===== Water Transportation =====

People have been going into the water for a long time –
one very speculative theory claims that many human traits
are adaptations to a partially aquatic lifestyle! Mankind’s
most notable adaptive mechanism is technology. This has
certainly played a major role in our activity on the water, in
forms ranging from inflated leather floats through sailboats
to nuclear-powered warships. While it’s unclear when such
innovation began, Paleolithic societies were island-hopping
on rafts or canoes 30,000 years ago, and improvised floats
could be even older.

==== PERSONAL WATER MOBILITY ====

Even before boats, early man developed aids to
swimming, or to crossing water in other ways.

=== Floats (TL0) ===

Floats are the starting place for all watercraft. A
float is any small object, lighter than water, which a
swimmer can hold onto or fasten to his body for added
buoyancy. Its buoyancy subtracts from the user’s
encumbrance, and if buoyancy exceeds encumbrance,
the float gives a Swimming skill bonus equal to (excess
buoyancy/swimmer’s weight) x 8, rounded down, to a
maximum of +8. Floats don’t improve swimming
speed. Indeed, they may reduce it by increasing water
resistance or by occupying the arms to such an extent
that the user has limited mobility.

Floats can vary greatly in construction, and be of any
size. Some are solid blocks of a material that’s less dense
than water; others are hollow, and get their buoyancy from
the air they contain. Most can be described by their buoyancy,
weight when carried on land, and cost – all given per
cubic foot (cf) here. Buoyancy and weight sum to 62.5 lbs.
per cubic foot (the density of water).

^ Float ^ Buoyancy ^ Weight ^ Cost ^
| Clay Pot | 55 lbs./cf | 7.5 lbs./cf | $3/cf |
| Inflated Skin | 60 lbs./cf | 2.5 lbs./cf | $7.50/cf |
| Reed Bundle | 47.5 lbs./cf | 15 lbs./cf | $12/cf |
| Wood Block | 32.5 lbs./cf | 30 lbs./cf | $12/cf |

Logs: It’s convenient to figure a log’s statistics from
length rather than volume. For a 12”-diameter log, buoyancy is 25 lbs., weight is 25 lbs., and cost is $6 – all per foot of length. For other diameters, multiply these three figures by the square of (diameter/12”); e.g., a 6”-diameter log has a multiplier of 0.25, making buoyancy and weight 6.25 lbs., and cost $1.50, per foot.

=== Riding on Logs ===
Instead of clinging to a log while floating in the water, one can sit astride it or even stand on it. Of course, the log may roll over! Straddling a log, roll vs. DX at +4 to complete your journey without getting dunked; make one additional roll per stretch of rough water encountered. Standing on a log, these rolls are against unmodified DX. Walking carefully along the log at Move 1 requires no additional rolls – but if running any faster, roll every second. Perfect Balance gives +6 to all these rolls.

=== Surfboard (TL0) ===
The surfboard was developed in Hawaii before European
contact. There, riding the waves was a sport for chiefs, comparable to jousting for medieval Europeans. Surfing uses the Sports (Surfing) skill. Speed on the best waves might reach Move 12-15, but paddling is seldom faster than Move 1. A nobleman’s board (15’x18”x5”): $100, 150 lbs. A commoner’s board (smaller, averaging 10’ long): $75, 100 lbs.

=== Float Bridge (TL2) ===

A fourth-century Roman military text describes this contraption
as the ascogefyrus. Skins are worked to form flattish
air sacs instead of round ones, inflated with bellows,
and rolled up and carried to a river, where they’re unrolled
and tied into place. Unrolling takes a second per yard and
produces a 4’-wide walkway. Footing is unreliable; use the
rules under Rafts (below). Buoyancy is 720 lbs./yard, but
the top can only support 310 lbs./yard without buckling.
Per yard: $200, 30 lbs.

====RAFTS====
A raft consists of floats of any kind lashed together with
ropes or thongs. The result is a flat surface for passengers
to stand on. Individual floats may be solid or hollow, but
the raft gets all its buoyancy from their lightness – it has no
interior space.

