TECHNICAL DRAFTING OF GOREAN SHIPS:

A good Shipwright knows how to draft out the mathematical measurements and dimensions of a Ship that is commissioned by a client, whether it be a roundship or a Galley. This is all done by basic, simple math that Norman provided us with in his novels Raiders and Marauders of Gor. In this mod you will learn what this mathematical equation is and how it works, so that you can draft the exact technical dimensions of any class of Gorean Ship.

There are 4 types of ships that can sail upon the Thassa:

1. Serpents
2. Rounds
3. Rams
4. Galleys

The different ships of Gor are MADE different by 3 key things:

1. Purpose of the Ship,
2. Deck width in relation to the ship's overall length,
3. Type of hull construction, mast, and sails.

Let's examine these differences one at a time, they are each very important.

I. UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF GOREAN SHIPS.

Understanding how these ships are used will aid you in envisioning the ship itself and why it is constructed the way it is. Serpents, Rounds, Rams, and Galleys each are used in different ways; each used for a specific purpose.

*Serpents -
These ships are the fastest of all ships in Gor, capable of moving 250 pasangs a day. They are considered the most sea-worthy of all the Thassan ships, but require frequent bailing at sea. They carry no heavy weapons aboard. Their weapons are the large fighting force of men that are on board. The purpose of a Serpent is to transport a fighting force, very swiftly, to a ship or to a shoreline, for ship to ship raiding, or ship to shore raiding. Serpents are the native Ship of Torvaldsland.

*Rounds - Also known as the "Round ship or Roundship" -
These are huge cargo vessels. They are wide, heavy, and very slow compared to the other types of ships (the rams, serpents and galleys). Slavers use rounds a lot for the transport of slaves; Merchants use them to transport goods; and most Fleets will always use a few roundships to carry fleet supplies and food stores during long journeys at sea. Round ships can carry heavy weapons aboard. But, they carry fewer heavy weapons than the Rams and Galleys.

*Rams - also known as a "Ramships" -
These are the killing machines of Gor. They are built very sleek and narrow, for whip-like turns, speed, and maneuverability. All Rams, even the light class Rams, carry a dangerous array of heavy weapons. What distinguishes the Ramship from any other is the iron-shod Ram at the front (called the Bow) of the ship. It is shod in iron and usually in the shape of a tarn's head and beak. In addition to the ram in the front, there are 2 Shearing Blades, flanked on either side of the ram to shred the enemy ship's hull; and then, in addition to all that, there are 2 Battering Rams (also called Ramming Weapons) on the right and left (starboard and port) sides of the bow, that swing forward with great force, smashing the enemy vessel as the Ram and Shearing Blades pierce the hull. The combined damage of the Ram, Shearing Blades and Battering Rams is usually, inevitably fatal to the enemy ship. Besides the damage to the hull, the blow normally will take out many of the enemy ship's oars and oarsmen on the damaged side. (SRoG Combat is covered in the Mod for Naval Combat.)

*Galleys - aka "River Galleys" or "Galleons":
This is a tarn ship (ramship) of very specialized design. A Galley can be used in the Vosk River, or on the Thassa. (However, BE AWARE: No ship of ANY size, except a small rence skiff, can fit through the Vosk Delta. So Galleys on the Vosk, will never see the Thassa. We will go over this later.) Galleys are built almost exactly like a Ram except it is even more shallow in the depth of hold, to accommodate shallow River depths. It is a bit lighter and smaller, but still sleek and very fast, with a Ram and Shearing blades and heavy weapons. The other difference in Galleys is that they have more cargo space than Rams do, to accommodate a larger fighting force on board the ship. This ship is useful along the Vosk, for raiding Vosk settlements or defending shore settlements.

