SHIPS The ships of Torvaldsland differ greatly from the ships of the south. Ships in the south are of carvel construction while the ships of Torvaldsland are clinker built. Clinker built ships are constructed with overlapping, flexible planking. Tarred ropes and tar serve as calking. The outside planks are also coated with painted tar to protect them from the ravages of the sea and from ship worms. Carvel ships are built with planking that is flush and does not overlap. Though clinker ships leak more, requiring more frequent baling, they are more seaworthy in the rough waters of the north. In Torvaldsland, the custom is to bail your ship once a day if it needs it or not. Bailing is also known as "drying the belly of the serpent." A ship that must be bailed three times in two days though is seen as unseaworthy. Realistically, many of those ships are still used, especially late in the year after the ship has loosened some after months of being at sea. In the spring, these ships will be recaulked and tarred. The bailing scoop is a wooden tool with four sides. It is about six inches wide with a straight but rounded handle. You must check the scoop for snails so they are not thrown overboard. Snails are edible and are also good for fish bait. Torvaldsland ships are often not well suited for cargo. Their decking is loose though and can be removed to increase cargo space. To protect their cargo and men from rain or sun, a large bosk hide may be hung over the deck. At night, the men will sleep on the deck in waterproof bags, sewn from sea sleens. Their ships also do not carry lateen sails but have a single, square sail. They cannot sail as close to the wind but they also only need a single sail. They simply take in and let out the canvas with the reefing ropes. The clinker ships have a prow on each end, making it easier to beach them. It is also difficult to ram such a ship because of its small size and ability to rapidly reverse direction. On some of the lighter raiders, the tarn head at the prow is hinged. This helps ensure more stability in rough seas by allowing the weight to be decreased from the prow's height. The tarn head is always at the prow when entering a harbor, inlet or river. It would be a sign you came in peace if the tarn head was hinged back as you entered a harbor, inlet or river. A white shield hung on the mast is another way to signify you come in peace. A red shield would signify more warlike intentions. When not at war, the shields of the men aboard are hung from the sides of the ship. One common ship is known as a "twenty bencher" or a "serpent" ship. This means there are twenty benches to each side. These benches are for the rowers and there are two men to each oar. Their oars are longer and narrower than oars on southern ships, allowing the oars to sweep the water faster making the ship move faster. The keel to beam ratio is one to eight and is also designed for swiftness. With a good wind, their ships can cover 200-250 pasangs in a day. Most northern ships do not have a rowing frame. Instead, the rowers sit in the hull, facing aft. Raiding ships are often painted with red and black in irregular lines. At night, such ships moving inland on a river would harder to detect. These ships have two anchor hooks, one fore and one aft. They resemble grappling hooks and are attached to the ship by tarred ropes. They each weight about one hundred pounds. Some of these ships may have a small longboat tied up on the decking of the after quarter. Torvaldsland sailors guide their vessels by a myriad of indicators. They note the direction of the waves correlated with the prevailing winds, the angles of the shadows of the gunwales falling across the thwarts, and the location of the sun and stars. Even fog banks, feeding grounds of whales and ice floes, in certain seasons, may be used to determine location. It is a matter of tradition and pride that they do not use a needle compass. They sometimes use a sextant but only in strange waters. Each ship has a helmsman who seeks the best wind for the ship. He examines the waters ahead and also the sky. There is usually wind beneath clouds. He also tries to avoid areas of little wave activity. There is in addition a lookout whose function is to watch for other ships and any dangers. The lookout stands on a broad, flat wooden ring, bound in leather and covered with sea sleen fur. This ring fits over the mast at the top so he can see over the sail. The mast is about thirty-five feet Gorean high. He can thus see out to about ten pasangs. The ring has a diameter of about thirty inches. The lookout does fasten himself to the mast. He reaches the ring by climbing a knotted rope. |