Great writeup. I consider myself more knowledgeable than most, but am still petrified of mistakes (I know I've made more than a few) when writing anything involving ships. It's one of these areas where you just don't know what you don't know.
I agree! What you’re seeing here are actually my personal notes modified into a post, and even as I was writing them I was learning new things. This should at least be enough knowledge to be dangerous.
Indeed! And from my own research it seems as though there's an initial hump of knowledge to surmount that will get you a long way. My goal was to make that hump easier to scale.
This is fantastic. I’m going to adapt this for my story about sky ships. How do you think a skygoing vessel might differ? (Assume it stays aloft with some sort of bladder of buoyant gas but still uses sails for lateral movement.) No rudder or keel, for instance.
Great question! Oh man, now my imagination’s running!
I would definitely aim you toward my Part 2, which is all about sails and rigging. It could give a lot of great ideas!
Thinking about it more, I imagine a skyship world would develop some kind of prop system (propellers) for small movements. I can picture tugboats using these to assist larger craft in fine maneuvers like docking.
Hull design would become less of an issue. There’s no submerged portion, so it might resemble something more like a ship’s fuselage since waterproofing concerns would be replaced by a premium on lightweight designs.
For general buoyancy, something like a blimp would be in order. Of course that also represents a massive vulnerability in terms of combat.
All of that said, it’s also fantasy, so to maintain the ship aesthetic you could come up with a “soft magic” reason ships can fly — maybe a certain type of material like “Windwood” enables crafts to get airborne, and the aerodynamics mean you still want to match a nautical design what with hulls and such. That way you can then have all the different ship types — frigates, schooners, cutters, etc. — but keep them in the air as well. Aerial maneuvering has roll, pitch, and yaw, and in a helicopter I guess you have hover. You could easily add additional rigging to make those fine-tuned motions possible.
This is amazing! I thought I’d thought the subject through, but you’ve come up with ideas that hadn’t occurred to me. For instance, I didn’t really think about how sails aren’t good for small, precise movements. You’re right about the prop system. I’ll definitely check out part 2, thanks!
The problem with all the normal discussions of clinker vs. carvel construction is that it just doesn’t make sense. Not what you said - all of that is very reasonable — but the implications. If the difference is just about economics and who’s wealthy, then why would carvel be a Mediterranean and clinker a northern fashion through to the 1400s, when by the 1000s Northern Europeans were wealthier than cities in the med in 400 who used carvel ships. If it’s technological, why couldn’t it have been transmitted over the centuries? Not to mention there’s evidence that in 100BC English tribes used carvel methods to build their boats.
There’s just got to be something beyond that. This is something that bothers me every time I read about the clinker carvel distinction - if you have any good reading material on it, I’d appreciate it.
Theoretically I’m writing a master’s thesis on exactly that subject, though I haven’t touched it in literally years
On clinker vs carvel: unlike clinker-built vessels, carvel hulls can have gunports cut through them and still keep structural integrity. This allows heavy artillery to be carried low in the hull, very important for maintaining stability. After about 1500, this became essential in warships.
I've had a soft spot for navel stories and ships for a long time. The Hornblower movie series, and Master and Commander (I haven't read the books yet) are some of my favorites, and Assassin's Creed Black Flag was quite fun.
One interesting fact I'll add: shipworms would cause havoc to ships as well, burrowing into the wood at alarming rates and thriving in most climates and levels of salinity. Pretty terrifying to have your ship literally being eaten out from under you!
I have studied sailing ships since high school and I've neve come across a functional one that had more than 3 masts. There were less common 4 masted ships, but they were heavy haulers and schooners.
The most commonly named masts were the Foremast, Mainmast, and Mizzenmast.
Five six or even seven masted ships were rare. Schooners often had only the traditional three masts.
It would seem that the ships that had more than 3 masts sailed the great lakes, and stayed along the coasts. Very few of them attempted transoceanic trips due to the shallow keel depth and the amount of crew needed. Ships that had more than 3 masts were cargo haulers, mostly coal, timber, guano, etc.
Most of your terminology was spot on. I'd like to add that the quarterdeck was where the Captain ran the ship. His cabin was set behind the quarterdeck and overlooked the aft end of the ship. The quarterdeck held the ship's wheel (which connected to the rudder), the compass box (Where the navigators tools were stored,) and the ships crewbook.
The bowsprit gave an extra few feet of sail space,
Your notes were most thourough, but one thing you might have missed was that even on the weatherdeck (maindeck) they had places for cannon and carronade. The Captain's Great cabin could be cleared out and sometimes had three additional cannon that could be used as stern chasers.
Glad it’s helpful! This is all I’ve got for now, but eventually I’m planning on making ones for agriculture, premodern urban planning, and mycology. I also might do a series on alcohol.
Great writeup. I consider myself more knowledgeable than most, but am still petrified of mistakes (I know I've made more than a few) when writing anything involving ships. It's one of these areas where you just don't know what you don't know.
I agree! What you’re seeing here are actually my personal notes modified into a post, and even as I was writing them I was learning new things. This should at least be enough knowledge to be dangerous.
Great first post and I'm looking forward to the continuation. Ditto what B.A. Clarke said re: you don't know what you don't know.
Indeed! And from my own research it seems as though there's an initial hump of knowledge to surmount that will get you a long way. My goal was to make that hump easier to scale.
