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A 'pinnace' is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions. In general, the pinnace had sails, and would be used to ferry messages between ships of the line, visit harbors ahead of the fleet with messages of state, pick up mail, etc. The pinnace was also widely used during the pirate infested 1600s, mostly in the Caribbean area. The Spanish favored them as lightweight smuggling vessels while the Dutch used them as raiders. Pirates infrequently used them as scouts and for night attacks since they were small, reliable, and extremely quick, even against the wind.