A raft’s surface flexes with the water beneath it or the
shifting of its load. Roll vs. DX at -4 to move around or at
-2 to stand in place. Combat is at -4 to attack and -2 to
defend for bad footing. A raft made from logs or reasonably
long reed bundles only flexes in one dimension;
halve all these penalties. One held together rigidly with
wooden crosspieces, pegs joining adjacent logs, or very
tight cords causes combat penalties only (still halved, if
made from long pieces); make rolls for balance only if the
whole raft shifts because of water turbulence or large
waves, and use unpenalized DX. Perfect Balance grants
+6 to these DX rolls.

The Rafts Table describes two-yard-square sections of
raft; for bigger rafts, assume multiple sections of this size.
One section provides footing for up to four people, but is
crowded for more than one; in a fight with two combatants,
the loser may go over the edge! The specified load has the
top of the raft barely above the waterline, with low waves
washing over it; cutting the burden by 50% gives freeboard
equal to 25% of the raft’s thickness.

Rafts often simply drift with water currents. They can be
propelled in shallow water by poling with a wooden pole
from 12’ to 20’ long. The pole must be held at an angle to
produce horizontal thrust, so the maximum depth of bottom
that can be reached is 85% of pole length. Poles can
also be used to fend off obstacles. At TL1+, a raft may have
a square sail.

Unlike boats and ships, which have complex structures
and are treated as Unliving, rafts are considered
Homogenous.

=== Rafts Table ===

Terms and notation are as defined in Vehicle Statistics (pp. B462-463).

==BOATING/TL (UNPOWERED)==
^ TL ^ Vehicle ^ ST/HP ^ Hnd/SR ^ HT ^ Move ^ LWt. ^ Load ^ SM ^ Occ. ^ DR ^ Range ^ Cost ^ Locations ^ Draft ^
| 0 | Logs, 4” | 58† | -2/2 | 12c | 1/1 | 0.29 | 0.10 | +2 | 1 | 4 | F | $95 | E | 0.3 |
| 0 | Logs, 7” | 66† | -2/2 | 12c | 1/1 | 0.48 | 0.20 | +2 | 2 | 7 | F | $140 | E | 0.5 |
| 0 | Logs, 10” | 73† | -2/2 | 12c | 1/1 | 0.68 | 0.30 | +2 | 3 | 10 | F | $195 | E | 0.7 |
| 0 | Logs, 12” | 79† | -2/2 | 12c | 1/1 | 0.88 | 0.40 | +2 | 4 | 12 | F | $240 | E | 0.9 |
| 0 | Reeds, 6.5” | 58† | -2/2 | 10c | 1/1 | 0.59 | 0.40 | +2 | 4 | 2 | F | $330 | E | 0.5 |

==== Boats and Ships ====

Where a raft works like a solid float made of light material,
a boat functions as a hollow float that gains buoyancy
from its air content. Typical boats have interior spaces open
at the top, with the water kept out by walls that rise above
the water level.

At TL0, boats are normally made from a single piece of
material. This may be a solid object that has been
painstakingly hollowed out (such as a dugout), or it might
consist of something flat that has been shaped to enclose
an interior space, usually with some sort of framing (e.g.,
a bark canoe or a skin boat). Ceramic vessels large enough
to serve as boats, used in parts of India, are TL1; they’re
too breakable for rocky or fast-moving streams, and none
are described here.

The major change at TL1 is the development of the
plank boat, such as the European rowboat or East Asian
sampan. Where TL0 craft can’t easily be enlarged beyond
the limits of the material, TL1 designs add planks to build
up the sides. This allows scaling up to much larger craft,
from wider boats to full-scale ships (for big ships, see
GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2 and 3).

Propulsion for boats at TL0 involves poling or paddling,
or occasionally improvised towing methods. The more efficient
technology of rowing is TL1. Paddling uses only the
arm muscles; in rowing, the oarsman can brace against a
seat within the boat, letting him use his full body strength.
A less common technique is single-oar sculling, in which a
large oar that pivots at the stern – such as a yuloh (from
Chinese yaolu) – is swept from side to side. Use of harnessed
draft animals for towing also starts at TL1.

