SkaForHire Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 The Dancing Dogfish With the new normal being villains of all nations in the Terraversa Sea and beyond, a merchant needs to have a little protection. Larger vessels are taking to the water, armed with enough guns to scare away the smaller riffraff. But cannon take space, and on a smaller ship, that cannon space means less room for cargo and less money on a voyage. But a new class of ships are quickly becoming a normal sight in the far waters – the Terraman, a large trader with room for a few large guns to chase away even the most devious of pirate. The Dancing Dogfish is a converted warship from Corrington’s Southern fleet. Bought by Admiral Woodbrose, and with money put up by the Bank of Arlinsport and the Coyle family, she will be setting sail in February, and hopes to turn a quick profit. dogfish by skaforhire, on Flickr Her captain, Lord Hal Sellers, has a great deal of experience at sea, once a victorious captain in the Juniper War, he has now turned to merchant life. Buying a small stake in the ship, he hopes to teach his boy a thing or two about life at sea. DSC_2809 by skaforhire, on Flickr But the boy has grown up too close to court, and now makes friends with the drunkards and gamblers that run the ship everyday. DSC_2818 by skaforhire, on Flickr Still, it seems that there are secrets aboard this vessel… as it is rare that members of the Queens Guard would be on a merchant vessel. In time… rumors will spread, but for now, we must only wonder. DSC_2824 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_2825 by skaforhire, on Flickr I just did not have another square sail available, so she is a little naked. Her hodgepodge of sails are due to an issue with getting new sails when she stopped in Eslandola. Her stores had been eaten by rootworm, and there wasn’t a good cloth maker in all of Terrelli. So she had to make do with old sails she bought from a few passing Corlanders. DSC_2841 by skaforhire, on Flickr She has a large cabin, and three decks, although the gun deck, now toned down to just four a side, is a bit of a squeeze. Too much of a squeeze to make it look good enough to show! Coming soon: The Vessel’s charter. Quote
Vedauwoo Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 Very nice little boat! I didn't know several of those parts came in red..... Quote
KlodsBrik Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 I like this ship. The use of bricks and colors you´ve used to elevate it, works very well. It sort of looks massive without being it. Great work ! Quote
Ayrlego Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 That is one solid looking ship... and so red! I didn't even know they did pre-fab hulls in red! Hopefully she has a very profitable run this month - it would be really cool to see the whole convoy together.... that would make for one very impressive fleet! Pity we are from all over the world! Quote
Bregir Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 Another impressive vessel from the Ska-shipyards! I really wasn't expecting to see all these large ships so soon, and my class 4 will be dwarfed by many of the ships already licensed now! (In fact, I have felt inclined to already now start drafting up a 28 gun frigate...) It may soon be necessary to expand the vessel-classes available! (Let me know if this is a task you should like some assistance with. I think I can contribute to that, if needed ) And now to the vessel itself: I quite like the red hull, with the dark grey sides - it goes well together. And while the log bricks somewhat suggests vertical planking, I think they give the hull some nice texture. I like the sterncastle, with its two tiers of windows, and the arches, slopes, and general shape of the cabin is really nice. It looks very stately, and I am sure it offers a lot of comfort for the captain! I do think it is on the high side, but it doesn't strike out near as much here, as it did on the Bull Shark. As to rigging, I like your explanation of buying spares from other ships, and I won't comment much on this. The spanker sail is carried very high though, and I would definitely bring it down far enough only just to leave headroom for the helmsman. There are few issues with the proportion of the squaresails, but I put that down to the issue of finding fitting sails - typically for an Eslandolian settlement not to have a proper sailmaker! Great ship anyhow! A shame I wasn't fast enough to by a share! Quote
Mike S Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 The ship is nice but I really like your descriptions of the crew and why the ship looks the way it does! Quote
Puvel Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 Great colour scheme! Nice work with the minifigs as well Quote
SkaForHire Posted March 1, 2016 Author Posted March 1, 2016 Thank you everyone for the comments! The Red Beard Runner hull is hard to work on, but I have so many of them! Another impressive vessel from the Ska-shipyards! I really wasn't expecting to see all these large ships so soon, and my class 4 will be dwarfed by many of the ships already licensed now! (In fact, I have felt inclined to already now start drafting up a 28 gun frigate...) It may soon be necessary to expand the vessel-classes available! (Let me know if this is a task you should like some assistance with. I think I can contribute to that, if needed ) And now to the vessel itself: I quite like the red hull, with the dark grey sides - it goes well together. And while the log bricks somewhat suggests vertical planking, I think they give the hull some nice texture. I like the sterncastle, with its two tiers of windows, and the arches, slopes, and general shape of the cabin is really nice. It looks very stately, and I am sure it offers a lot of comfort for the captain! I do think it is on the high side, but it doesn't strike out near as much here, as it did on the Bull Shark. As to rigging, I like your explanation of buying spares from other ships, and I won't comment much on this. The spanker sail is carried very high though, and I would definitely bring it down far enough only just to leave headroom for the helmsman. There are few issues with the proportion of the squaresails, but I put that down to the issue of finding fitting sails - typically for an Eslandolian settlement not to have a proper sailmaker! Great ship anyhow! A shame I wasn't fast enough to by a share! I have the list made, but I will send it to you and get your opinion, there are a few others I plan on getting it to before we go public with it. There are some changes to trade ships in the current list as well. I didn't think about how the spanker would need to be lower, that is because it is usually controlled on the quarterdeck, is it not? Assuming she does not sink, for the MRCA build this time around I may re-rig her more properly. Next time I promise that I will put a trade ship on the market with more time for everyone to react. I was very happy to work with Mike S. again though, as it is kind of in character for the Coyles and Woodbrose to work together, however, I would have been more than thrilled to have you in on this ship as well! (and pretty much anyone in Corrington!) I crossed my fingers that one of you would buy in before a foreigner! Now I have to find time to write the charter. Quote
Bregir Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) Sounds good, Ska. I would like to give some inputs on the ship-list - thanks! And you are most welcome to copy my charter write-up, which was used on the Sulky Harlequin and the Purple Rain. (Maybe I should start charging people for my services... ) About the spanker: Yes, it is controlled from the Quarterdeck. And as it swings out (and has a large area), carrying it too high has some unhealthy consequences for stability and stiffness! It would be fun to see her re-rigged, but don't feel obliged. I would suggest custom sails though. Simple paper answers fine, I find. And I do have plans for how to spend the excess money I have in the bank, so no worries - They do depend on the outcome of the MRCA, though! Edited March 1, 2016 by Bregir Quote
Elostirion Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 Really nice ship! The combination of the different sails turns out really, really nicely. Quote
blackdeathgr Posted March 1, 2016 Posted March 1, 2016 Ah, all those windows... sigh! Love them and the ship! Although apparently red isn't to my liking Quote
Captain Dee Posted March 3, 2016 Posted March 3, 2016 RED!! Wow, that is one eye-popping color scheme. But not only that, the hull looks great overall despite the lack of tumblehome and that towering stern. The windows are lovely and I like the sail plan; too bad it's incomplete and not matching. Fix that up and she'll be a real beauty. For a basic design this turned out wonderfully well, and I wouldn't hesitate to put it on display (with matching sails of course). Good work. P.S. I'd love to relieve you of one of the complete RBR hulls... they can be beautiful as you've shown... Quote
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