II. THE KEEL LENGTH AND DECK WIDTH OF GOREAN SHIPS

The Keel length and deck width determines the entire dimensions of a Gorean Ship. In Raiders of Gor, it explains how Ramships are sleeker and narrower, than round ships. This is because Rams are built for speed, while rounds, are built for cargo, as explained above. Raiders of Gor also describes the Ramship as having an "8:1 keel to beam ratio" and the Roundship as having a "6:1 keel to beam ratio". The technical significance of this is explained below.

*THE LENGTH OF THE KEEL DETERMINES THE PRECISE DIMENSIONS OF THE ENTIRE VESSEL.
It is a Ratio, a simple mathematical equation, that determines all dimensions of a Ship. That ratio, or equation, is THIS, and will be explained:
*Keel to Beam Ratio = Length of the Keel, divided by length of the Beam.

*Ramships: 8:1 Keel to Beam ratio.
*Serpents: 8:1 Keel to Beam ratio.
*Rounds: 6:1 Keel to Beam ratio.
*Galleys: 8:1 Keel to Beam ratio.

As you can see above, all the attack ships have an 8:1 ratio, while the Rounds have a 6:1 ratio. Why do the Rounds have a 6:1 ratio? Because they have a WIDER deck width than the attack ships. Now you will see this ratio put into practice now, with a few examples:

The KEEL, is the backbone of the ship. During shipbuilding, the Keel is always the first piece laid down. It is the bottommost beam, longitudinal, beneath the ship. It is extremely heavy. It takes two crews of 40 men each, to lower a Keel into a drydock.

So let's use the Keel length of a Heavy Ramship for an example of how the 8:1 Ratio works:

Length of the Keel of a Heavy Ramship = 128 gorean feet

Divide the Keel Length (128) by 8 in the 8:1 Keel to Beam Ratio:
128 divided by 8 = 16
This mean that the Ship's BEAM (the horizontal beam that determines deck width) is:
16 gorean feet in length.

**THEN LASTLY, WE DETERMINE ACTUAL DECK WIDTH for the Heavy Ram.

Because of the bulwarks and their platforms that surround the uppermost hull of a ship, a Shipwright must accomodate actual deck width for this. It is a standard 5 gorean feet for all ships except Serpents. With this in mind,
* Simply add 5 to the length of the BEAM above. 16 + 5 = 21 gorean feet. Deck Width of the Heavy Ram is 21 gorean feet.
This formula works exactly the same way for all RAMS AND GALLEYS.

*Now, Let's take a look at Roundships.

Roundships have a 6:1 Keel to Beam Ratio.
So, suppose that the Keel of a Heavy Roundship, is 128 Gorean feet in length (the maximum size for a Heavy Round.) You would then divide the length of the Keel (128) by the 6 in the 6:1 Keel to Beam Ratio:
120 divided by 6 = 21.3 gorean feet.
Therefore, this Roundship has a BEAM that is 21.3 gorean feet long. This is usually rounded off in the drafting to an even 21 feet.

*Now determine ACTUAL DECK WIDTH:

Add 5 to the length of the BEAM above.
21 + 5 = 26
The Actual Deck Width of the Roundship, is 26 gorean feet wide.

Listed Below are the accepted Master Builder measurements for the Keel Length of all Gorean vessels, so that you may determine the ratio for any class and size of vessel needed:

*Heavy Class Ram/Tarnship:
128 - 130 feet in length

*Medium Class Ram/Tarnship:
80 - 120 feet in length

*Light Class Ram/Tarnship:
50 - 70 feet in length

*Serpents:
80 - 85 feet in length

*Heavy Roundship:
128 feet in length

*Medium Roundship:
80 - 120 feet in length

*Light Roundship:
50 - 70 feet in length

*Galleys:
70 feet in length

III. DEPTH OF HOLD OF GOREAN VESSELS

You can see how in the examples provided above, Roundships are wider than Ramships. They are not only wider, but DEEPER in the hull (Hull Depth is called DEPTH OF HOLD).
* Roundships have a larger number of lower decks than a ramship, to accomodate more cargo. Ramships have two (2) lower decks. *ROUNDSHIPS may have up to three (3) lower decks. Serpents and Galleys have only 1 (one) lower deck.