The most important TL1 innovation, however, is the
sail – initially in single-masted craft, usually with square
sails that are best-suited for running before the wind
(although the Polynesian proa design can sail into the
wind quite efficiently). Vessels with small auxiliary sails
emerge at TL2, as do early fore-and-aft rigs, which are
more capable of sailing into the wind. By TL4, craft may
have three or four masts, and ships with two or more
masts can be full-rigged, combining square and triangular
sails to great effect.

Warships up through TL3 find sails too unreliable. Two
important TL2 developments are multiple rows of oars
down each side of a ship (as in the trireme) and multiple
men working the same oar (as in the quinquereme and,
later, in Byzantine warships). Variants on both designs
remain in use into late TL3. At TL3, the Chinese experiment
with paddlewheels powered by men on treadmills (see
GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2).

Boats at TL0 are steered with a paddle dipped into the
water at the stern. At TL1, this evolves into the permanently
attached steering oar. Ships at TL3-4 usually have rudders,
attached at two points rather than one, so that they can be
rotated around a vertical axis. Early European ships have
single or paired side-mounted rudders; later European
ships, and most Chinese junks, have one rudder mounted at
the ship’s rear, on its midline.

===Bark Boats (TL0)===
A bark boat, or canoe, is made from a single piece of bark
taken from a tree whose bark can be stripped off in large
sheets; e.g., birch, elm, or hickory in North America, eucalyptus
in Australia, or spruce in North America and
Scandinavia. This is bent into a semi-cylinder with width
between 1/8 and 1/5 of length, with its ends curving up. Then
the ends are sealed, usually by sewing them up – although
improvised boats may have the ends blocked off with grass
and clay, or simply bent up out of the water. Such vessels are
speedy but unstable. Most have some internal framing to
hold their shape, but not enough to support oarsmen; they’re
usually propelled by paddling. Construction is very light,
with walls averaging just half an inch thick.

Large Bark Canoe (TL0). A large but comparatively light
canoe, 20’ long and 3’ wide, that holds four men seated in a
single row.

Voyageur Canoe (TL4). A distinctive, very large bark canoe
used for trade in Canada after European contact. The body
is 35’ long and 5’ wide, and holds 14 paddlers seated side by
side in seven pairs, plus a steersman and 4 tons of cargo. The
construction, influenced by European boatbuilding traditions,
is sturdier than for traditional canoes.

===Hide Boats (TL0)===
Animal-skin boats have been in use since the Stone Age in
area without large trees, including arctic, desert, and plains
environments, and rocky regions like western Ireland. Skins
are stretched over a light wooden frame that gives them a
definite shape, chosen by the builder; this may be anything
from a nearly circular coracle to a narrow kayak with two
pointed ends. Construction is extremely light – one man can
carry a small hide boat. These vessels are usually paddled;
the frame isn’t rigid enough to support oarlocks.
A variation on this design is a circular or oval boat with
a basketry frame. It’s made watertight by stretching hides
over the frame or by sealing it with tar – in Mesopotamia,
for example, thanks to its petroleum deposits.

Kayak (TL0). A one-man watercraft used by Inuit hunters;
the Siberian baidarka is similar. The design is fast and
maneuverable, with a long, narrow body, traditionally three
times the owner’s height (15’-18’) and no more than 27” wide.
The deck is roofed-over and the rider’s torso protrudes
through a narrow opening, which fits too tightly for water to
enter. Kayaks are famously easy to right if capsized; this calls
for a Boating (Unpowered) roll at -3. Propulsion comes from
a double-ended paddle. Made of sealskin framed with wood
or whalebone, the vessel is light enough for one man to carry.
A few kayaks have two or even three seats.

Oblong Hide Boat (TL0). Comparable to the Irish coracle,
this craft is fairly round but somewhat longer than it is wide.
Use the same statistics for Vietnamese fishing boats made of
bamboo matting and sealed with resin. Typical dimensions
are 5’ long and 2/3 as wide. Propulsion is by paddling.

Round Hide Boat (TL0). A circular watercraft made of
hides with a light wooden frame, such as the Plains Indian
bull boat or the bamboo-framed parical of South India. The
Mongols used a similar boat, called pi in Chinese. Use the
same statistics for the ancient Mesopotamia quffa (TL1),
made of basketry with an external coat of tar. The boat on
the table is 5’ in diameter.

