Threadproofing Ships

The art of making a ship ready to make the longer voyages away from safe harbours from thread is both easy, and difficult. The problems are simple: Metal Boats do not Float. Thread Eats Wood. And Stone, well, that's right out. So, how does one go about it? The answer is as simple.

Take your normal seagoing vessel. On the outer hull, the copper bottoms used to prevent fouling are carried up to the gunwales. The gunwales themselves, unlike the coastal skiffs, have to be built up much higher, perhaps 4 feet if not more. And, like the rest of the hull, metal cladding is a must. The Masts as well have to clad in metal, the yards made of. Rope can not be used, one has to arrange for the smiths to produce wire ropes of the appropriate thickness. The surfaces have to be clad in ceramics. Metals are too slick in wet weather. The deck itself needs to be able to be flooded: Hence the provision of Ceramic Pumps used to flood them. Those surfaces not able to be flooded, have to be made of thicker ceramics. This makes the cost of deepwater vessels prohibitive.

Once thread is near, all sails have to be removed from the masts, all surface fittings removed, and all deck cargo: And there should be none, needs to be brought into the Ship itself. Flood the decks, set a sea-anchor to maintain headway. A watch has to be set at a window to make sure the deck remains flooded, should it not, thread could burn past the ceramic and then eat into the wood of the hull itself and cause a critical structural failure. Also, the Navigator and the Captain have an additional duty before leaving port, making sure than not only are the charts up to date, that they have the latest charts as far as threadfall patterns. Even with the charts, they crew has to keep a watchful eye out for out of pattern falls. Rare though they might be, one can bring ruin to a voyage with a quickness. Paying attention to shipfish is a good indicator, they tend to gather when thread is near, as they feel that the drowned threads are tasty by their behaviour. If a rogue threadfall is encountered, it behoves the Captain to make note of the time and position and duration of the fall, and report it to first rider he sees so that the information may be used to help fight the next fall.

Once in port, refitting is needed. No matter how well built, the ship has as to be given a detailed inspection and any questionable materials replaced. Again, extra expense, and not all ports have the proper materials. Hence, more cargo room taken up by not only the weight of the protective materials, but by the replacement parts as well. A seagoing ship of a certain size can, at best, carry two thirds the cargo as a coastal can, but, not all is lost. The fees that can be charged for bringing goods over such distances can help offset the cost, but only if the right cargos are taken.

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Written by Journeyman Atlan, SouCon MUSH

Emblems are copyright of Anne McCaffrey and drawn by Merryweather.