HOW TO DETERMINE DEPTH OF HOLD

Knowing what the Depth of Hold of a ship is going to be, is of great importance in the hull construction and the building of the decks. A shipwright must know first, how many decks they need to build in the ship. THAT determines the depth of hold:

There are 8 gorean feet between Decks.

Therefore:

If a ship has 1 lower deck, Depth of Hold = 14 gorean feet ( 8 x 1 lower deck, + 6 (combined height of bilge/ballast and thickness of upper deck) = 14 (SERPENTS, GALLEYS)

If a ship has 2 lower decks, Depth of Hold = 22 gorean feet.
(8 x 2 lower decks, + 6 (combined height of bilge and thickness of upper deck) = 22. (RAMS)

If a ship has 3 lower decks, Depth of Hold = 30 gorean feet
( 8 x 3 lower decks, + 6 (combined height of bilge and thickness of upper deck) = 30 (ROUNDSHIPS)

***IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT DEPTH OF HOLD FOR VOSK SHIPS:
FOR LIGHT ROUNDS AND RAMS ON THE VOSK RIVER, NUMBER OF DECKS IS REDUCED, THEREFORE THE DEPTH OF HOLD WILL BE MORE SHALLOW.

*HEAVY RAMS, HEAVY ROUNDS, CANNOT NAVIGATE THE VOSK due to the ships' depth of hold.

IV. TYPE OF HULL CONSTRUCTION, MAST, AND SAILS.

A. HULL CONSTRUCTION.
There are two different types of hull construction techniques used in Gor:

1. Clinker Build. -
This type of hull build is unique to Serpents only, and the Torvs developed it. Clinker build means that the planks are fastened to the hull like overlapping-scales. They are bolted in place with iron bolts and treenails, and between each of the planks, the shipbuilders press thick binding fiber soaked in hot tar, between the planks to make the hull water-tight. The binding fiber used is about as thick as a man's forefinger.

2. Carvel Build -
ALL OTHER SHIPS (Rounds, Rams and Galleys) are built in carvel fashion. Carvel construction means that the hull planks are fastened and laid smooth, edge to edge, so that the hull is smooth in texture, not overlapped like the Serpents are. Iron spikes are used to separate each of the planks, and lather in the tar and watertight sealant, then the planks are bolted into place with a combination of copper bolts, iron bolts, and treenails.

B. MASTS:

Each of the different types of Ships, have a different number of masts. Some Masts are removable, while others are permanent and cannot be removed:

*ROUNDSHIPS:
Have 2 Permanent Masts.
(Raiders of Gor)

*SERPENTS:
Have 1 Permanent Mast.
(Maruaders of Gor, Raiders of Gor)

*RAMSHIPS AND GALLEYS:
Have 1 Removable Mast
(Raiders of Gor)

Q: WHY IS THE MAST OF A RAMSHIP AND GALLEY REMOVABLE?

A removable mast is needed, to take down during times when great speed is needed. They take the Mast down and then, burst out at great speed, with the oars; the faster the approach, the better they can ram the enemy ship. They also take the Mast down, to ESCAPE an enemy ship.

C. SAILS:

Again, the Sails differ in number, and shape, on the different types of ships:

*SERPENTS:

ALL SERPENTS HAVE A SINGLE SQUARE SAIL. IT IS CONSTRUCTED OF STRONG, LIGHTWEIGHT REP CANVAS AND USUALLY QUITE ORNATELY DECORATED. THE SAIL OF A SERPENT SHIP IS A PRECISE 523 SQUARE FEET IN SIZE.

*RAMS AND GALLEYS:

THEIR SAILS ARE LATEEN. 'LATEEN' REFERS TO THE ROUNDISH/OVALISH SHAPE OF THE SAILS.

*ROUNDSHIPS:
Due to the Roundship's immense weight, and two Masts, Roundships have an array of 27 SAILS.
(Raiders of Gor).