In 1848, the Royal navy sent out people to find out what had become of the ships and men of Franklin's expedition. The search party was led by John Richardson and John Rae. They had a Halkett boat bought by the government. The party did not find Franklin, but they learned that the Halkett boat very useful. During the search, they used the single boat to move their entire party across a river in 14 trips. Rae said that although the rubber of the boat became stiff from the cold, it was not hard to warm it to soften the material when needed. Halkett boats were also taken on 6 other expedition that were sent to look for Franklin. During these they were used for fishing.