The Rosyqueen is a type of ship called a caravel, which means it has three masts,
a square-rigged mainmast and a jib and also a smaller
lateen-rigged mast in the rear, above the poop (raised deck at the stern).
One of the common characteristics of a caravel is to have a narrow poop and a high forecastle (raised deck at the bow of a ship), which is where the crew's 'ave their bunks.
She is made out of the finest cherry wood
brushed with pine resin and therefore has a beautiful rose-colored hue, thus its name.
The Rosyqueen is smaller than my favorite ship, Lone Seabird, but it's equally fast and maneuverable.
The figurehead is of an tawny owl, wings outstretched over the water and its beak open in a hunting cry. The bowsprit extends some 7 feet over the owl figurehead.
Engraved in bronze on the side near the bow is the word Rosyqueen, with an intricate
carving of a rose entwined around it.
Unlike the Lone Seabird, the Rosyqueen has a deep keel and therefore provides
excellent balance in deep waters. This also means that she cannot dock
in extremely shallow waters.
The view from the crow's nest is simply superb, especially at dawn or dusk. The
cabins are comfortable but rather small, and a full-grown male badger might have a little trouble moving easily about in his bunk.
The S.S. Swashbuckler is a relatively small ship, about twelve feet in
length. It has a tiny cabin that barely fits below decks. Two pontoons,
twice the size of the main ship, are attached on either side. There are
seats in these pontoons to hold rowers or passengers. A two sailed mast
stands in the center of the S.S Swashbuckler, sporting two large, square,
blue sails. The ship is mainly made of oak, but has a nice layer of polished
cedar on the outside for good looks and general handsomeness. The captain
can get a good view of the sea around him while standing atop a three foot
platform at the helm of his ship. The S.S. Swashbuckler has no paint except
where it's name is written to give it that "Came Directly From Nature" feel.
It's superb handling allows you to dock anywhere with ease. The S.S.
Swashbuckler also comes with a dingy for those times when there just isn't
any parking available.
My boat, the Rover, is about 50 feet long and is made from good, strong ash wood. Her keel is painted dark black, and the rest of the ship is painted a lighter brown color. She has only one square mast and it's about 25 feet long. The Rover has about 10 ta 15 cabins and they all 'ave at least one bunk in 'em, but some have two or three, depending on the size. That's pretty much wat my beloved Rover looks like!
Me ole Lone Seabird is a ship they calls the barque, the hull (main body of a ship) being made from strong mahogany and
brushed over with a layer of
pine resin to keep 'er watertight an' shiny.
Now, this barque 'as three masts with the aftmost mast
fore-and-aft rigged and all the others wif' square an' lateen sails.
The mainmast is made of a tall supple willow that 'twill bend with the wind where other trees would snap.
The flying jib, the foremost sail o' a ship that makes the ship fairly skim over the water, looks like an eagle's wing stretched out o'er the waves..
The crew's quarters 'ar in the forecastle, the raised deck in the front o' a ship. The cabins are cozy but not too big. The inside wall is painted with various designs. A window in each cabin provides a cozy view of the sea 'as the boat rocks up an' down on the waves.The bowsprit is about 10 or so feet long, and darin' beasts can climb atop of it to get a good look of the sea during calm weather, at the risk of being
thrown into the sea because there, in front as well as atop the masts, the ship's momentum is greatest.
If you climb all the way up the mainmast riggin,' you'll end up in a
small viewing platform called the crow's nest, which is usually the highest part of a ship. Sailors on watch duty
climb up there to watch for other ships, land and such. You must be careful up there in a storm because the pitching waves could throw you off into the water, or onto the deck of the ship (ouch!) She 'as a narrow poop (raised platform at the back of a ship) as do all barques.
The figurehead is an eagle with wings spread o'er the water and mouth open as if crying out. Painted in gold on the side is an engraving of the words Lone Seabird in the archaic script and a tiny intricate picture of an eagle.
The ole Seabird also 'as a flat bottom, which allows it to cruise along the coasts and dock just about anywhere. It comes with a small boat called a yawl, which is perfect if you want to go somewhere where the barque itself is too big to fit through or if you're escapin' from a storm.
For protection against overly high waves, the Seabird 'as bulwarks that extend over the whole length of the upper decks.
Because of her sleek streamlined shape (helped in part by the pine resin), the Lone Seabird 'as no trouble outrunnin' other ships when at full sail and with flying jib extended.
All in all, the Lone Seabird is a quick and easily maneuverable prize ship which many beasts would highly value.
Easily the smallest and the best maneuverable of my ships, this little craft was built for speed rather than comfort. Indeed there isn't a craft in all the seas that has raced with my Kestrel and won.
She is a ketch and therefore is a fore-and-aft
rigged vessel but with a larger mizzen than a yawl and with the mizzenmast farther forward on the bow.
Her hull is purest black, made with the timber from a fir tree. This improves the streamline and sleekness of the ketch, allowing it to practically skim over the water. To top it all off, the hull has been brushed over with many layers of pine resin making it superbly watertight and shiny.
The Kestrel is far too small to have cabins, and instead a crewbeast
must sleep on a hammock below deck (or on deck in good weather). The ship does not have much cargo space and so is inconvenient for long journeys. She can be used for pleasure, but more often she is attached to one of my larger ships should we need to make a quick getaway.
Unusually, the Kestrel has two wooden rudders instead of one. The tiller controls both rudders, allowing the ship to turn with just a small movement and making the ship extremely easy to handle and steer.
She has a built-in compass in the stem as extra measure, as any good seafarer should be able to tell where they are and what direction they are facing by simply looking at the position of the stars. Therefore this compass is perfect for bad weather and if you have to tell where you are in a tight spot.
There is only one cabin on board, which is below deck, and it is never used as living quarters. It's home to many maps and charts of all the coasts, but it is hardly used
anymore because once you have been a seafaring beast for a long time
you learn to sail by instinct.
The only place the mizzenmast rigging leads to is the crow's nest, which can be quite a sensation when you're practically flying at a terrific speed over the waters. Because being up there feels so much like flying like a bird, crewbeasts that have been aboard the Kestrel nickname the crow's nest the Eagle's Roost.
Because the ketch is flat-bottomed, this allows the sleek Kestrel to go just about anywhere with ease.