Editing Watercraft

{{hatnote|"Ship" redirects here. For the playhouse, see [[Ship (playhouse)]].}}
[[File:Paolopuggioni-ships.png|350px|thumb|[[Braavos]]i trading ships, with purple sails, by Paolo Puggioni]]
'''Watercraft''' in the [[known world]] range from small river and fishing boats, raider vessels, various warships and trade ships, up to the huge [[Cersei's dromonds|war dromonds]] and the magnificent [[swan ship]]s that cross the [[Summer Sea]].

==Types of Watercraft==
Some of the descriptions are based on real world parallels.

===Ships===
[[File:Blacktyde longship by MarcSimonetti.jpg|350px|thumb|[[Blacktyde]] longship, by Marc Simonetti © Fantasy Flight Games]]
[[File:Tysen Johnson Refurbished HulkI.jpg|thumb|A hulk refurbished by [[House Greyjoy]], by Lake Hurwitz © Fantasy Flight Games]]
* [[w:Galley|Galleys]] are propelled by sail or oar power and are used for warfare, trade, and [[piracy]]. Due to their low setting, they are primarily coastal ships, preferring to thread through archipelagos rather than risking even a moderate sea. Their large rower crew makes them maneuverable and swift but also require frequent stops for food and water. The galley has supplemental sails to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys. The ability to travel swiftly without regard to the direction or strength of the wind becomes invaluable for daylight expeditions across open water. The real world, practical upper limit for a galley fast and maneuverable enough for warfare was around twenty-five to thirty oars per side. By adding another level of oars, the galley could be made shorter with as many rowers, while making them strong enough to be effective ramming weapons. The flagship of [[House Hightower]], ''[[Honor of Oldtown]]'', and the flagship of the [[royal fleet]], ''[[King Robert's Hammer]]'', are the two largest known galleys in Westeros. 

* [[w:Longship|Longships]] are a smaller type of ship primarily used by the [[ironborn]], but also coastal [[lord]]s{{ref|ASOS|45}} and the [[coming of the Andals|Andals of antiquity]].{{ref|TWOIAF|The Riverlands}} They are long, narrow, light, wooden craft with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allows navigation in waters only one meter deep and permits beach landings, while its light weight enables it to be carried over portages. Longships are also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without having to turn around. This trait proves particularly useful in northern latitudes where icebergs and sea ice pose hazards to navigation. Longships are fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat itself. Later versions sport a rectangular sail on a single mast which is used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys. [[George R. R. Martin]] has compared them to [[w:longship|Viking longboats]].<ref name=SSM:GreyjoyFleet />

* [[w:Cog|Cogs]] are mostly propelled by sails, which make them difficult to sail, especially upwind, and they are hostage to breezes and currents in a way that the swift galley is not. However, it can better manage rough seas and its small crew and ample storage space give it greater freedom of movement, making it perfect for trade or equipment transport. 

* Merchanters are trading vessels, like the cogs ''[[Myraham]]'' and ''[[Bountiful Harvest]]''.{{ref|ACOK|11}}{{ref|ASOS|10}}

* [[w:Carrack|Carracks]] are large ocean-going vessels. They are stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages.

* [[Swan ship]]s, so called in the [[Seven Kingdoms]] for their great white sails and figureheads which are often carved in the shape of birds, are large ocean-going vessels designed and built in the [[Summer Isles]]. With a good wind behind them they can outrun any galley. However, they are helpless when becalmed. They have high masts and high forecastles.{{Ref|affc|35}} Summer Islanders have no warships and prefer trade and exploration to conquest, although their swan ships are ably defended.{{ref|twoiaf|Beyond the Free Cities: The Summer Isles}} 

* Whalers are fat-bellied ships from [[Ibben]], with hulls black with tar, used to hunt and process whales in the [[Shivering Sea]]. Ibbenese ships, though ungainly and smelly, are renowned for their strength, as they are built to weather any storm and withstand the assaults of the largest whales.{{ref|twoiaf|Beyond the Free Cities: Ib}}

* [[w:Hulk|Hulks]] are ships which still float but are unable to put to sea.{{ref|ACOK|58}}

===Boats===
[[File:NitenRiver Runner.JPG|thumb|River Runner, by Niten © Fantasy Flight Games]]
* River galleys are shallow draft boats{{ref|ASOS|74}} used to patrol and defend rivers like the [[Red Fork]],{{ref|ASOS|1}} the [[Trident]],{{ref|ASOS|74}} the [[Rhoyne]],{{ref|ADWD|22}} and the [[Noyne]].{{ref|TWOIAF|The Free Cities: Norvos}} Some can hold eighteen oarsmen and more fighters.{{ref|ASOS|1}}

