Post by TomTango on Sept 19, 2013 9:50:08 GMT
Historically a sailing vessel is catergoised for its sail arrangement and not by its hull design or purpose, so one "Sloop" may be a steamlined, narrow hulled raider while another may have bluff bows and a wide hull for carrying large cargoes. Both are called Sloops if they have a Sloop sailing rig. To create a realistic variation of vessels in Spirit of Sail a players can cutomise their vessel.
Vessels in Spirit of sail are separated into three broad categories.
For reference purposes all measurements are given in metric units.
A note on Terminology
A Sailing vessels is named after its sail configuration, so not all sailing vessels are "Ships" as ship is a type of sail arrangement. A Ship has three vertical masts, all of them rigged with large square sails. A Boat has one to three masts, but carries at least some tiangular fore and aft sails. Our intepretation for Spiit of Sail is not 100% Historically or nautically accurate, it is designed to give the best representation of the range of sailing vessles in use at the time that we can manage whilst keeping the game fun and manageable. For more information on sails see the encyclopaedia entry for sail plans.
LAUNCHES
Launches are small vessels that can be carried by a lager vessel and all serve similar purposes, to get from ship to shore where no safe harbour is available and get between two ships. Launches are carried either on the deck of a larger vessel, on davits suspended over the side or towed behind and unlike other vessels a player can own as many launches as they can add attachment points to their main vessel. Launches have one temporary mast that can be raised and lowered
Launches of all kinds can often be seen used as small transport and fishing vessels all along the coasts of mainland colonies and inhabited islands and are often the fist clue a player may have that an island has a colony on it.
Dory
A Dory is a small rowing boat that can be comfortably operated by one man and can carry a maximum of six crew, they are 3m long and roughly 1m wide at the widest point, Dory's have a very shallow daught and can be easily hauled onto shore to allow a player to land members of a ships company almost anywhere. They can be armed with a single swivel gun at the bows but they aren't designed for combat of any kind.
Jolly Boat
Slightly longer than a Dory and of vey similar design a jolly boat is 4.5m long and just over 1m wide, it can be crewed by one man but can carry up to ten. Like a Dory it can cary a single swivel gun in the bow for defence, though it is not normally armed.
Long Boat
6m long and 2m wide, a Longboat is used to tansport cargoes and men ashore, it needs four men to crew and can carry up to twelve and can if needed carry a single light cannon in the bows.
BOATS
Boats are the mainstay of sailing vessels in the game, they make up the huge majority of transport, exploration and fighting vessels.
Boats are defined by the number of masts they carry and futher to that are given a hull design to specify the shape of the hull.
Single Masted
Single masted boats are 15m long, 6m wide and carry a mainmast and bowsprit mast. They can carry a maximum of twelve light guns, five to each broadside and two chasers in the bows. Single masted boats require the smallest crews to sail and are often the best choice for independant merchants as they are cheap to operate and can easily get into small harbours and moorings.
Single masted boats are the most manouverable boats in Spirit of Sail but as they have short lengths and can not carry as many sails as larger vessels they also have the lowest maximum speeds.
Twin Masted
Twin masted boats have a Main mast, Fore Mast and a Bowsprit mast, as they have two masts a two masted boat has a broader range of options for sail arangements. They are 22m long and 6m wide, can normally carry up to twenty light and medium guns with eight on each broadside and two chasers at the bow and stern. However the specific deckplan chosen by the player can increase or decrease this number.
Two masted boats are versatile vessles and depending on how they are rigged can be used for a huge variety of roles. They have a good compromise between crew size and cargo capacity, can easily carry several launches and can if needed carry large crews for boading enemy vessels.
Triple Masted
Three masted vessels are the lagest boats in use before a vessel becomes a true ship, they are very similar to ships and from a distance may be hard to tell apart. However unlike true ships, three masted boats carry some fore and aft rigged sails on one or more of their masts, the advantage of this is that they can be sailed with smaller crews than true ships and have better sailing peformance when sailing into the wind. However unlike true ships which tend to be built for long ocean voyages and as warships, three masted boats do not have hulls designed to withstand the impact of enemy broadsides.
