Piers, shipyards and launching

Building a dock

1. A Wooden Pier (150 lumber) is placed on the bank, at the water's edge, pointing out to sea. Its timber runs out pile by pile until the water at its head is deep enough for a hull: short off a steep shore, up to about 80 m off a shelving beach. The build ghost shows the whole pier and turns red with the reason when it cannot lay here.
2. A Shipyard (300 lumber, 120 stone, 40 ore; needs a rank-2 Heartwood, one per city) is a shed on the shore whose own pier runs out from its front to a deeper berth.
3. A Stone Quay (400 stone, 60 lumber; needs a rank-3 Heartwood, two per city) is laid in dressed stone out to water deep enough for any hull, up to about 115 m, with the berth along its open side. Large hulls launch from a Quay or a Shipyard.
4. A dock wants its bank close to the water and a little below its deck, so you can walk straight on: on a low, marshy shore, or where the ground rises into its path, it is refused, and the build ghost says why.

Making a ship

Both docks build Cog Deeds from 60 planks and 10 iron and Sloop Deeds from 90 planks and 15 iron (a Shipyard twice as fast); a Shipyard also builds Carrack Deeds (160 planks, 30 iron), Trireme Deeds (200 planks, 60 iron) and Caravel Deeds (240 planks, 45 iron). The deeds go into the city's material storage.

Launching

1. Take a Cog Deed and walk out onto a pier (or a Shipyard's pier).
2. Double-click the deed. The ship is launched at the berth, lying alongside the pier head. Any dock will do, whoever built it, but a Carrack, a Trireme or a Caravel needs the deep berth of a Shipyard or a Stone Quay.
3. If another ship is lying at the berth, move it off first.

Ports

Every port settlement with a harbour keeps one public pier with no ship tied up at it. The port's Merchant sells Cog Deeds, Sloop Deeds and Grappling Hooks, so you can put to sea without a city of your own: walk out onto the public pier and double-click the deed. Any ship can moor into its deed there too, but only when her hull is sound. A public pier has no yard, so bring a damaged ship to a city's pier or Shipyard.

Aboard and ashore

F

Beside a ship that is not under way (on a pier, a bank or in the water): step aboard.

F

Aboard, with a pier or a bank alongside: step ashore.

From the water, swim to one of the rope ladders over the side and climb it.

Mooring a ship back into its deed

Bring the ship to a pier or quay berth, get everyone ashore, select the ship and press H. Stand still beside it for 60 seconds and the ship is turned back into its deed, to be launched again later (sound, as from the yard). A ship left with nobody aboard is lost after 5 minutes, so moor it before you leave.

A deed always launches a sound ship, so mooring a damaged ship is a repair, bought from the city whose dock she lies at. The city's yard takes planks and iron from its own stores: her build cost times the share of her hull that is damaged, rounded up (a Carrack 34% damaged takes 55 planks and 11 iron). Members of that city's guild or nation pay nothing more. Anyone else also pays the city's repair fee, so many gold for each percent of hull mended, into its treasury. The city's Inner Council sets the fee on the City tab, and may close its docks to outsiders altogether. If the stores, your purse or the council say no, nothing is taken, the ship stays at her berth as damaged as she was, and your chat says what was missing. A hit on the ship while you moor her breaks the channel.