Large Hide Boat (TL1). A craft framed with substantial
timbers and covered with several large hides, such as the
Inuit umiak, the similar Siberian baidara, or the Irish currach
(used into modern times – and the vessel in which
legend claims St. Brendan made his voyages over the
Atlantic Ocean). These craft are “boat-shaped,” with
curved sides, steered by an oar at the stern, and propelled
with oars or a sail. Typical dimensions are 36’ long, 6’
wide, and 3’ high.

===Log Boats (TL0)===
A basic log boat, or dugout canoe, is made by taking a
large tree and hollowing it out with fire or cutting tools,
leaving a roughly U-shaped rigid shell. Such a vessel is
much heavier than a bark canoe, with walls averaging 2”-3”
thick. It’s also more seaworthy; the ancient Polynesians
crossed the Pacific Ocean in craft like this. Log boats can
be produced wherever good-sized trees grow.

There are ways of increasing a log boat’s size that don’t
work for a bark canoe. It can be extended by joining two logs
end to end. It can be expanded by using hot water, hot oil, or
smoke to soften the wood and then bending the sides outward.
And it can be built up by adding a board along each
side – a first step toward a plank boat (below). A dugout can
also have a second log parallel to the first, yielding either a
comparatively small outrigger canoe or a full-scale double
canoe; both designs are common around the Pacific.

Dugout Canoe (TL0). A very basic log boat, suitable for
one man, made from a log 8’ long and 2.5’ in diameter.
Long Dugout Canoe (TL0). A basic dugout made from a
bigger log, 30’ long and 3’ in diameter. It can accommodate
more paddlers for its length by placing them alternately on
the left and right sides, taking advantage of its width.

Outrigger Canoe (TL0). A long dugout canoe equipped
with an outrigger: a smaller log, 15’ long, attached to its
midsection by several 3’ poles. This provides added stability
in the water. Such craft are well-suited to lengthy ocean
voyages, such as the Polynesian expansion through the
Pacific Ocean. The outrigger is designated R, like a runner
or skid, on the Boats and Ships Table – and like those components,
is treated as vehicle hit location 15-16.

War Canoe (TL0). A very large dugout canoe, such as the
Maori war canoe of New Zealand, carved from a single
kauri pine whose sides are expanded to provide room for
two paddlers side by side. Its length is 60’ and its beam 5’.
Similar craft are found in the Pacific Northwest; in areas
with smaller trees, they may be made by joining two trees
end to end. Treat war canoes as LC1.

Double Canoe (TL1). This sailing vessel is similar to
those used by the Polynesians who colonized the Pacific.
Two long dugout canoes are held side by side, 10’ apart, by
a frame that supports a mat platform 15’ square. Above this
is a mast bearing a proa sail, a distinctive design that can be
used to beat upwind by shunting (see Sailing Against the
Wind, p. 141). There’s room for half a dozen paddlers in
front of the platform and behind it; the portion of the
canoes that’s under the platform is used for storage. The
two canoes together make up the craft’s body; if an attack
could hit either, assign it randomly to one or the other. If
one canoe leaks, the craft may be threatened by tipping.

===Plank Boats (TL1)===
The first vessels made entirely of planks had one bottom
plank and two side planks. The East Asian sampan – meaning
“three boards” – was of this type. Larger boats, and
eventually ships, could have many side planks rather than
just one per side.

Plank boats can be any shape that has a definite fore and
aft. Barges have rectangular hulls with straight sides; other
craft have curving sides. Bow and stern may be pointed,
rounded, squared-off, or “boat-shaped” (pointed in front
and squared-off at the rear). The bottom may be flat,
rounded, or V-shaped. Cargo carriers are commonly
rounded or rectangular, to give them more interior space;
warships tend to be narrow, with pointed prows and Vshaped
bottoms, for better speed.

The simplest designs are nothing but shells made from
planks, either edge-joined or overlapping (“clinker-built”).
Planks can be held together by sewing, wooden pegs, or
metal nails (mainly at TL3+). Waterproofing comes from
the shell’s tight fit. In larger plank boats, adding an internal
frame can increase structural strength – partly by preventing
the craft from flexing into shapes that strain the hull.

