Goodall rose from obscure origins to the rank of lieutenant during the Seven Years' War, and continued to rise through the ranks to command his own ships. He ended the war serving in the West Indies and North America, having seen action at the Battle of Havana, and then returned to Britain. He commanded several ships in the peace before the outbreak of the American War of Independence, when he commanded several ships of the line with the Channel Fleet. He was with Keppel at the Battle of Ushant in 1778, and with Fielding at the capture of a Dutch convoy in 1780. Goodall next took part in Darby's relief of Gibraltar and the Second Battle of Ushant in 1781, after which he sailed to the West Indies to join the fleet under Sir George Rodney.