Resembles a barge, but is never rowing more than eight oars, whereas a barge never rows less than ten. The pinnace is for the accommodation of lieutenants etc.
A double-banked small boat (usually eight-oared) forming part of the equipment of the ship.
A small light vessel, generally two-masted, and schooner-rigged; often in attendance on a larger vessel as a tender, scout, etc.
a small vessel of around 20 tuns, generally having two square-rigged masts. Pinnaces were small, fast, and maneuverable and sometimes carried oars. They were frequently used as message boats within fleets and were also highly regarded by the English for scouting coastal waters. Some small, undecked pinnaces were technically boats, for they could be taken aboard larger vessels.
a boat for communication between ship and shore
a small boat intended to take messages between ships of the line and the shore, whereas a lighter is a small boat used for loading and unloading larger vessels
a square sterned vessel, capable of being sailed or rowed
A small sailing ship. They usually carried oars as well as sails, so could travel even in calm weather.
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.