This is fantastic. I’m going to adapt this for my story about sky ships. How do you think a skygoing vessel might differ? (Assume it stays aloft with some sort of bladder of buoyant gas but still uses sails for lateral movement.) No rudder or keel, for instance.
Great question! Oh man, now my imagination’s running!
I would definitely aim you toward my Part 2, which is all about sails and rigging. It could give a lot of great ideas!
Thinking about it more, I imagine a skyship world would develop some kind of prop system (propellers) for small movements. I can picture tugboats using these to assist larger craft in fine maneuvers like docking.
Hull design would become less of an issue. There’s no submerged portion, so it might resemble something more like a ship’s fuselage since waterproofing concerns would be replaced by a premium on lightweight designs.
For general buoyancy, something like a blimp would be in order. Of course that also represents a massive vulnerability in terms of combat.
All of that said, it’s also fantasy, so to maintain the ship aesthetic you could come up with a “soft magic” reason ships can fly — maybe a certain type of material like “Windwood” enables crafts to get airborne, and the aerodynamics mean you still want to match a nautical design what with hulls and such. That way you can then have all the different ship types — frigates, schooners, cutters, etc. — but keep them in the air as well. Aerial maneuvering has roll, pitch, and yaw, and in a helicopter I guess you have hover. You could easily add additional rigging to make those fine-tuned motions possible.
This is amazing! I thought I’d thought the subject through, but you’ve come up with ideas that hadn’t occurred to me. For instance, I didn’t really think about how sails aren’t good for small, precise movements. You’re right about the prop system. I’ll definitely check out part 2, thanks!
The problem with all the normal discussions of clinker vs. carvel construction is that it just doesn’t make sense. Not what you said - all of that is very reasonable — but the implications. If the difference is just about economics and who’s wealthy, then why would carvel be a Mediterranean and clinker a northern fashion through to the 1400s, when by the 1000s Northern Europeans were wealthier than cities in the med in 400 who used carvel ships. If it’s technological, why couldn’t it have been transmitted over the centuries? Not to mention there’s evidence that in 100BC English tribes used carvel methods to build their boats.
There’s just got to be something beyond that. This is something that bothers me every time I read about the clinker carvel distinction - if you have any good reading material on it, I’d appreciate it.
Theoretically I’m writing a master’s thesis on exactly that subject, though I haven’t touched it in literally years
This is a great question, and honestly I have no immediate answer. I’m going to look into a few sources and see if I can find one though.
On clinker vs carvel: unlike clinker-built vessels, carvel hulls can have gunports cut through them and still keep structural integrity. This allows heavy artillery to be carried low in the hull, very important for maintaining stability. After about 1500, this became essential in warships.
Oh wow, I’d never heard that point but it makes a ton of sense! I’ll be adding this as an addendum, thank you, Brendan!
If I ever write a pirate or seafaring story, this will be one of the main points of research and reference. Well done!
Thanks, Tristan! I’m very glad you’ve found it helpful!
Thank you, sir. This was very informative.
You’re very welcome, Keith!
Thank you, this is awesome! I’ve saved it to return to fully when I’m writing the part of my novel that’s at sea
You’re welcome! I hope it helps!
I've had a soft spot for navel stories and ships for a long time. The Hornblower movie series, and Master and Commander (I haven't read the books yet) are some of my favorites, and Assassin's Creed Black Flag was quite fun.
One interesting fact I'll add: shipworms would cause havoc to ships as well, burrowing into the wood at alarming rates and thriving in most climates and levels of salinity. Pretty terrifying to have your ship literally being eaten out from under you!
Oh wow, I haven’t studied shipworms at all, I’ll have to look into that!
Oooo! Very useful! Thanks, Ian!
You’re welcome, Alec!
I have studied sailing ships since high school and I've neve come across a functional one that had more than 3 masts. There were less common 4 masted ships, but they were heavy haulers and schooners.
The most commonly named masts were the Foremast, Mainmast, and Mizzenmast.
Five six or even seven masted ships were rare. Schooners often had only the traditional three masts.
It would seem that the ships that had more than 3 masts sailed the great lakes, and stayed along the coasts. Very few of them attempted transoceanic trips due to the shallow keel depth and the amount of crew needed. Ships that had more than 3 masts were cargo haulers, mostly coal, timber, guano, etc.
Most of your terminology was spot on. I'd like to add that the quarterdeck was where the Captain ran the ship. His cabin was set behind the quarterdeck and overlooked the aft end of the ship. The quarterdeck held the ship's wheel (which connected to the rudder), the compass box (Where the navigators tools were stored,) and the ships crewbook.
The bowsprit gave an extra few feet of sail space,
Your notes were most thourough, but one thing you might have missed was that even on the weatherdeck (maindeck) they had places for cannon and carronade. The Captain's Great cabin could be cleared out and sometimes had three additional cannon that could be used as stern chasers.
These are great additions, thank you!
Am I planning on writing a book set on the high seas? No. Did I read this entire guide anyway? Sure did.
This was so informative and interesting. Almost makes me want to start a pirate story just to use all my newfound knowledge
I’m so glad you found it informative, thanks for reading, Happy!
Nice. This guide will come in handy. Got anymore world building guides?
Glad it’s helpful! This is all I’ve got for now, but eventually I’m planning on making ones for agriculture, premodern urban planning, and mycology. I also might do a series on alcohol.
I'm looking forward to it.