mjh623
Rum Runner
Sorry this is so long, but I’ve come upon something that really got my dander up. I finally plugged in the combined mod2, patch and vanilla patch. I am using the vanilla patch for now until I understand just what it is y’all are trying to accomplish with the cannon tinkering. I started a new game up and found myself in command of what claimed to be a Pink. I say claimed to be because it in no way resembled a Pink, also known as a Pinky Schooner. Now the Pinks were primarily fishing vessels used in the Northeastern North American waters, mainly New England and Canada. They were prevalent in the early to mid 1800’s. How one would manage to surface in the Caribbean in the 1600’s isn’t really an issue to me. After all, I have been trading blows with skeletons, so my disbelief is in full suspension. However, the craft so labeled was no Pink. It was a cutter. Wide transom, single gaff rigged mast, head sail and jib. A Pink is schooner rigged, first of all. It is also double ended, as in pointy both fore and aft. It has a high projecting bulwark aft and in larger versions would have had a small poop deck on the projection, looking like an extended pinky. That is where the name comes from. It is an excellent seagoing boat, particularly good at handling short choppy seas such as those found on the Grand Banks. Now I think having a true Pinky Schooner modeled in the game would be a wonderful thing, as I really like the diversity of ships that the POTC Build has accomplished and continues to develop. However, just slapping the name onto something that clearly it isn’t just ain’t right! For reference sake, attached is a beautiful example of a Pinky Schooner.
Now then, enough of this Pink nonsense, I will refer to the boat in the game as a cutter for the rest of my rant. One thing about this cutter, it is fast! I mean, really fast. How fast is it you ask? Well, I walked away from two Brit frigates like they were standing still… downwind with a 12 knot following wind. Now cutters have a reputation for being fast, but quick is a more accurate description. They accelerate quickly. From a stop, they come up to speed quickly. They can tack quickly and wear quickly. They regain their speed quickly after turning. However, their top speed is limited due to their hull length. In a displacement vessel, waterline length is the limiting factor in top speed. The formula is v= 1.34X the square root of the waterline length where v is velocity in knots. Now let’s take a large frigate with a 120 foot waterline. The theoretical hull speed of this vessel is a little shy of 15 knots. It takes a considerable amount of time, wind and distance to get her up to anything near that, but given the right circumstances it is attainable. Now let’s take our cutter with a waterline length of say 50 feet. When we apply our formula we see that this craft has a top hull speed of about 9 ½ knots. Running downwind, the cutter shouldn’t have stood a chance. Now, to windward is a different matter. That is where the fore-n-aft rig really shines. Being able to sail at 15 degrees off the wind versus the frigate’s 50 degrees makes a huge difference!
The point of this long stand on the soap box is that we need to take a look at these ships that are being ported over and make sure they are given some basis in reality. Beautiful skins are all well and good, but each of these vessels had their strengths and weaknesses that gave them their place in the maritime environment, and to ignore that takes away a lot of the rich heritage that makes the age of sail so compelling a time in history and attracts many of us to these games. I don’t know about you, but I like seeing a wide array of unique ships in the various harbors, and even more I like having to employ different tactics when engaging a brig than I do when engaging a cutter, or a corvette, or a “Pinkâ€Â!
Now then, enough of this Pink nonsense, I will refer to the boat in the game as a cutter for the rest of my rant. One thing about this cutter, it is fast! I mean, really fast. How fast is it you ask? Well, I walked away from two Brit frigates like they were standing still… downwind with a 12 knot following wind. Now cutters have a reputation for being fast, but quick is a more accurate description. They accelerate quickly. From a stop, they come up to speed quickly. They can tack quickly and wear quickly. They regain their speed quickly after turning. However, their top speed is limited due to their hull length. In a displacement vessel, waterline length is the limiting factor in top speed. The formula is v= 1.34X the square root of the waterline length where v is velocity in knots. Now let’s take a large frigate with a 120 foot waterline. The theoretical hull speed of this vessel is a little shy of 15 knots. It takes a considerable amount of time, wind and distance to get her up to anything near that, but given the right circumstances it is attainable. Now let’s take our cutter with a waterline length of say 50 feet. When we apply our formula we see that this craft has a top hull speed of about 9 ½ knots. Running downwind, the cutter shouldn’t have stood a chance. Now, to windward is a different matter. That is where the fore-n-aft rig really shines. Being able to sail at 15 degrees off the wind versus the frigate’s 50 degrees makes a huge difference!
The point of this long stand on the soap box is that we need to take a look at these ships that are being ported over and make sure they are given some basis in reality. Beautiful skins are all well and good, but each of these vessels had their strengths and weaknesses that gave them their place in the maritime environment, and to ignore that takes away a lot of the rich heritage that makes the age of sail so compelling a time in history and attracts many of us to these games. I don’t know about you, but I like seeing a wide array of unique ships in the various harbors, and even more I like having to employ different tactics when engaging a brig than I do when engaging a cutter, or a corvette, or a “Pinkâ€Â!
: Hopefully now the ships speed are more realistic or close enough for everyone to enjoy the COAS Combined Mod.
