The New Civilization of Witches

Chapter 74: Shipbuilding Projects

"What's? Why can't we afford it?”

Roland asked as he analyzed his request to obtain the two-masted ship, which had been placed on a table inside his office.

Barov cleared his throat and then he explained,

“Your Highness, that's impossible. A brig cost between 80 to 120 gold royals, but this would only be a manufacturing cost.

We also have to take into account the wages of the crew. Considering all the additional fees, we will have to pay up to 200 gold royals. “

“Don't I tell you we don't need sailors or helmsmen?

We also do not need a captain; we just need to buy a boat!”

Roland exclaimed as he knocked on the table to underline his point.

With Wendy's help, he didn't need so many people to drive the boat. Most river sailing ships only sail one way.

So, in order to operate it, only a screen had to be installed, which made the helmsmen and sailors redundant.

However, since we can control the wind, why should I fear that we cannot move forward?

"Your Majesty, there is no such offer, at least not in Willow Town." Barov carefully explained,

“It looks like you don't know enough about this industry. In general, the ship owner is also the owner. He might be a merchant or he might be part of a noble.

If they belonged to the group earlier, they would travel between all the major cities or towns that had marinas, to sell or buy goods.

If they belonged to the latter group, they would usually recruit a vice-captain who was looking for a boat.

Employees will not be paid every month. Instead, their salaries will be paid for one to three years at a time. ”

“Most of the time, the boat and its crew are tied together. You intend to buy a ship from a skipper, but without the crew he has rented, then the salary he has paid becomes his loss.

Even for members of the aristocracy, 80 gold royals was not a small amount of money.

After trading with Willow Town at the beginning of the month, the town hall now had a balance of 315 gold royals,

but if we spend half of it to buy a boat now, we won't be able to pay the salaries of the nobles. militia."

The assistant minister explained without pause, but after that, he had to sip a beer first.

After thinking about what he heard, Roland asked,

“You often say it ..”

"Yes" Barov nodded,

"There were two cases when the ship would be sold without its crew. The first is when the merchant is in desperate need of money, and they have to sell all their properties.

They would start by disbanding their crew, and then they would try to sell the ship as quickly as possible.

In the second case, the owners want to replace their old ship with a new one. Both cases will be a good opportunity, but I must say that situations like this are very rare.”

“Wait,”

Roland frowned,

“you said to buy a ship

new ... So in this case, where did these ships come from?”

“Clearwater Port, Seabreeze District, Farsight Point. Only cities with ports that have docks are capable of producing new ships."

Hearing this Roland paused for a moment and thought of everything.

So this is the original meaning of, the,

"inside Willow Town, it was impossible to find such a deal."

However, I was also unable to travel to any port city; they were too far away, either,

and if I don't hire a crew, how do I return the ship to Border Town?

"Because this is the case, I have to think about it."

When the assistant minister saw that the Prince was daydreaming, he immediately left the room. In Roland's plans for the future, the ship played an irreplaceable role.

If there was no quick and conventional way to transport artillery, he would not be able to use it in battle.

So, inevitably their running speed is slow when it comes to moving. But, artillery will be slower.

As Carter said, as soon as they hit the artillery hole it could not be moved any further–

during this time and age, there were no asphalt roads, not even stone roads. During this time, people would walk more, resulting in many more trails.

During sunny days they will be lucky, but when it rains, the road becomes muddy. In the end, as always, did he have to rely on himself?

Roland spread out a piece of paper, writing down the required specifications. First, the ship should be able to carry one or two cannons in addition to thirty people,

but it will not be supported mechanically, only with a screen. Second, since the ship will only be used in rivers, the ship must have a shallow and stable hull.

Third, it should be easy to operate so that Militia members can handle it after a short training.

Considering all these points, the only possible answer is a flat-bottomed barge …

The draft in front of Roland was extremely shallow; it was a ship with an extremely low center of gravity that could be seen on almost any river route.

In the past, he had seen many piles of sand or gravel, and their fences were almost parallel to the surface of the water. And as long as there is a tugboat, it will be able to pull the barge.

After determining the type of ship, the next key point is to determine what materials should be used when building the ship.

Roland wrote down three different options: Wood, Iron, or concrete. Boats made of wood were included in the earliest nautical technology trees.

From the raft to the masted warship. From sailing on a river or sea, wooden boats can be used everywhere.

Unfortunately, Roland did not know how to use logs to build a flat-bottomed ship, nor did he have any skilled craftsmen.

If he relied on what he knew and on his craftsmen, he would only be able to make a huge raft that could collapse at any moment.

Ships made of iron were built similar to houses, always taking two beams arranged in a cross-cut pattern, forming keels.

The formed keel will then be coated with an iron sheet. Because Anna could do welding; overall rigidity guaranteed.

However, this approach would deplete the already small iron reserves. So this can only be a last resort, as building a steam engine and cannon is a much more appropriate option.

Then make a boat from concrete will be the last choice – because the construction of the city wall is finished, now there is a surplus of raw materials.

As long as Anna had time to calcify, they would have enough concrete for one or two ships.

The construction process would also be much easier than iron ships. As long as they are able to produce a wooden frame that can be reinforced with iron rods, they can quickly fill it with concrete.

Even in these rural areas, they can easily make some fishing boats out of concrete. Compared to iron ships, they would not rust.

With this, the ship did not even require much maintenance. Although a concrete vessel can be built at a low cost, it will remain strong and durable.

Even if he had never learned how to make a large ocean crossing ship, river sailing ships did not require a high level of technological knowledge.

So, building it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Imagining all the details in his mind, Roland took out a pen and quickly began drawing sketches of the barge.

……

The area with the warehouse near the Shinshui River was hidden by a wall. To ease the launch process, Roland placed the shipbuilding area as close to the river as possible.

The warehouse offers protection against wind and snow and contains two basins to burn charcoal to keep the temperature from falling too far and destroy the hardening effect.

The carpenters have fused the wooden frame of the hull of the ship – bow formed in a circular design to reduce the drag forward,

instead the back has a square design that is meant to add to the load area.

The boat has a length and width ratio of 3:1 and was built with a width of 8m. Compared to the traditional 8:1 ratio, it was just a fat boat.

In the middle, they had installed two poles. The masts of the ship were inserted into the deck and connected with the iron beams of the ship.

On the deck, they've put the spare steering. Everywhere, the hull is reinforced with crossed iron bars.

Although they did not have iron wire, it did not matter because Anna had welded all the iron crosses firmly, to form an iron structure that was connected throughout the bridge.

When the templates and reinforcements were ready, Roland ordered the workers to start filling them.

Concrete is poured into the mold like a basin. The middle was flat, but the surrounding walls were five meters higher, forming the walls of the cabin.

At a glance, it just looks like a uniquely shaped bathtub. Everyone involved in the development,

including Anna, never thought that the strange materials used to make this wall could also be used to make ships.