A three masted boat is 30m long and 7m wide, they can normally carry up to twenty six light and medium guns with eleven to each broad side and two chasers at bow and stern. However three masted boats can be given an entire extra second deck, increasing the numbers of guns, crew and/or cargo that can be carried. It can also be modified to carry some heavy guns.
SHIPS
Ships all share some thngs in common, they all have three vertical masts and every mast is rigged with large square sails. Ships require the lagest crews to sail and are vey costly for a player to opeate and maintain. They are designed for long ocean voyages and can be easily the fastest vessles in the game with the wind behind them, however they tend not to handle as well as smaller vessels when manouvering or when sailing into the wind.
Unlike Boats, ships can not have their deckplans changed, though they can have a hull design selected.
Frigate
The frigate is the smallest warship rated as such by the navies of the four colonial powers, a frigate is designed for war and is used to chase down enemy vessels, for scouting missions and other light duties. It may be the smallest warship in the game, but it is one of the largest vessels a player can command as it is expensive to run and needs a compartivley lage crew of around 200 men.
A frigate is 35m long and 8m wide at its widest point, it can carry up to thirty light, medium, heavy and emplacement guns with thirteen to each broadside and two chasers at bow and stern.
Lineship
The lineship is a vessel designed solely for enagaging enemy vessels in broadside duels, it has a thick hull and a very large crew. Whilst it is the largest vessel a player can own and operate, doing so without the backing of other players in some way is almost impossible.
A lineship tends to be sluggish to manouver and has poor sailing characteristics when sailing into the wind, it is normally used to defend colonies and to attack enemy colonies as smaller boats have little difficulty in escaping from it.
A lineship is 40m long and has fifty four guns on two decks.
Indiaman
An Indiaman is a large ship design for tansporting cargoes across the ocean, they are normally owned and operated by powerful mecantile companies such as the British East India Company or the Dutch West India Company. The same size as a lineship, an indiaman gives most of its hull space over to cargo, however it can still carry a strong armament of cannon to deter pirates and warships of enemy nations.
An Idiaman can carry up to twenty four light, medium and heavy guns and has a huge cargo capacity, they ae expensive to own and operate but a player with one of these ships will be able to tade profitable cagoes across oceans with a good degree of security from enemy attack.
Vessels in Spirit of sail are separated into three broad categories.
For reference purposes all measurements are given in metric units.
A note on Terminology
A Sailing vessels is named after its sail configuration, so not all sailing vessels are "Ships" as ship is a type of sail arrangement. A Ship has three vertical masts, all of them rigged with large square sails. A Boat has one to three masts, but carries at least some tiangular fore and aft sails. Our intepretation for Spiit of Sail is not 100% Historically or nautically accurate, it is designed to give the best representation of the range of sailing vessles in use at the time that we can manage whilst keeping the game fun and manageable. For more information on sails see the encyclopaedia entry for sail plans.
LAUNCHES
Launches are small vessels that can be carried by a lager vessel and all serve similar purposes, to get from ship to shore where no safe harbour is available and get between two ships. Launches are carried either on the deck of a larger vessel, on davits suspended over the side or towed behind and unlike other vessels a player can own as many launches as they can add attachment points to their main vessel. Launches have one temporary mast that can be raised and lowered
Launches of all kinds can often be seen used as small transport and fishing vessels all along the coasts of mainland colonies and inhabited islands and are often the fist clue a player may have that an island has a colony on it.
Dory
A Dory is a small rowing boat that can be comfortably operated by one man and can carry a maximum of six crew, they are 3m long and roughly 1m wide at the widest point, Dory's have a very shallow daught and can be easily hauled onto shore to allow a player to land members of a ships company almost anywhere. They can be armed with a single swivel gun at the bows but they aren't designed for combat of any kind.
Jolly Boat
Slightly longer than a Dory and of vey similar design a jolly boat is 4.5m long and just over 1m wide, it can be crewed by one man but can carry up to ten. Like a Dory it can cary a single swivel gun in the bow for defence, though it is not normally armed.