* River runners are long and lean boats used to navigate rivers, such as the [[Blackwater Rush]]{{ref|AGOT|18}} and the [[White Knife]].{{ref|ADWD|15}}

* [[Ferry|Ferries]] are used to transport passengers across bodies of water, such as the Blackwater Rush{{ref|AGOT|18}}{{ref|ACOK|52}} and the Trident.{{ref|ASOS|47}} Wherries are also used for transport on rivers like the Blackwater.{{ref|ACOK|58}}

* [[w:Barge|Barges]] can be used to transport goods like grain{{ref|ASOS|1}}{{ref|ADWD|23}} and wood,{{ref|AFFC|26}} or armies and their equipment.{{ref|ACOK|56}}{{ref|ASOS|14}} Opulent and ornate pleasure barges are popular with the well to do.{{ref|AGOT|18}}{{ref|ACOK|48}}{{ref|AFFC|34}}{{ref|FAB|The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency}} Troupes of [[mummers]] use gaily-painted barges.{{ref|ADWD|24}}

* [[Skiff|Skiffs]] are small sailboats popular with fisherfolk{{ref|ACOK|58}} and smugglers.{{ref|ACOK|10}}

* [[Serpent boat]]s are [[w:Gondola|slender poleboats]] used to traverse the canals of [[Braavos]]. They are shaped like water serpents and have painted heads and upraised tails.{{ref|AFFC|6}}

* Orphan boats are carved and painted poleboats which house the [[orphans of the Greenblood]].{{ref|AFFC|21}}

==Terminology==
In real life history, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_and_starboard terms for the left and right side] of a boat (when standing on it and facing the front) actually changed over the centuries. The ''A Song of Ice & Fire'' novels use the terms "port" and "larboard" interchangeably to refer to the left side of a ship - but "port" only started being used in real life during the Renaissance. 

Before ships had rudders, they were maneuvered using a steering oar - which tended to be on the right side of the ship, because most people are right-handed. In Old English "board" meant "side", thus the "steering oar side" was "steer-board", which slurred to "Starboard". 

Because the steer oar on the right side needed to be in the water, it was the left side that was pulled up against a port dock for loading and unloading a boat. Prior to around 1300, the left side was called "back-board" - because it was behind whoever was manning the steering oar. After 1300 the name shifted to being called "load-board" because it was the side the ship was loaded on while pulled against a dock. "Load-board" eventually slurred to "Larboard". 

Around the late 1500s, however, the alternative term "Port-side" (or just "Port") started being used - again referring to the fact that the left side of a boat is the one pulled up to face a "port" while the  crew "load" cargo onto it. The two terms overlapped for some time in subsequent centuries but in the mid-1800s both the British and U.S. navies officially ordered that "port" be used instead of "larboard" - because "larboard" sounds similar enough to "starboard" that they might be misheard.

==Notable Fleets==
===Westeros===
[[File:Sallas escort ship by MarcSimonetti.jpg|350px|thumb|[[Salladhor Saan]]'s escort ship, by Marc Simonetti © Fantasy Flight Games]]
The major fleets of [[Westeros]] are the [[Iron Fleet]] and the fleets of the [[ironborn]] lords, based in the [[Iron Islands]]; the [[royal fleet]], based at [[King's Landing]] and [[Dragonstone]]; and the [[Redwyne fleet]], based at the [[Arbor]].<ref name=SSM:LannisterFleet>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/The_Lannister_Fleet/ The Lannister Fleet], September 26, 1999</ref> The [[north]] has had no strength at sea since [[King in the North]] [[Brandon Stark (Burner)|Brandon the Burner]] put [[Brandon Stark (Shipwright)|Brandon the Shipwright]]'s remaining ships to the torch hundreds of years ago.{{Ref|ACOK|16}}

In the rest of the [[Seven Kingdoms]], lords whose lands abut the coast might keep a war galley or three for coastal defense against [[pirates]]. The [[Lannister fleet|Lannisters]], in contrast, is a larger and grander fleet of twenty to thirty ships. Usually for major battles, the lords call the ships of their various bannermen.<ref name=SSM:LannisterFleet /> Historically, the [[Velaryon fleet]] formed the bulk of the royal fleet.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Jaehaerys I}}

