02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

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Because of the threat of piracy, schooners typically
sail together in groups for strength in numbers. When
armed, a schooner possesses on the average eight to
ten cannons or falconets (small cannons), and some
ships have recently taken to using alchemical shot.
Sloop
Typically the smallest of the sailing vessels around
40 to 80 feet in length, the sloop is also known as a
cutter. It is generally a single-masted vessel, with the
top half rigged square and the bottom rigged fore-andaft.
Combined with a modest silhouette, this places it
among the fastest of all the ships on the seas. They
are used mainly for patrolling and as messenger ships
since they possess such good speed and have both river
and seafaring capabilities.
Most merchantman sloops are also rather
vulnerable, for they carry fewer, if any, guns and
armaments on board. Some of them have been
known to maximize their effectiveness with expensive
alchemical shot, and a number of larger sloops—
typically employed by privateers—have been fitted with
as many as 20 falconets and four to eight swivel guns.
Like the schooner, they are a favorite of pirates and
privateers for their swift and vigorous maneuverability
and efficacy.
The sloop, along with smaller schooners, typically
performs double duty as a riverboat and a deepwater
vessel. In truth, due to their reliability and
performance, steam powered riverboats are beginning
to put many of the small sailing vessels out of work.
Galley
It is a matter of conjecture who first made use
of the galley. Both the Tordorans and Khards have
been using the ship for hundreds if not thousands of
years. In the far north where the notion of using sails
to navigate treacherous waters filled with ice floes,
icebergs, or think fog is highly unlikely, the Khardic
long ship with its banks of oars emerged as a progenitor
of the modern galley. As a matter of record, however,
the renowned Tordoran Armada was rumored at one
time to be ten thousand galleys strong. This legend
alone is enough to credit the design of the galley to
the Tordorans in the minds of most people. It is true
that today many sailing men from Ord sail the clipper
World Guide 105