave by two long straps. Boarding pikes were usually made without a cross guard or ferrules to avoid getting caught in rigging or nets. The blade was thinner and smoother than a standard spear or lance to avoid getting caught in rigging or nets. When were they used? Boarding pikes were used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages until they were largely replaced by bayonet-equipped muskets. They were particularly useful when flintlock firearms were unreliable, such as at sea.