Ship a-hoy; the Indiscreet

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Ship a-hoy; the Indiscreet

Postby Phaing on Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:41 pm

This thread is to keep separate the affairs of Phaing's ship, to avoid cluttering up other threads with business that is strictly of this ship.

This is a Cherube-class ship, a sub-variant based on this appearance (mainly because I like the way it looks) and conforms to the basic stats in all important ways;
http://s424.beta.photobucket.com/user/T ... ort=3&o=39

I'll have the many details of the ship later on, when I have the time it deserves.

For now, what you have here is a ship that has the capacity for 50 tons of cargo and a Captain eager to fill it. Phaing is also highly inquisitive and always on the look-out for new opportunities in the fields of exploration, smuggling and stealing from foreign pirates.
Needing a good sanctuary, it goes without saying that this crew will be doing nothing illegal in this port.
In fact, no legitimate cargo run will be ignored, just so long as it is one that can be carried profitably in such a small ship. It's high speed and shallow draft, as well as those handy oars, allow it to get into all sorts of places that other ships would have real trouble with.

more later...
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Re: Ship a-hoy; the Indiscreet

Postby Phaing on Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:20 am

I have had those pics of the Indiscreet for some time now, but I never got inside it and did with that what I used to do with buildings in Nanth.
Until now.
Want to take a walk around with me?

Notice; I've done some research, but I am not an expert. All of this stuff is based on sources, not real experience, so I'm open to correction on anything I got wrong!

First of all, another view of that model I base the Indiscreet on;
http://s424.beta.photobucket.com/user/T ... ort=3&o=41
Sexy beast, ain't she? :wink:

No Figurehead, so we occasionally tie naked people up there when entering port, just to give a good impression.

Now, a couple of things; that ship is larger than the Cherube, so I had to change a couple of things. Those golden portals along the side are for the oars, which are conveniently shown lashed to the side of the ship at the back end. Other little changes are only one staircase and a minor change in proportions.
However, it is impossible to make this thing just 50 feet long, there just isn't enough 'there' there. This one is 65' along the waterline, and if you are interested, I can show you why this is still within the official guidelines for all practical purposes.

Here is the cutaway drawing I made (all to quickly) of Phaing's ship;
http://s424.beta.photobucket.com/user/T ... sort=3&o=0
It is drawn in 3/32 scale, draws 8 feet of water, meaning the distance from the bottom of the keel to the waterline (dotted line).

Lets' start at the Bow (that's the pointy end 8) ) with the view from above. That's the deck-plan.

That thing that looks like a wagon-wheel is actually the capstan. Remember that thing they were walking around in Pirates of the Caribbean? Aside from pulleys, this is the only mechanical advantage the crew has to get things done on a ship. The push-bars can be removed, but using it takes a lot of deck-space. So, to save some space, this capstan is wrapped around the for-mast.

Just past that is the Ballistae, on a slightly raised grating to give the people manning it some traction. More on that later.
There is also room for a boat, but only a 12' skiff. This is a problem, but again, more on this later.

The rectangular thing that is 6' x 12 is the hatch. Just a wooden covering that your winch out of the way to load things in the Hold. Only one, but it's big enough to lower a War-Horse down.
Past that are stairs, on covered set going down to the hold, another leading up to the poop-deck (I didn't name it). Nothing special there, but you will see that there is no ship's wheel. Instead, this has a tiller, a simple bar used to steer the rudder and can be lashed in place to hold a certain setting. Works about as well, and is easier to repair.
At the very rear is the spell-caster's platform, up and out of the way of everyone else working the ship, with the best view you can get from the Deck.

The cutaway shows the ship from the side. At each end are spaces marked SS, or Ship's Stores. That's where ropes, sails, paint and the like are stowed away. The big part in the center is the Hold, where you put cargo. The galley is where the cook does his cooking. The major element is a brazier mounted on a gimbals-ring. The fuel for the fire would not spill even if the ship capsized, in theory...
Phaing knows that fresh food is a problem at sea, and has a novel answer for that; a Baker.
Wheat-berries are stored, ready to be ground in to fresh flour, and all sorts of baked goods are prepared while under way.

Now, for whats in the rooms under the poop deck (stern-castle?)
The first thing you will find is the booth where half a dozen people can eat at a time. Next to it is a ladder down with a platform that can be raised and lowered with a rope. Across the way is the chartroom; really just a large set of shelves from maps and books with a table and chair. This is where you chart your course.

Going aft, you find the sleeping quarters.
Unique to this ship, this is a pillow-pit similar to what you would see in the Temple of Ishtar. On most ships, the crew would sack-out wherever they could find space, normally down in that dank hold. Phaing hated that idea, so instead of a Captain's cabin she had this common sleeping area installed. Kept clean by spells, this has a good effect on the crew's morale' (and not just because Phaing sleeps in the raw :roll: ). Not only does the Captain sleep in the same, egalitarian conditions as the crew, but eats the same food and shares all the rest of the hardships.
At the very back is the one place reserved for the Captain; a closet for her and her alone. Never poke your nose in there or a flogging is your reward.

