Inormation on ships and sailing:

Post Reply
Message
Author
Spearmint
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 12357
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 5:42 pm

Inormation on ships and sailing:

#1 Post by Spearmint »

I have tried to simply the glossary of ship descriptions and sailing vocabulary so we can picture the game easier.

As future Captains' of vessels you will be expected to know and understand basic terms. Pinpointing accurately on a bare ocean map where exactly a ship is, what direction is it going and how fast it travels can be complicate so I hope the following helps.:

Points of Sailing:

There 9 possible Points of Sailing - a specific heading relative to the current direction of the Wind.
Each PoS has a given name, for example.

Broad Reach is defined as a heading of about 45° either to the left or to the right of the direction in which the wind is blowing.
Broad Reach can be used to describe the heading of a ship - I.E. the ship is heading ~45° off to either side of the wind's direction.
It can also be used to describe the position of an object relative to the ship. For example, if an enemy ship is at Broad Reach, we must turn ~45° off the wind's direction in order to head directly towards it.

If the wind is blowing from east to west, as occurs often in the Carib, Broad Reach would be both North-West (NW) and South-West (SW). Of course, since wind direction tends to change, the direction of Broad Reach changes with it. It will always be 45° off the wind's current direction, wherever the wind is heading at the time. here is a visual to help us understand.


[img]
Wind_BroadReach.png
Wind_BroadReach.png (100.16 KiB) Viewed 1454 times
[/img]



I will just picture the three main positions and you can work out the others. Different classes of ships will operate best sailing in a certain wind direction. Small fore-and-aft rigged pinnaces actually have 'Beam Reach' as their best sailing point. This is due to their masts being able to swivel with the wind instead of the fixed mast square rigged vessels like Brigs.

[img]
Beam Reach.png
Beam Reach.png (101.12 KiB) Viewed 1452 times
[/img]


You will need to also sail into the wind direction as you come back and forth between islands. Close Hauled is the most effective.

The names of the positions are:

Running ...going exactly in the wind direction, also known as Before the wind.
Running Broad Reach...going 22.5° off the winds direction, either left or right.
Broad Reach...sailing at 45°
Broad Beam Reach...67.5°
Beam Reach ... exactly perpendicular to the wind, sailing at 90°
Beam Close Hauled...sailing into the wind, the angle is 112.5°
Close Hauled....135°
Wind Hauled....157.5° into the wind. Very few ships manage this course of direction for long,
Against the Wind...sailing directly into the wind.

[img]
Close hauled.png
Close hauled.png (101.83 KiB) Viewed 1452 times
[/img]

Spearmint
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 12357
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 5:42 pm

Re: Inormation on ships and sailing:

#2 Post by Spearmint »

All about Ships:

Pinnace Class: War Canoe, Mail and Envoy Runners
The smallest class of ships. They are poor in cannons, crew and cargo capacity, but all are exceptionally maneuverable and can sail at high speed in extremely odd angles to the wind. Experienced captains can learn to take advantage of this by bypassing combat and going straight for a boarding, making them extremely favorable vessels. Widely used by native contingents to board and harass straggling merchant vessels.

Sloop Class: Sloop of War, Royal Sloop
A selection of small combat vessels with great maneuverability and a small but useful array of cannons. Most Sloops are extremely common, and are used by every faction in the Carib. They are capable of outmaneuvering and boarding larger vessels, and are fast enough to catch small vessels as well.

Coastal Barque, and Ocean Barque
The smallest effective trading vessels though essentially mid-sized ship. Used primarily by the Iberian and Gauloise these vessels display interesting sailing characteristics for their size, and can manage to escape combat with most larger ships. They often serve as auxiliary craft for their cargo capacity and speed.


Merchant class: Fluyt, Merchantman, East and West Indiaman
A set of slow mid-sized trading vessels, Fluyts are used exclusively by the Haldanes. Ungainly and relatively weak in firepower, these ships are often seen as easy prey because of their very significant cargo capacity. Larger merchant trading vessels balance cargo with a good defensive array of cannons. Though they are unlikely to actually outmaneuver or escape any but the slowest opponents. They are used by the Bretons and Gauloise for running various peaceful deliveries and contain large amounts of cargo.

Trade Galleons,
These are the largest ships easily dwarfing the tiny Pinnaces and Sloops. Used as general-purpose trade ships by the Iberians, their gigantic cargo holds often contain great riches. While their broadsides can sometimes be threatening, they are too slow to put these to good use in most situations due to extremely poor sailing properties.

War Galleons, Flag Galleon
This is a set of heavy combat vessels used by the Spanish to protect their trade routes and assault the other factions. Combat Galleons pack a lot of firepower, though their slow turning rate can make those cannons difficult to use properly. Easily out-maneuvered by smaller ships, these hulking beasts rely on their ability to hit the enemy at least once before being boarded. Combat Galleons are also the fastest ships but only heading towards their best sailing point, Running Broad Reach.

Brigantine, Brig
A family of mid-sized combat vessels, whose forte is their ability to take on any other ship, using either their good maneuverability or formidable firepower as required by circumstances. With ample cargo space and reasonable speed, they are favored by pirates who like the mix between strength and speed these ships offer. Brig Class ships are used for many warlike tasks by all factions. Amongst all Ship Classes, the difference between Brig types is easily the most noticeable, with the smallest ship being significantly more maneuverable than the largest, but the largest being significantly better armed.

Frigates
These vessels are classic warships, through and through. The most heavily armed ships. Frigates are often used by non-Iberian nations to perform their most vital wartime operations, invasions, besieging ports. Frigates have less-than-favorable sailing properties, but in the right hands they are practically invincible. The Ship Of The Line is both the rarest and most powerful ship. If you see this, you are already sunk.

Spearmint
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 12357
Joined: Sat May 14, 2016 5:42 pm

Re: Inormation on ships and sailing:

#3 Post by Spearmint »

This is a picture of the type of ship that you will sail on. The McGregors' Revenge is a small sloop, primarily built for speed and maneuverability. The cannons are placed on the top deck to keep the cargo hold in the hull free of space for anything plundered or being carried for trade.

McGregors Revenge has eight 6-pounder cannon, for on each side and a 'long nine' cannon in the prow. She is crewed by around 40+ men.




[img]
McGregors revenge Sloop Class.jpg
McGregors revenge Sloop Class.jpg (58.41 KiB) Viewed 1431 times
[/img]

Post Reply

Return to “Pirates: Cannons and Dragons (1ed homebrew)”