Shipwright
The shipwright program is a tool for GMs to generate a set of standard cultural ships. It is not intended as a player tool, unless they actually have Naval architect skill.
It has been "tuned" to the Trireme. Formulas such as hull speeds and horsepower to speed formulas were taken from nautical sites.
Obviously, formulas output MPH, not knots, so keep that in mind when looking at the output speeds.
Users tweak stuff in yellow boxes. The blue factors should be left alone. The only things that you may want to tweak and experiment are the "Block Coefficient" (how much of a "block" is the ship hull, in terms of volume) and the "Admirality". The former should be closer to one as you get box hulls (like barges), and perhaps a bit of speed tweaking to go with it. Likewise, if you plug in the numbers for a historical ship and the speeds seem incorrect, the Admirality will need to be adjusted. It's entirely possible that each "class" of ship (Bireme/Trireme, Merchant, Longship, Barge, etc) will need it's own values for these three, which experimentation will give us. Please, if you play with this tool, send me any comments (and any data points you get).
Construction times (for a 10-man crew) is given after price. Obviously, a larger shipyard can devote more crews to large craft.
Structure is ship AHP; Toughness is the armor. Seaworthiness is general ability to stay afloat in bad conditions. In combat terms, only Normal damage is scored if players attack ships. Any damage that exceeds toughness is inflicted on the structure. Once structure is gone the ship begins to founder. Players attacking the hull from the inside (scuttling) used 1/2 toughness.
Some Exaple Ships
| Canoe | (10CC, 1d) |
|---|
| A one-person wooden canoe, capable of holding the user and a tiny amount of cargo. |
| Structure | 4 | Seaworthiness | 6 | Toughness | 3 |
| Crew | 1 paddler | Cargo | 150# |
| Under Oar | MR4 (in 3 phases), flank speed MR8 (in 5 phases). Strategic 5/4 hexes; Tactical 2.2 MPH. |
| 9’ long, 2’ beam, 1’ draft, 1’ freeboard -- 0.3t displacement |
| Rowboat | (20CC, 2d) |
|---|
| A one-person, wide-stern rowboat often used for personal water transport or small-time fishermen. |
| Structure | 7 | Seaworthiness | 11 | Toughness | 3 |
| Crew | 1 rower | Cargo | 0.35 tons |
| Under Oar | MR5 (in 4 phases), flank speed MR6 (in 4 phases). Strategic 1 hex; Tactical 1.6 MPH. |
| 9’ long, 4’ beam, 1’ draft, 1’ freeboard -- 0.75t displacement |
| Jollyboat | (60CC, 5d) |
|---|
| A large boat built to carry multiple passengers from ship to shore, often carried by larger ocean going ships. |
| Structure | 14 | Seaworthiness | 22 | Toughness | 5 |
| Crew | 2 rowers | Cargo | 1.55 tons |
| Under Oar | MR4 (in 6 phases), flank speed MR7 (in 11 phases). Strategic 1 hex; Tactical 2.0 MPH. |
| 14’ long, 6’ beam, 2’ draft, 2’ freeboard -- 3t displacement |
| Large Jollyboat | (145CC, 12d) |
|---|
| As for Jollyboat, but with greater capacity. |
| Structure | 22 | Seaworthiness | 22 | Toughness | 6 |
| Crew | 3 rowers | Cargo | 4.25 tons |
| Under Oar | MR4 (in 10 phases), flank speed MR8 (in 19 phases). Strategic 5/4 hex; Tactical 2.2 MPH. |
| 18’ long, 8’ beam, 3’ draft, 2’ freeboard -- 7.7t displacement |
| Sailing Gig | (55CC, 4d) |
|---|
| A long, narrow boat designed to be sailed, but can be rowed if becalmed. |
| Structure | 13 | Seaworthiness | 17 | Toughness | 5 |
| Crew | 1 sailor | Cargo | 1.45 tons |
| Notes | 20sqf sail (1 mast) |
| Under Oar | MR3 (in 9 phases), flank speed MR7 (in 18 phases). Strategic 1 hex; Tactical 2.0 MPH. |
| Under Sail | MR8 (in 11 phases). Strategic 5/4 hex; Tactical 2.3 MPH. |
| 15’ long, 5’ beam, 2’ draft, 2’ freeboard -- 2.7t displacement |
| River Barge | (150CC, 11d) |
|---|
| A flat-bottomed barge designed to be poled or paddled along a river or lake. |
| Structure | 31 | Seaworthiness | 12 | Toughness | 7 |
| Crew | 8 polemen | Cargo | 8.7 tons |
| Under Pole | MR2 (in 7 phases), flank speed MR4 (in 14 phases). Strategic 1/2 hex; Tactical 1.0 MPH. |
| 20’ long, 10’ beam, 3’ draft, 2’ freeboard -- 15.2t displacement |
| Coastal Trader | (1,410CC, 108d) |
|---|
| These small merchant ships are commonly seen running along the coastal trade routes. They usually beach at night (double crew requirements otherwise). |
| Structure | 40 | Seaworthiness | 38 | Toughness | 6 |
| Crew | 6 sailors | Cargo | 9.6 tons |
| Notes | 180sqf sail (1 mast), Provision Lockers (400 man-days), Repair Stores (3), Anchor (1) |
| Under Oar | MR3 (in 26 phases), flank speed MR6 (in 51 phases). Strategic 1 hex; Tactical 1.7 MPH. |
| Under Sail | MR11 (in 15 phases). Strategic 7/4 hex; Tactical 3.1 MPH. |
| 30’ long, 12’ beam, 4’ draft, 2’ freeboard -- 25.5t displacement |
| Small Knorr | (5,980CC, 445d) |
|---|
| Another version of the common trading ship. Well built enough for open sea sailing. |
| Structure | 82 | Seaworthiness | 77 | Toughness | 12 |
| Crew | 20 sailors | Cargo | 40 tons |
| Notes | 1,000sqf sail (1 mast), 20 crew bunks, 1 cabin, Provision Lockers (450 man-days), Repair Stores (11), Anchor (1) |
| Under Oar | MR3 (in 55 phases), flank speed MR5 (in 111 phases). Strategic 3/4 hex; Tactical 1.5 MPH. |
| Under Sail | MR15 (in 10 phases). Strategic 2+1/4 hex; Tactical 4.1 MPH. |
| 50’ long, 20’ beam, 6’ draft, 4’ freeboard -- 106t displacement |
| Small Karrak | (6,940CC, 517d) |
|---|
| A ship designed along the same lines as the Knorr, but with a narrower beam and lessened draft for greater speed. |
| Structure | 87 | Seaworthiness | 43 | Toughness | 17 |
| Crew | 24 pirates, 1 captain | Cargo | 1.75 tons |
| Notes | 1,500sqf sail (2 masts), 24 crew bunks, 1 cabin, Provision Lockers (400 man-days), Repair Stores (11), Anchor (1) |
| Under Oar | MR4 (in 18 phases), flank speed MR8 (in 36 phases). Strategic 1+1/4 hex; Tactical 2.3 MPH. |
| Under Sail | MR18 (in 6 phases). Strategic 2+3/4 hex; Tactical 5.1 MPH. |
| 50’ long, 15’ beam, 4’ draft, 3’ freeboard -- 54t displacement |
Burton Choinski
