Tag: naval technology

if you wanted to invest in a massive trade navy, is there any advantage of having longships instead of the regular tradeships the westerosi and essosi use?

Unless you’re dealing with a situation where you want to trade up a riverrine network where ships with deeper drafts can’t go (or if you’re trying to set up a smuggling network where you can’t dock in a normal port and need to beach and then ship out in a hurry) no there is no advantage whatsoever. 

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Longships aren’t that suited to trade – they’re very small vessels with very limited holds so you can’t carry very much, only one sail as opposed to two or three, they’re very low to the water so rough seas run some pretty serious risks of swamping, etc.

By contrast, your galleys, galleases, cogs, carracks, etc. are much better suited to trade: they’re much bigger so that they can hold more per trip (which leads to economies of scale), they have multiple sails in addition to often having more oars so they’ll generally be faster than longships (which people often get backwards), they’re higher out of the water so they can deal with rough seas more easily, etc. 

Dear maester steven, I was wondering if I could ask you something regarding Deepwood Motte. You mentioned the coast nearby was one of the few places on the west coast of the North where a large number of ships could be held, and this seems right as Asha docked enough ships here for the 1000 Ironborn that took the castle. However, the books describe the coast as being tidal flats, which aren’t good for docking ships unless they have been dredged. Did they dock somewhere else on the Bay of Ice?

Ah, I see what the issue is. You’re thinking deepwater ships, whereas the Ironborn primarily use longships which have extremely shallow drafts and a fairly flat bottom. 

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Unlike a deepwater ship, which can’t really be beached without some very complicated launching procedures, longships can be hauled up off the beach and pushed out to sea very easily, which is part of the reason they were so suited to hit-and-run riverrine missions when you wanted to go a-viking. 

So a tidal flat is actually ideal for longboats, as you can sail/row them up pretty close to the tide line, portage them if necessary, and the tide makes launching them again super-smooth. Meanwhile, galleys and other ships with long fin keels and deep drafts can’t pursue the longship onto the tidal flat lest they run around.