Strakes and futtocks

Original media : TES Online By Curly Lainlyn, Master Shipwright This is important, so pay attention. You already think you know how to build an Alik'r caravel, but the new king over in Sentinel has ordered the shipyards to build all vessels to consistent standards—he thinks that'll make them easier to supply, since all the pieces are standardized, and also that we'll build them faster once we're into a routine. Maybe he's right, I don't know—but I do know that he's the king, and we're spending his gold, so we're going to do it his way. There's no change to how we lay the keel: we still scarf together sections of lumber with the longest piece in the middle, with the ends using planks cut from angled trunks so the curve is built right into the wood. But here's the new thing: the keel, stem, and stern posts are all rabbeted to secure the strakes and keep them parallel. And the posts aren't self-timber, they're made of inner and outer pieces to reinforce the curve. We still install the central rib first, then the fore and afters, but now we're going to lay battens across the upper, middle, and lower sections to guide the installation of the remaining ribs. Got that? Then we lay on the strakes as usual, starting with the futtocks, and finish with the inner hull. Get that all done, and we'll talk about how we're going to approach the rigging and outfitting.