|
Ship design during the modern era is focused into three specific spheres of influence. This section will look at how vessels in those areas were
developed and how design characteristics from one region flowed into another resulting in new composite designs.
The Venarian Sea
As mentioned above, the Venarian Sea is surrounded by Western Lýthia’s most advanced civilizations. By 200 TR the Azeri were the dominant force in
the region and would inherit and continue to develop the vessels that would come to be the dominant types within the precincts of the sea itself. With
the decline of the empire since the late 5th century TR the descendants of the Venic peoples, the Karejians, became the foremost shipwrights within the
Venarian Sea. As of 720 TR there are four basic ship types whose origins extend back to the ancient vessels of the Targan and Venic peoples. In
addition, two other vessels types are generic to this area as well as the others listed below.
Characteristic features of all vessels made within the Venarian Sea are:
-
Frame (skeleton) first construction is used
-
The hulls are caravel straked (flush laid planks)
-
Steering oars are still used
-
Many of the larger vessels have multiple masts
-
Sometime around the 1st century TR shipwrights and masters adopted the venyn-rigged sail. It is believed the design was brought to the Venarian Sea
from eastern Lýthia via the Gulf of Mafan.
-
The use of skeletal first construction has allowed larger cargo vessels to have multiple decks.
The galley, the longship of the Venarian Sea, is the principle naval weapon within the region. The Laru and Laru Mar being the principal design used by
the Karejians and copied by most every other political entity owning a galley. Even so, there are cultural differences that do show up in the specific
designs of each culture’s own vessels.
The round ship, the basic transport of the Venarian Sea, can be found in two basic designs. The first being the smaller coastal vessels used to move
small cargoes over short distances or as fishing vessels. The second is the large merchantmen that carry goods throughout the Venarian Sea. Again, each
culture has its own specific design characteristics; however, there are two basic vessel types that dominate the region, the Venar and the Raem.
The Gulf of Ederwyn
While the southern shores of the gulf followed a shipbuilding tradition like that of the Venarian Sea; those of the north are more of a transitional
zone between the ship building techniques of the Sea of Ivae and those of the Venarian Sea. At the beginning of the modern age the Trierzi and other
cultural groups of this area were building caravel hulled, shell-first, flat-bottomed vessels. The design of these early vessels was based on the
traditional Jarind vessels of the north and the caravel vessels of the Venarian merchantmen coming to their ports. As Azeri influence spread over the
region so did the vessels designs used by the seamen of the Venarian Sea. By 500 TR the region had adopted the vessels of the Venarian Sea as their
models for future ship designs; although cultural influence still altered the designs to a small degree.
A major change in ship design came around 690 TR when Trierzi shipwrights began looking for a vessel that could sail voyages of exploration along the
Anzelorian coast in an attempt to find a route to the riches of Eastern Lýthia. Towards this end they experimented in ways to improve on the design of
the northern Dak while using their own southern shipbuilding skills and technology. The end result was the Karune, an adaptation of a fishing vessel
found in Trierzi waters. Although a bit smaller than the Dak, it was faster and adopted many features from both ship building traditions.
From the southern ship building tradition it has these features:
-
Skeleton first construction
-
Caravel planked hull
-
Venyn-rigged mizzen mast
From the northern ship building tradition it has these features:
-
Stern post rudder
-
Square-rigged main mast
-
Bow spirit
-
Shape similar to that of the Dak
The Sea of Ivae
Ship building in this northern sea followed the patterns established by the Pharic peoples who settled the islands within and lands to the east of this
sea. Their ship designs continued to be longships in general with sewn planks shells and lashed down skeletal frameworks. At first these vessels were
strictly oar powered. Sometime around 1 TR they began incorporating a keel instead of the old log boat core into the design. At the same time they also
started to use iron nail to secure the strakes to one another. During this time the skeletal framework was still lashed to cleats that were formed on
each strake as it was being shaped; however, the use of treenails was also becoming a dominant means of fastening the frames to the strakes.
By 200 TR the Ivinians developed the keelson that would allow a mast to be added to their vessels. In addition they began using large square woolen
sail. However, it was the design of their ship’s hulls that would revolutionize ship design within the region; not to mention the overall
political, social, and economic conditions for the next 300 years. It was during this period that the classic lines of the Ivinian longship came into
being and would give birth to the Warboats that would terrorize all of Northwestern Lýthia and the cargo vessels that would be the dominant merchantmen
until more recent times. These vessels were able to sail the open waters of the ocean as well as up the major rivers of the region. The design itself
allowed it to be modified to suit whatever purpose the vessel was needed for. Eventually the vessels would be the predecessors to other vessels like the
Dak.
Key features of the Ivinian longship were:
-
Pointed bow and stern
-
Steering Board on the right side
-
Keelson for mounting a mast
-
Flexible hull strakes secured with iron nails
-
Skeletal members lashed and/or treenailed into place
-
Flexible design to facilitate diverse needs
The Gulfs of Shorkyne and Modan and Quandas Bay
The smaller vessels of these waters are for the most part still of ancient Jarind design. The majority of these smaller craft are flat bottomed and
constructed in the traditional clinker method or use a reverse clinker method; most of the larger vessels of this region are based on designs from the
Sea of Ivae. However, over the last 100 years the region has produced two distinct vessels.
Sometime around the middle of the last century Shorkyne shipwrights began producing the first Daks. The Dak is a flat-bottomed vessel that borrowed some
aspects of the ancient Jarind coastal vessels and the modern Ivinian vessels. However the Dak also has some very new technologies not found on other
vessels at the time of its introduction.
-
From the Jarind vessels it has a flat bottom hull formed with flush laid planks
-
From the Ivinian vessels it has the traditional clinker built sides and inserted framing and a single square-rigged mast
New technologies include:
-
A stern mounted rudder
-
A keel in more than one piece
-
Fairly straight stern and bow posts
-
Integrated stern and bow castles (after 700)
-
Bow spirit
Around the same time that Shorkyne shipwrights were developing the Dak Emelrene shipwrights developed a bulk cargo carrier of their own. The Hulc was
developed from a common coastal vessel used in its own waters. Characteristic features of the Hulc are:
-
A thick central keel plank instead of a normal keel
-
Reverse clinker construction
-
Steering oars
-
A single square-rigged mast
-
No bow or stern posts
-
The strakes come together at the bow and the stern and are held together by a collar
|
