Aquilifer Naval Engineering Catalogue [ PT ]

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This is just a catalogue: please place all orders at our storefront. Aquilifer thanks you for your custom. Ships are listed chronologically by period of production.

Zephyra-class light caravel [ view | Export: 45,000 ducats ]
Aegatic-class dreadnought battleship [ view | Export: $ 7,500,000 | DPR: $ 450,000,000 ]

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[ Image with scale available here. ]

Named for an ancient god of the west wind, the Zephyra class is a small caravel built for swift sailing and exploration. It is less a military ship and more a fast runner, outclassing any larger vessel in its sheer manoeuvrability but lacking in absolute firepower. We highly recommend it as a ship of discovery or delivery of small or precious cargoes and also suggest it as an ideal escort for slower, more vulnerable cargo vessels.

Where others may use clinker-built ships, Aquilifer's shipwrights have found a carvel build permits greater flexibility of sails and rigging; this is of vital importance to a ship such as the Zephyra which relies so much on its twin lateen sails. This construction also yields a stronger hull, albeit one which loses out somewhat in hydrodynamics. The hull is made of well-seasoned oakwood, thoroughly caulked and sealed with pine pitch. Pine is again used for the two masts, the taller of which stands at around 25 metres from base to crow's nest.

As a small ship, the Zephyra has neither space nor manpower for a large number of cannons. It carries only four falconets normally, though these can be repositioned and supplemented if necessary. Most of the ship's crew of seventeen tends to be occupied in the operation of its sails and rigging, to make the most efficient use of the Zephyra's innovative ability to 'tack' into the wind, in contrast to square-rigged vessels which must furl sail against an oncoming wind.

The captain and owner of a caravel must always bear in mind the limitations of the ship's size, and the Zephyra is no exception to this norm. As mentioned, it lacks firepower, and, perhaps more pressingly, it lacks storage space. Its high length-to-beam ratio and ellipsoid shape leave little room for a spacious cargo hold, and obtaining fresh water will always be a priority. It more than makes up for these restraints in its highly specialised functions, however, as the swiftest ship on the sea, an ideal errand-runner or extra escort.

Sale of domestic production rights is not currently being considered, but export as standard costs 45,000 ducats.

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[ Full-size image available here. ]