first-cutter

Updated: July 22, 2026

It was Evacuation-Day, and severely cold, and the hot-stuff pleased everybody, on such an occasion. Nor was this all. In passing Whitehall slip, I saw the Ohio's first-cutter lying there, and it happened that I not only knew the officer of the boat, who had been one of the midshipmen of the Constellation, but that I knew most of its crew.

James Fenimore Cooper - Ned Myers: or, a Life Before the Mast

That evening I heard that Frank had ineffectually endeavoured to get removed from his place as an oarsman in the First-Cutter a boat which, from its size, is generally employed with the launch in carrying ship-stores.

Herman Melville - White Jacket: or, the World on a Man-of-War