What kind of ships are Vivacia, Paragon etc?

['thul]

Probably the only way to get answers of a satisfactory nature.

[Darustman]

True! Also there seems to be several periods of history where ship technology had a stop-start thing going on, if stories of Roman fleets are to be believed. So yeah, her ships are perfectly entitled to have their own evolution from tech, histroy and in her case, magic, of course.

I love that image of Paragon on a beach on one of the editions of 'Madship's', the one where Amber is with him. That has kind of informed my roundabout image of all the ships.

[Farseer]

Darustman, if you did feel that you wanted to ask Robin about it all, you can go here to her Newsgroup to ask. Just start a new thread with the 'Start Thread' button, ask your question just as you have here and be warmly welcomed at 'Robin's Kitchen Table'. You don't have to be a member of sff.net to be a part of the group.

[Valarya]

I love that image of Paragon on a beach on one of the editions of 'Madship's', the one where Amber is with him. That has kind of informed my roundabout image of all the ships.

Are you talking about the John Howe one!? It's one of my favorite artist renditions of Hobb's work! I love John Howe (lotr's, hello). Lol

[Image: The-Mad-Ship-port.jpg]

[fool-ish]

I, too love this picture of Paragon and Amber I'm quite happy with John Howe's work on Farseer etc. with the exception of his depiction of Fitz...that is just not my Fitz, at all!

As for kinds of ships, I've no idea. In fact, I know nothing about them. I had to ask my husband where certain parts of the ships were when they were mentioned in LST...duh!

[Valarya]

As for kinds of ships, I've no idea. In fact, I know nothing about them. I had to ask my husband where certain parts of the ships were when they were mentioned in LST...duh!

Tee hee.. I googled the parts of a ship and spent a few hours studying different labeled diagrams so I could get a good grasp of where what was when reading. (Woah, tongue tie. )

[fool-ish]

As for kinds of ships, I've no idea. In fact, I know nothing about them. I had to ask my husband where certain parts of the ships were when they were mentioned in LST...duh!

Tee hee.. I googled the parts of a ship and spent a few hours studying different labeled diagrams so I could get a good grasp of where what was when reading. (Woah, tongue tie. )

I'm gonna give that a go next time

[londonlassie]

interesting question...

Since they are pre-cannon era, they cannot be extremely large.

Now I am incredibly ignorant of nautical terminology and can barely tell a foredeck from an afterdeck, so this is a question as much as a suggestion.

"...it was actually well before dawn when Sorcor ordered the sweeps out." - page 284, "Of Derelicts And Slaveships", Ship Of Magic


Now in Pirates Of The Caribbean, Barbossa says "Run out the sweeps", and what the men run out are undoubtedly cannons of a sort. So are there two nautical meanings for "sweeps", or did all the ships actually have some form of firepower?

Or did the non-sentient pirate ships have them, but not the Liveships? This seems unlikely, since Traders would have more money to fit their ships with defense mechanisms than pirates.

Other than this instance or them being mentioned, I can't remember any other occasion in which any of the ships engaged in anything but hand-to-hand combat.

This post probably makes no sense, it's just a thought I had while I was re-reading Ship Of Magic.

['thul]

actually, that's a bit incorrect... "Sweeps" are a form of oar, typically on relatively small ships. on ships like the black pearl, the cannon doors are conveniently placed to use as openings for sweeps. on those without, there would usually be oarlocks.

as listed on definition of "sweep" on the free dictionary:
10. Nautical A long oar used to propel a boat.

[londonlassie]

That makes far more sense.

Really, given how much I love Liveships, I should probably learn some nautical terms so I don't make these mistakes and so I have a vague idea where characters are when I'm reading the novels.

But I'm lazy and I have to do far too much learning at college as it is

Thanks for the clear-up, 'thul beings!