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The Mafanese were one of the first ancient peoples to organize themselves into one of the dominant civilizations of ancient Lýthia. Although they were
on the periphery of Western Lýthia they had a profound impact upon its future development culturally and technologically; shipbuilding being a prime
example.
I see the Mafanese civilization being a cross between the Indus River and the early Nile River civilizations. Technologically they evolved much along
the same lines as far as ship building goes and in many other aspects as far as technology is concerned.
Reed Boats
The areas settled by the early Mafani civilization were predominantly along river deltas and lowland flood plains where reed beds were in abundance
throughout much of the year. As a result, the one of the primary means of transportation at the beginning of this period was the reed boat. In the
beginning the reed boat was no more than 20-feet in length and about six feet in width. The ends of the boat were curved upwards and tied into position
to form a crescent shape hull. The depth of a boat was about one foot for every two and a half feet of width; correspondingly the draft would be half
the depth when unloaded. Early reed boas were steered using the paddles of its operators; much like a large canoe would be today. At most, these vessels
could carry limited amounts of goods or passengers. A key drawback to the early reed boat’s usability was that its only propulsion was through
paddles, sails not being available in the beginning. Therefore, their use was confined to civilization’s rivers, deltas and sheltered coastal
regions.
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Sometime around 4,500 BT the Mafanese began constructing larger vessels (up to 50 feet) that could navigate the Gulf of Mafan’s coastal
waters. Although construction techniques had changed little, three innovations/additions increased their usability.
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First, the sail was introduced. The first sails were rectangular mats woven from reeds with the long side going up the mast. The masts were A-frames
secured by ropes fore and aft. The sail was attached to a yard that was raised up the mast; and another yard at the bottom that assisted in
relieving the sail’s load/stress. When the sail was not in use the vessel was still propelled by paddles; oars were not feasible due to the
inability of the vessel’s construction to provide a suitable fulcrum.
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Bitumen is a thick tar-like petroleum product found to the east and west of Mafani lands. It was most likely introduced through various trade
networks and would enable the Mafanese to expand their own trade network because of it. A simple fact of the basic reed boat is that they absorb
water and must be hauled out of the water and dried from time to time. Bitumen was the answer to the water absorption problem. Mafanese boat
builders started applying bitumen to reed boats as a waterproofing material; just as their ancestors had to the basket boat of their time. This
adaptation allowed the Mafanese to sail further along the waters of the Gulf in order to trade with and/or colonize more distant regions.
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The last addition was a light wooden deck placed over the center section of the vessel to provide a stable platform for goods and personnel. The
larger vessels would have a shelter or two built on them for the crew or prominent passengers.
Log Boats
The northern regions of the Mafanese home territories are bordered by heavily wooded terrain as are regions along its early southern borders; as a
result the log boat was another dominant vessel used by the Mafanese. By this time individuals were already joining planks to the sides of their log
boats to provide additional draft and storage capacity; the planks were sewn into place using ropes or sinew. At most, these vessels could reach up to
30-feet in length. The seams of these log boats were caulked with bitumen and plant fiber or animal hair to make them watertight. In areas where bitumen
could not be obtained they used moss, grass, and/or pitch. Most of these vessels were very narrow, about one foot of width per five feet of length;
however, there were a number of wider vessels using two logs joined together of a single log that was split and a filler panel inserted in between the
two halves. These wider vessels were used predominantly for trade and exploration throughout The Gulf of Mafan’s coastal waters.
Rafts
Just as the log boat above was evolving, the raft was also evolving into flat bottomed craft that looked more like floating boxes. The bottom being
constructed of sewn planks or lashed logs with planks being sewn to the sides to form an enclosed structure. These vessels were waterproof just like the
log boats above.
Advances on Primitive Wooden Vessels
Being made of wood, rafts and log boats provided the necessary strength to support the stresses induced when using oars. Therefore, one could find them
being propelled in one of four manners. The first and oldest method was to use long poles to push the raft along a river’s banks. Second was the
adoption of oars to propel the raft in deeper waters. The oars would be placed in forked branches tied to the raft or, in more advanced forms, carved
oar locks lashed to the sides. Third, a pole mast or bipod mast could be mounted on larger rafts to take advantage of favorable winds. Finally, the
vessel could be pulled by men or beasts from the shore. Like the previous vessels, steering was accomplished with a stern mounted steering oar.
Wooden Ships
Some time between 4,000 and 3,500 BT Mafanese boat builders, soon to be known as shipwrights, began developing the first true wooden ships. These early
ships were developed from the extensive knowledge they had gathered from working with the above vessel types.
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One of the first true ship designs was a shell-first vessel ranging between 20-30 feet in length. The timbers were flushed laid and lashed together
forming a pointed bow and stern; these vessels originally had no keel. Internal ribs lashed to the hull allowed it to maintain its shape. Initially
they were rowed and later had a step mast adapted to them. Steering was accomplished with steering oars over the sides of the stern of the vessel.
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The other design was based on the punts above and ranged between 30-40 feet in length. Their overall design was very similar to the smaller punts;
however, instead of the sides curving up they were either vertical or at an angle. Propulsion methods were the same as the vessel described above.
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Neither of the above vessels had decking and their internal framing timbers were lashed into place after the hull was formed.
Sometime before 3,000 BT Mafanese shipwrights introduced a new construction method called “Mortise and Tenon.” The process involved laying a
shell-first hull with the plank’s edges abutted to each other. The edges of the planks had mortises cut into them. Each plank had square tenons
placed into each mortise and then adjoining plank’s mortises was slid over the tenons. The tenons were held in place by treenails hammered through
pre-bored holes.
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This new vessel was more rounded and could range up to 60 feet in length, the average being 40 feet. Since they lacked a strong central support
system, like a keel, the vessel’s primary support was obtained by a cable running from bow to stern to prevent hogging. Its internal frames
were lashed into place like the vessels above. However, the new design also had cross-beams that provide lateral support and pierced the hull where
they met. Removable decking is laid over the crossbeams and connecting timbers. Propulsion came from oars and/or a single A-framed mast carrying a
square sail. The rigging is very similar to the reed boats above. By 3,000 BT the A-frame was replaced by a single post mast; this resulted in a
more complex rigging system designed to support the mast and the associated sail and yards. The vessel was controlled by multiple steering oars
attached to the stern.
Over time Mafanese ship design would continue to evolve. However, it’s around this time that our focus moves eastward along the Mafanese
commercial route into the Targa River Valley.
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