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Post by Finnerator Rudderbow on Dec 28, 2007 9:46:35 GMT -5
*Finnerator had expected a reaction like disappointment from Linx because the otter had turned down his suggestions. Instead, the mouse just looked more determined to get his idea to work*
"Can I unleash a frenzied torrent of ideas on you now, including light armor methods and alternate means of propulsion? I'm having an idea."
*The sea otter threw up her arms and laughed* You never give up, do you? If you're going to have to change that much, I suggest that you just build a new ship. The Stormy Otter isn't going to survive a renovation that changes the means of propulsion. *She crossed her arms and considered the officer for a moment. He was eager to try new things and build on and improve everything. Really, he was the opposite of Finnerator who appreciated tradition. If it was not for the fact that the whole world was evolving, she never would have had any renovation of the Stormy Otter*
*She sighed and uncrossed her paws* My answer still stands, Linx. But if you can find the amount of material to build whatever you're thinking of, I certainly can't stop you from building a new kind of ship. For now, let's just concentrate with what's at hand, that being the new cannons. *That seemed like a fair answer to her. Otter's Fort had money, but not enough to fund a whole research project. If Linx wanted to, he could figure out a way, but it couldn't be on the fort's budget or on the fort's time*
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 10:33:40 GMT -5
If I may?
**Being mostly silent for several minutes, Raiden had been forming a plan in his head.**
Schooners are comparable in size and speed to a corsair's firgate, but as armoured as the next class up; A Destroyer right? As one of the only beasts here who knows the in's and out's of most corsair ships, and the advantages and the disadvantages of each... There is the opertunity to create a whole wealth of sea-going vessels to pit against pirates... The Stormy Otter isn't going to last long against a pair or more of corsair ships, as some crews are want to do... We have the money, we have nautical experts like myself, we have craftbeasts, and we have something vermin don't; Linx. Put all of it together, and there's a custom ship we can get making... Maybe the first of many if it goes well.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 11:08:20 GMT -5
"See, a big problem of mine is, I keep having ideas at the most inconvenient of times. Not that I don't like having an idea, but it's really distracting if I'm trying to do something else... Sure the armor won't work?" It really wasn't that heavy, the armor, that is. It would be steel-plated wood, not all steel, so it would be substantially lighter. Like, say, a portcullis. He probably would end up just putting all his ideas into a new vessel, though. "I'm probably gonna make a new ship out of this one."
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Post by Finnerator Rudderbow on Dec 28, 2007 12:56:05 GMT -5
*Finnerator laughed at Linx's comment. It was true that he always seemed to be bursting with ideas and plans* It does seem to be a bad habit of yours, doesn't it? *She listened as he tried to expain his idea further to convince her, but Finnerator shook her head* Sorry Linx, not on this ship. Even wood is heavy and that wouldn't be all that effective against attack. It just makes the cannons a target anyway.
"I'm probably gonna make a new ship out of this one."
*The sea otter smiled and nodded* I think that's what it's going to come down to. *Raiden shared his own ideas, being determined to put in his own two cents whether or not he was asked for it. She grinned when he called himself a nautical expert because the otter rather doubted his skill on a ship especially given that he had just said that he disliked being on ships* Right so I think the idea is build a new ship. I can't help you two with that, so it's up to you.
*Finnerator felt she had said everything she wanted to so she saluted them both* Until later. Keep up the good work! *Before Linx could try and change her mind, she turned around and headed back up the stairs and off the ship. There were other things to attend to back at the fort and as much as she would have liked to, Finnerator could not spend the day on her ship*
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 13:00:32 GMT -5
Linx watched Finnerator leave, actually a bit relieved. He couldn't stand beasts just watching his work. Even if it was work on someone else's vessel... It just felt like an invasion of his privacy or something. He was weird like that. "Not my ship, anyway..."
He turned back to Raiden, apparently still there. Having just had a remarkable idea, he decided to inform his primary investor before anyone else. "I have an idea. It'll require a new ship. Nothing big, except the cost."
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 15:58:43 GMT -5
Interested... Go on.
**Catching Finnerator's look, raiden gave an ammendment to his previous idea.**
Ma'am, I may not like being aboard ships... But that was after my accident. I did spend several months going from ship to ship. Galleons and Man-o-wars at the biggest, down to sloops, firgates and rowing boats.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 16:39:08 GMT -5
"Um... I have an idea for a new method of propulsion. No sails involved. We won't have to rely on wind power... And with a large enough assembly the ship could theoretically be as large as you want. An engine, a fire that boils water to make steam, the expansion of which creates pressure... And the pressure harnessed to our advantage." Linx's idea had fully formed in his mind. What he had thought of was a steam ball. "Time to dip into my near-infinite finances."
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 16:45:02 GMT -5
You mean me right? Steam power? The closest to that is that tea urn that an abbess or Redwall had made years before, during that whole "High Rhulain" series of events... Time to "borrow" finances from the neighbouring vermin then eh?
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 17:12:43 GMT -5
"Well, I have this little fortune from my shop... And selling my wares in huge quantities to the fort. Anything you can give would help, I'm envisioning a small, sloop-sized vessel, with a metal-plated hull, like an icebreaker. It would be able to pick up enough power from the steam to smash an unarmored ship in two."
The components for the cannons were being brought down around the conversing pair, the firing ports having been completed. Archon was overseeing it all while Linx talked with Raiden. "All right, let's start getting these assembled. That's the last of them."
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 17:18:46 GMT -5
And yet you'd have more of a fortune and there would be more liberated gold if the vermin "contribute"... Or for even more money and time, there's the option of making a larger ship... Maybe going towards a crusier.
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 17:21:37 GMT -5
"I'd like to test this first. This vessel is going to be largely experimental... Armored turrets will be used, as will armor all over the hull, particularly the bow. We're going to need a lot of steel as it is. Let's try the concept first." Linx was getting the idea for a very... Different ship now. He had an idea in his mind for a way to get around the total lack of a crow's nest, since it would have no mast, involving the use of mirrors high up instead... And there would be these rotating, armored cannons. He needed a name for that kind of weapon.
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 17:31:52 GMT -5
Like a floating fortress? But smaller? Well... Shouldn't there be a special type of name for a steel-clad ship? Why not call it a "Steel-clad"? Oh, and what kind of weapons in the turrets? Large-bore or small-bore artillery?
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 17:57:18 GMT -5
"Small-bore, but very high-power. Those are meant for precision shots. It could also carry some shorter-range, large-bore cannons as well... Steel-clad. I like it." Turrets? What... Well, that could work. No idea where that name came from, though.
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Post by Raiden, Zahi, Lars and Ama on Dec 28, 2007 18:11:21 GMT -5
More range than siege artillery? Impressive. Turrets? Just popped into my head that did. What about a ship name and class?
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Post by Linx Exotic on Dec 28, 2007 18:14:49 GMT -5
"Steel-clad suits it well, um... Well, of course it'll have more range than siege artillery, it'll be direct fire at close range and at long distance we can just lob the shells, in an arc. Ship name... That'll require thought. Let's wait until we have actual plans mapped out for the ship design, though... And its engine. And how we'll convert it into propulsion, I think I have an idea with angled paddles rotating about the axle."
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