Serpent Ships

The ships of Torvaldsland are different from most of the other Gorean ships that exist. They are clinker built, with overlapping, bending planking and are more seaworthy than other Gorean ships. Serpents are highly valued because of their superior speed and maneuverabilty.

 Panther/Drakkar class serpents are excellent raiding vessels. It is virtually impossible to ram serpent ships because of their  size and ability to rapidly reverse direction.  With a fair wind, they can cover 200 to 250 pasangs in a day, making them the fastest ships on the Gorean waterways.  The ships have a prow on each end, which allows them to be beached easiley. They are generally more stable in high seas, and because of thier shallow draft, they can easily navigate shallows.    

Marauder/Knarr class serpents are shorter, wider and better suited to carrying cargo such as bosk, wool and sa-tarna. The knarr averages over 2 metres high from keel to gunwale. They have a deeper draft than the drakkar class and can not navigate the shallows as well.  The knarr class serpents are still easily able to outmaneauver and outrun a Tarnship.

Tarn Ships

There is a great variety of tarnships varying in their dimensions, lines, rigging and rowing arrangements. Usually, war ships have a removable mast with its long yard. It most commonly sails only with a fair wind. The principal weapons of the ram ship are the ram and shearing blades.  The oars are set in groups of three and three men sit a single bench. The benches slant obliquely back toward the stern castle. The three oars are usually of varying lengths, the most inboard being the longest. The oars weigh about one stone a foot and their length varies from 27 to 30 Gorean feet.  Tarnships are divided into light, medium and heavy class.
(Laura does not construct Heavy Class due to their use being impractical on the Laurius)

Round Ships

A round ship, also known as a merchant ship, has a deep hold for merchandise. It is an oared vessel with a heavy, permanent rigging. It is generally double-masted and has more sail area than a war ship.  Both roundships and tarnships are lateen sailed and the yard of the foresail is about half the length of the yard of the mainsail. The rowing areas is closed to the air and commonly carries from one to two hundred or more slaves in the rowing hold.  Round ships have a lower keel to beam ration, making them  slower and less maneuverable than war ships, but they can still be used in a naval battle. Their decks can hold numerous other ship weapons like springals, onagers and catapults.  They can be broken down into three basic categories: light galley, medium class, and heavy class. (Laura does not construct Heavy Class due to their use being impractical on the Laurius)