At TL3, a radically different approach
emerges: building the frame first, fastening
the hull timbers to the frame,
and then caulking in between to
waterproof the vessel.
The heavier framing of plank
boats lets them carry oarsmen, or
support one or several sails on masts.
Small auxiliary masts were introduced
on Roman ships at TL2. Two and
three-masted ships came into
use in Europe at TL3 – and the
Chinese in the same period built
junks with as many as nine masts!

River Barge (TL1). A fairly large,
flat-bottomed, rectangular vessel
suited to hauling bulk cargo up and
down river, or ferrying freight and
passengers across a river. This is effectively
a big open box, 40’ long, 7.5’
wide, and 1’ high, very slightly tapered
toward the ends. As a ferry, it’s poled
by four men on each side; the table
entry assumes this. For travel up river,
it must be towed.

Sampan (TL1). This is the starting
point for East Asian boat and ship
design: a flat-bottomed boat made
from one bottom plank and two side
planks. Typical dimensions are 15’
long, 4’ wide, and 1.5’ high. The side
planks converge in front in a pointed
prow; the stern is squared-off. The
craft has one advanced design feature,
thought to have been inspired by the
structure of bamboo: bulkheads
divide its interior into several watertight
segments, making it very hard to
sink. Propulsion is normally single-oar
sculling with a yuloh; in shallow
waters, it can be poled.

Sewn-Plank Riverboat (TL1). A
boat in the Egyptian style, assembled
from planks of acacia (or expensive
imports such as cedar) averaging 3’
long, sewn together edge to edge.
Dimensions are 30’ long, 7’ wide, and
2.5’ high. Both ends taper to points.
It’s usually propelled with paddles
wielded by four pairs of crewmen. A
lookout on the bow uses a sounding
pole (p. 52) to feel for snags, while a
helmsman in the stern steers with a
paddle held in the water.

Fishing Boat (TL2). A boat constructed in the shell-first
style of the ancient Mediterranean, with planks joined edge
to edge and pegged together. Construction is light, with minimal
framing. Dimensions are 27’ long, 7.5’ wide, and 4’ high;
the bow is pointed, while the stern is squared-off. Propulsion
is by two pairs of oars. Primarily used for fishing, but can be
adapted to carry cargo or up to 10 passengers.

Square-Rigged Sailboat (TL2). This is a Romano-Celtic
craft of the British Isles under the later Roman Empire.
Its planks are laid edge to edge, but not fastened together.;
rather, they’re nailed to framing timbers, and the gaps are
caulked. Dimensions are 37.5’ long, 10’ wide, and 3’ high;
both bow and stern are pointed. A single 25’ mast a third of
the way back from the bow holds a square sail. Construction
is sturdy enough for use in bays and coastal waters.

Faering (TL3). A boat constructed much like the squarerigged
sailboat (above), but with 3-4 pairs of oars, used in
the Viking era – although the same stats can represent a
variety of medieval oared boats. Typical size is 20’ long, 4’
wide, and 2’ high. It can be used in coastal waters for fishing
or transport, or as a tender for a larger ship.

Sewn-Plank Sailboat (TL3). A boat of the design traditionally
used in the Indian Ocean, with long planks stitched
together, and little or no frame. The hull’s flexibility is actually
an advantage for operating in coastal waters. A single
mast carries a large lateen sail, which is efficient for sailing
into the wind but too heavy for tacking; instead, the ship
relies on wearing (see Sailing Against the Wind, p. 141). At
22’ long and 5’ wide, this craft is comparatively small, and
suited for fishing or local travel.

Brig (TL4). This two-masted sailing vessel carries square
sails – a configuration that requires a larger crew to handle
the sails than on a fore-and-aft rigged ship (such as the
sloop, below). The example in the table is fairly small: 50’
long, 18’ wide, and 10’ from top to bottom. Its sail configuration
is best suited to long sea voyages running before the
wind; it’s less efficient for beating upwind, and thus not
ideal for working in close to shore.