The crew is armed with 6 x Longbows, 6 x Halbreds, 6 x Battleaxes and 18 x throwing axes, with 360 arrows.
The 18 men are divided into 3 shifts, rather than the usual 2. One shift is sleeping, one is working the rigging and the deck, and the other is either tending to their own gear or standing ready to help the shift working. Meals are served at shift-changing times.

The fine embellishments on the woodwork is as you see in the pictures, paid Kuromaku a few hundred mhl to make sure of that.

Okay, that's enough for one post, and covers the Indy (indiscreet) in brief.
More will follow...
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Re: Ship a-hoy; the Indiscreet

Postby Phaing on Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:31 am

Now, back to the problem of what can be crammed into a length of 50 feet, and would need a crew of 18 people to make it work.
The Indy is based on a Xebec, a type of ship that the Arabs were using 500 years ago. So, I look to Europe to see what they had at that time. I think you will find that this looks familiar.

http://s424.beta.photobucket.com/user/T ... sort=3&o=2

Okay, exclusive of the rudder, that's 50 feet long along the water-line.
I call it The Brick. :D

Its a tall, dumpy, ugly (to me) thing next to the Indy, but it does have its advantages. And, within the stats set down for the Cherube class, it is basically the same thing with the same capabilities!
I'll show you how-

First of all, here is the cross-section;

http://s424.beta.photobucket.com/user/T ... sort=3&o=1

This is called a High-charged ship, and you can see why. The Captain's cabin way up there is really pushing it, from my point of view. But, in a really bad storm, it could be torn off and cast away be the crew if it threatened to over-turn the ship. It allows a more Patrician Captain to live aloof from the crew, AND he has space to entertain guests and receive important folks, something that Indy simply is not equipped to do.
Another thing all that uppperworks gives you is a place to put a 15' sailboat. For surviving an sinking this is much better than a 12' skiff. Its conceivable that you could fit 20 people into a 15' boat in a lifeboat configuration. With a 12'er, someone is going to have to die before you abandon ship.

Below that is a room with 6 bunks and closet space, for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd mates, as well as a carpenter and other specialists. Forward on the same level is this ship's galley. Insulated with brick, it helps hold the bow down as it beats the ocean into submission. Its handy to have up here because of the smoke; on a sailing ship you usually have a tail-wind. That's handy to blow the smoke away.
On Phaing's ship, tin ducts pass the smoke up the walls of the living area, nice to keep you warm with, but the poop-deck can get pretty smokey.
Down below, there is more generous room for ship's stores, but the cargo holds are the same size.

Now, you want to ask how these ships can have basically similar characteristics.
I'll tell you, Sunday, I have to go now.
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Re: Ship a-hoy; the Indiscreet

Postby Phaing on Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:30 am

Okay, back to business.

First of all, can the "Brick" possibly move at the same speed as a sleek, low to the water ship like Indy?
Well, the answer is no, AND yes. :lol:
It al depends on where you are trying to go, in relation to the way the wind is going. Yes, the Brick is kinda dumpy, and only has 2 masts instead of 3, but look at all the sails they carry. Sails are what makes a ship like this go, and these are square, catching even more wind than triangular ones. However, they work best sailing with the wind. The farther you turn from having the wind at your back, the more you loose your advantage, and the more cumbersome those square sails become.
A shorter hull also generates fewer waves, and making waves causes drag.
Indy, with it's "fore and aft" rigging, works better running across the wind. I prefer it because it gives you two ways to go for best advantage, rather than the one. And, being lower, overall, its harder to spot over long distances (even harder still if you have sky-blue sails, as Phaing's ship does. :wink:

Some of you must be wondering how two such different ships could have the same draft... surely the Brick would sit deeper in the water?
No.
The Indy has a V0shaped hull, giving her a more comfortable ride. This cuts down on what she "displaces", which is the true measure of what a ship weighs; how much water it's hull moves out of the way to sit in the ocean. The Brick has a flatter bottom and more squared off sides. It's stouter shape keeps it at the proper depth, but gives you a rougher ride.

Simply put, the Brick has more usable deck-space and it's fore & aft decks sit higher, giving it an advantage in battle, once you are side=by-side. At longer ranges, it's a bigger target. It can turn tighter, but not quicker, than the Indy. 8 or 9 people can sleep in comfort and endure long trips, the rest of the crew of the Brick sleep where they can and eat that was as well.

Just to continue with the differences, lets show the Ballistae mounted on the poop deck of the Brick. The Mage on this ship will be up front, with an excellent view of what the ship is headed into, but unable to even see what is directly behind it.
On either ship, it seems that the only way to get the Balistae and the mage a clear shot at the same target is to have the ship showing it's side to that target... or, as they say, the Broadside.

These two designs are at opposite extremes, there is a huge variety that come come between them.
Like I said, I'm no expert, just going by what I have learned from people and blogs.


That's enough for the technical shit, all posts after this will be of a more personal nature regarding the affairs of this little ship and it's Captain. :)
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