Basic Guidelines For English Spellings
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A small sailing boat chiefly used for fishing, with a large well in the centre for transporting fish alive, movable planks or boards for covering the well, and frequently with fixed decking at the sides or edges.
Hatch-boats were often used on the Thames in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Early 19th century; earliest use found in The Edinburgh Review. From hatch + boat.