Long Boat
6m long and 2m wide, a Longboat is used to tansport cargoes and men ashore, it needs four men to crew and can carry up to twelve and can if needed carry a single light cannon in the bows.
BOATS
Boats are the mainstay of sailing vessels in the game, they make up the huge majority of transport, exploration and fighting vessels.
Boats are defined by the number of masts they carry and futher to that are given a hull design to specify the shape of the hull.
Single Masted
Single masted boats are 15m long, 6m wide and carry a mainmast and bowsprit mast. They can carry a maximum of twelve light guns, five to each broadside and two chasers in the bows. Single masted boats require the smallest crews to sail and are often the best choice for independant merchants as they are cheap to operate and can easily get into small harbours and moorings.
Single masted boats are the most manouverable boats in Spirit of Sail but as they have short lengths and can not carry as many sails as larger vessels they also have the lowest maximum speeds.
Twin Masted
Twin masted boats have a Main mast, Fore Mast and a Bowsprit mast, as they have two masts a two masted boat has a broader range of options for sail arangements. They are 22m long and 6m wide, can normally carry up to twenty light and medium guns with eight on each broadside and two chasers at the bow and stern. However the specific deckplan chosen by the player can increase or decrease this number.
Two masted boats are versatile vessles and depending on how they are rigged can be used for a huge variety of roles. They have a good compromise between crew size and cargo capacity, can easily carry several launches and can if needed carry large crews for boading enemy vessels.
Triple Masted
Three masted vessels are the lagest boats in use before a vessel becomes a true ship, they are very similar to ships and from a distance may be hard to tell apart. However unlike true ships, three masted boats carry some fore and aft rigged sails on one or more of their masts, the advantage of this is that they can be sailed with smaller crews than true ships and have better sailing peformance when sailing into the wind. However unlike true ships which tend to be built for long ocean voyages and as warships, three masted boats do not have hulls designed to withstand the impact of enemy broadsides.
A three masted boat is 30m long and 7m wide, they can normally carry up to twenty six light and medium guns with eleven to each broad side and two chasers at bow and stern. However three masted boats can be given an entire extra second deck, increasing the numbers of guns, crew and/or cargo that can be carried. It can also be modified to carry some heavy guns.
SHIPS
Ships all share some thngs in common, they all have three vertical masts and every mast is rigged with large square sails. Ships require the lagest crews to sail and are vey costly for a player to opeate and maintain. They are designed for long ocean voyages and can be easily the fastest vessles in the game with the wind behind them, however they tend not to handle as well as smaller vessels when manouvering or when sailing into the wind.
Unlike Boats, ships can not have their deckplans changed, though they can have a hull design selected.
Frigate
The frigate is the smallest warship rated as such by the navies of the four colonial powers, a frigate is designed for war and is used to chase down enemy vessels, for scouting missions and other light duties. It may be the smallest warship in the game, but it is one of the largest vessels a player can command as it is expensive to run and needs a compartivley lage crew of around 200 men.
A frigate is 35m long and 8m wide at its widest point, it can carry up to thirty light, medium, heavy and emplacement guns with thirteen to each broadside and two chasers at bow and stern.
Lineship
The lineship is a vessel designed solely for enagaging enemy vessels in broadside duels, it has a thick hull and a very large crew. Whilst it is the largest vessel a player can own and operate, doing so without the backing of other players in some way is almost impossible.
A lineship tends to be sluggish to manouver and has poor sailing characteristics when sailing into the wind, it is normally used to defend colonies and to attack enemy colonies as smaller boats have little difficulty in escaping from it.
A lineship is 40m long and has fifty four guns on two decks.
Indiaman
An Indiaman is a large ship design for tansporting cargoes across the ocean, they are normally owned and operated by powerful mecantile companies such as the British East India Company or the Dutch West India Company. The same size as a lineship, an indiaman gives most of its hull space over to cargo, however it can still carry a strong armament of cannon to deter pirates and warships of enemy nations.
An Idiaman can carry up to twenty four light, medium and heavy guns and has a huge cargo capacity, they ae expensive to own and operate but a player with one of these ships will be able to tade profitable cagoes across oceans with a good degree of security from enemy attack.