Rowboat (TL4). Not a specific vessel but a broad category
of European boats – all propelled by a small number
of oarsmen, and built with overlapping planks, pointed
prows, and flat sterns. The table offers two examples. The
longboat is 30’ long and 4.5’ wide, with four pairs of rowers
and a coxswain; it was used between 1515 and 1867 as a
ship captain’s boat. The jolly boat is 18’ long and 4’ wide,
with three pairs of oarsmen, and used as a ship’s small utility
boat, customarily lowered off the stern.

Sloop (TL4). A one-masted sailing vessel, developed in
the Netherlands in the early 1600s. The mast is placed in
the craft’s forward third, and carries two triangular foreand-
aft sails, giving it the classic triangular “sailboat” silhouette.
The one in the table is comparatively small: 21’
long, 7’ wide, and 6’ high. A 3’ bowsprit gives added sail
area. Good maneuverability and the ability to sail close to
the wind make this design useful to adventurers; larger
sloop-rigged ships were favored by pirates. A cutter is similar,
with the mast further aft.

=== Sailing Against the Wind ===
Many sailboats can travel in a direction opposite to that in which the
wind is blowing. If the sail is parallel to the wind rather than across it, then
as the wind blows past, it generates
aerodynamic lift that
pushes at right angles to it. If
the boat has a keel (or the
equivalent, such as a canoe’s
long body or a junk’s deep rudder),
setting the sail at an
angle to the hull means that
the part of the thrust that’s
directed along the hull propels
the ship, while the component
that’s directed sideways has
little propulsive effect. Rather,
it makes the ship heel over.
No ship can sail straight
into the wind; it must always
sail at an angle to the
airstream. Holding a steady
course into the wind necessitates
zigzagging back and
forth, putting the wind alternately
to port and starboard.
There are three different
methods of doing this:
  * Wearing is turning to sail away from the wind, and then looping around to sail upwind at the opposite angle, so that the ship turns through roughly three-fourths of a circle, tracing a series of loops. This is the only method of beating upwind available to square-rigged ships.
  * Tacking is turning the ship’s prow straight into the wind, losing speed while doing so, but then continuing the turn until the wind is coming from the other side.
  * Shunting is turning to face at right angles to the wind, and then turning the sails completely around to sail the ship stern-first, pointing the stern into the wind. This requires a hull that’s pointed at both ends, as in Polynesian canoes. The sail is turned by picking up and rotating the entire mast.

===Reed Boats (TL1)===
Strictly speaking, a reed “boat” is a kind of raft – it has
no hollow interior, but floats because its material is
lighter than water. It’s called a boat because of its shape
(oblong or pointed) and the way it handles in the water.
Reed boats become waterlogged with use; tight binding of
the reed bundles prolongs their useful life. Small, tapering
logs can be bound together to form comparable watercraft.
Reed boats made from papyrus were common in early
Egypt. The top surface was sometimes covered with
planks to give better footing; historians speculate that this
development may have been a step toward boats made
entirely of planks. The unusual Egyptian wishbone mast –
attached to either side of a boat’s hull – might have been
developed for use with reed boats, which had no keel to provide
a stable attachment point. Comparable boats were used
in other parts of Africa, Brazil, and similar tropical areas.

Fowling Boat (TL1). A papyrus raft boat built for
pharaohs and nobles to use for duck hunting along the
Nile, suitable for travel over still or slow-moving water anywhere.
The 16’-long body tapers from a 3’ beam at the midsection
to a blunt prow and a sharp stern, both curved up
out of the water. Two crewmen pole the craft, while a passenger
rides up front.

===Boats and Ships Table===
Terms and notation are as defined in Vehicle Statistics (pp. B462-463).
==BOATING/TL (SAILBOAT)==
^ TL ^ Vehicle ^ ST/HP ^ Hnd/SR ^ HT ^ Move ^ LWt. ^ Load ^ SM ^ Occ. ^ DR ^ Range ^ Cost ^ Locations ^ Draft ^
| 1 | Double Canoe, 30’ | 60† | +1/3 | 12c | 1/3 | 3.2 | 1.5 | +5 | 6+6 | 2 | – | $14K | EMOS | 2 |
| 1 | Large Hide Boat, 36’ | 25† | 0/2 | 12 | 1/4 | 3.34 | 3.22 | +6 | 2+1 | 2 | – | $1K | MO | 2 |
| 2 | Square-Rigged Sailboat, 37.5’ | 61† | -1/2 | 12c | 1/4 | 7 | 5.25 | +6 | 3 | 1 | – | $15K | MO | 1 |
| 3 | Sewn-Plank Sailboat, 22’ | 40† | +1/2 | 11c | 1/3 | 2.2 | 1.7 | +4 | 4 | 1 | – | $1.4K | MO | 1 |
| 4 | Brig, 50’ | 131† | -2/3 | 12c | 0.25/4 | 70 | 52.5 | +7 | 15+10 | 3 | – | $165K | 2M | 5 |
| 4 | Sloop, 21’ | 43† | 0/2 | 12c | 1/3 | 2.4 | 1.8 | +4 | 3+3 | 2 | – | $5K | M | 3 |
==BOATING/TL (UNPOWERED)==
^ TL ^ Vehicle ^ ST/HP ^ Hnd/SR ^ HT ^ Move ^ LWt. ^ Load ^ SM ^ Occ. ^ DR ^ Range ^ Cost ^ Locations ^ Draft ^
| 0 | Dugout Canoe, 8’ | 24† | +1/1 | 12c | 1/2 | 0.26 | 0.15 | +1 | 1 | 2 | F | $920 | O | 1 |
| 0 | Kayak, 18’ | 14† | +2/1 | 12 | 2/3 | 0.12 | 0.1 | +3 | 1 | 1 | F | $500 | E | 1 |
| 0 | Large Bark Canoe, 20’ | 22† | +1/1 | 12c | 1.25/3 | 0.88 | 0.8 | +3 | 4 | 1 | F | $220 | O | 1 |
| 0 | Long Dugout Canoe, 30’ | 40† | 0/1 | 12c | 1/3 | 2.75 | 2.25 | +4 | 12 | 2 | F | $4K | O | 2 |
| 0 | Oblong Hide Boat, 5’ | 16† | 0/1 | 11c | 1.5/2 | 0.18 | 0.15 | +1 | 1 | 1 | F | $85 | O | 1 |
| 0 | Outrigger Canoe, 30’ | 45† | 0/2 | 12c | 1/3 | 2.95 | 2.25 | +5 | 12 | 2 | F | $6K | OR | 2 |
| 0 | Round Hide Boat, 5’ | 23† | -1/2 | 10c | 0.4/1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | +2 | 2 | 1 | F | $280 | O | 1 |
| 0 | War Canoe, 60’ | 66† | -2/2 | 12c | 1.25/4 | 5.8 | 3.6 | +6 | 30+1 | 3 | F | $18K | O | 2 |
| 1 | Fowling Boat, 16’ | 29† | 0/1 | 12c | 1/1 | 0.52 | 0.32 | +2 | 2+1 | 0 | F | $560 | 3E | 1 |
| 1 | Large Hide Boat, 36’ | 25† | 0/2 | 12 | 2/4 | 3.34 | 3.22 | +6 | 10+1 | 2 | F | $1K | O | 2 |
| 1 | River Barge, 40’ | 56† | -2/3 | 12c | 0.5/1 | 4.2 | 2.8 | +6 | 9 | 3 | F | $12K | O | 1 |
| 1 | Sampan, 15’ | 22† | +1/2 | 13c | 1.5/3 | 0.28 | 0.2 | +3 | 1+1 | 2 | F | $1.8K | O | 1 |
| 1 | Sewn-Plank Riverboat, 30’ | 40† | 0/2 | 11c | 1.25/3 | 2 | 1.5 | +4 | 10+2 | 2 | F | $1.4K | O | 1 |
| 2 | Fishing Boat, 27’ | 43† | 0/2 | 11c | 0.6/3 | 2.1 | 1.5 | +4 | 5 | 1 | F | $5K | O | 1 |
| 3 | Faering, 20’ | 32† | +1/1 | 12c | 1.25/3 | 1.25 | 1 | +3 | 6 | 2 | F | $2.5K | O | 1 |
| 4 | Jolly Boat, 18’ | 36† | 0/1 | 12c | 1/3 | 1.35 | 1 | +3 | 6+2 | 2 | F | $3K | O | 0.7 |
| 4 | Longboat, 30’ | 43† | +1/1 | 12c | 1.25/3 | 1.75 | 1.15 | +5 | 9+2 | 2 | F | $5K | O | 1 |
| 4 | Voyageur Canoe, 35’ | 33† | +1/2 | 14c | 1.25/4 | 5.78 | 5.5 | +5 | 15 | 2 | F | $1.9K | O | 2 |

===== Under Water =====

The ocean’s depths were a mystery to preindustrial societies.
Divers could go a few yards underwater, and stay down
for a minute or two. Human inventions extended some of
these limits, but only added marginally to attainable depth.

====DIVING GEAR====

These items let a diver go deeper, or stay underwater for
longer than he can hold his breath.

===Diving Stone (TL0)===
The human body weighs nearly the same as an equal
volume of water. Reaching any significant depth quickly
requires either jumping in from a height or actively swimming
downward. An early solution to this difficulty is a
stone with a cord tied around it. The diver thrusts one foot
into the cord, as through a stirrup, and is carried down
at Move 1 without active effort. He can move horizontally
at the same time by making a Swimming roll at
-1. To allow reuse, tie the stone to a length of rope that
a companion in a boat can use to pull it up. $5, 15 lbs.

===Breathing Tube (TL1)===
Ancient Egyptian fowlers developed an early snorkel
analog to help them sneak up on waterfowl: a papyrus reed
used like a huge straw to inhale air while submerged. A 2’
tube allows submergence 16” below the water. Any deeper
and water pressure prevents the lungs from taking a breath.
Observers are at -2 to Vision to spot the swimmer. $5 (or
free, with a Naturalist or Survival roll), 0.5 lb.

===Air Bladder (TL2)===
An Assyrian relief dated to the eighth century B.C.
shows divers using air-filled animal skins to prolong their
dives. The bladders are inflated before the diver enters the
water, and provide several breaths’ worth of air. Multiply
the times under Holding Your Breath (p. B351) by four
when using an air bladder. It also acts as a float (p. 138), so
the diver must carry additional weight (60 lbs.) to remain
submerged. $15, 2.5 lbs.
====UNDERWATER VEHICLES====
In 1620, Cornelius Drebbel, a Dutch experimenter living
in England, designed and built the first known submarine
for the Royal Navy. It worked well enough that he
constructed two more, larger models. In 1624, James I
rode in the last one on a test dive under the Thames. The
navy wasn’t impressed enough to use it in combat, but
later experimenters could have copied the design.
===Diving Boat (TL4)===
The diving boat is basically a 15’
rowboat with a roof, covered with
greased leather. Six pairs of oars
protrude through leather gaskets to
supply thrust. As it uses oars rather
than a propeller, operating it requires
the new Unpowered specialty of the Submarine skill (p. 11).
Buoyancy control is handled by filling bladders under the
rowers’ benches to submerge, and squeezing out the water to
surface. Metal ballast supplies extra weight to make up the
full load of 3.2 tons needed for neutral buoyancy. The boat
can submerge to 15’; the longest recorded trip took 3 hours.
Air tubes attached to floats enable crew and passengers
to breathe. Some accounts claim that Drebbel invented an
“alchemical” means of keeping the air breathable, though.
The GM may choose to give the diving boat TL(4+1)
rebreather technology.

=== Diving Boat Table ===
Terms and notation are as defined in Vehicle Statistics (pp. B462-463).
^ TL ^ Vehicle ^ ST/HP ^ Hnd/SR ^ HT ^ Move ^ LWt. ^ Load ^ SM ^ Occ. ^ DR ^ Range ^ Cost ^ Locations ^ Draft ^
| 4 | Diving Boat, 15’ | 85† | 0/2 | 12c | 0.25/4 | 8 | 3.2 | +3 | 7+9 | 2 | F | $40K | – | 2.5 |