While the [[House Greyjoy|Greyjoys']] main force is the Iron Fleet, they can also raise hundreds of ironborn ships. However, most of those will be [[w:Longship|longships]] made for raids rather than battle. Other Westerosi lords are more likely to have larger and more formidable ships like cogs, carracks, and war galleys of various sides, up to the great dromonds with scorpions and catapults on deck.<ref name=SSM:GreyjoyFleet>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Re_Greyjoy_Fleet/ Re: Greyjoy Fleet], February 09, 1999</ref>

The [[House Tyrell|Tyrells]] are in more or less the same position as the Lannisters, though they depend even more on their bannermen, especially the lords of the [[Shield Islands]] off the mouth of the [[Mander]]. The [[House Hightower|Hightowers]] have only a few warships, but control [[Oldtown]], home to numerous trading vessels.<ref name=SSM:LannisterFleet />

===Essos===
In [[Qarth]] in central [[Essos]], the [[Thirteen]] control a thousand ships, the [[Ancient Guild of Spicers]] own about twelve hundred or thirteen hundred, and the [[Tourmaline Brotherhood]] has about eight hundred.{{Ref|aCoK|63}}

In [[Braavos]], the [[Sealord]] commands a fleet of warships second to none, and a mercantile fleet whose purple hulls and purple sails have become a common sight throughout the known world.{{ref|twoiaf|The Free Cities: Braavos}} The [[Arsenal]] of Braavos can reportedly build a war galley in a day.{{ref|AFFC|6}}

The [[Volantene fleet]] has hundreds of green galleys.{{ref|ADWD|56}}

==Warfare==
[[File:Suicide raider by MarcSimonetti.jpg|350px|thumb|Suicide raider, by Marc Simonetti]]
Ships are used in small skirmishes, raids, and full-scale naval engagements, such as the [[sea battle off Fair Isle]]. Lords whose lands abut the coast might need to maintain a few war galleys to defend against piracy. Ships are also use for support roles, such as providing provisions and transporting troops.

The basic tactic of naval battles is to get the ship close enough to ram the other ship, board her, and fight the rest of the battle on the deck. Up until they close, longbows and crossbows can be used. Sometimes siege weapons are carried on the largest war galleys.
 
* Longships of the [[Iron Fleet]] are used as fast raiding ships. They can travel twice as swiftly as a merchant cog{{Ref|aCoK|11}} and are three times the size of standard longships.{{Ref|affc|29}} The standard tactic for engaging is to board the enemy ship. The whole crew being doubling as both marines and oarsmen, as well as the ironborn preference for wearing armor despite the risk of drowning, gives the ironborn an advantage when boarding. 

* War galleys or [[Cersei's dromonds|dromond]]s are larger than normal galleys. The standard war galley in Westeros has a hundred oars and oarmen, with the larger ships adding more decks of a hundred oarsmen.{{Ref|affc|29}} [[Myr]]ish war galleys appear to have no more than eighty oars, while the ships of the Iron Fleet are equal to lesser war galleys in speed and strength,{{Ref|AFFC|32}} but smaller than the war dromonds of the mainland.{{Ref|ADWD|56}} During boarding actions, oarsmen equipped with boarding axes, shortswords, and other weapons are expected to fight, though only a tenth of the crew (marines, rather than oarsmen) are wearing armor.{{Ref|affc|29}} Dromonds are presumably the kind of ship that [[George R. R. Martin]] has compared to Venetian/Byzantine [[w:dromon|dromonds of war]].<ref name=SSM:GreyjoyFleet/> Given Martin's comparison of these ships to Byzantine/Venetian war dromonds, there should be roughly thirty-five marines, archers, and artillery crews for every hundred oarsmen.<Ref>[https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/medieval-ships/ Medieval Ships.] Naval Encyclopedia. "In general, the Dromon, a bireme, was propelled by 80 oars (for the biggest ones like the one represented above, of 50 by 7 meters), and could total 240 rowers, not counting the 80 soldiers, archers, officers, and crew for balisters and catapults."</ref>

* [[Swan ship]]s are known to have red archers with [[goldenheart]] bows, companies that help defend the vessel from attack. Women serve on swan ships and can command the red archers.{{ref|AFFC|35}}

==Recent Events==
===''A Clash of Kings''===
[[File:First mate by henning.jpg|350px|thumb|A ship's crew, by Henning Ludvigsen © Fantasy Flight Games]]
[[Victarion Greyjoy]] leads the [[Iron Fleet]] in [[fall of Moat Cailin|capturing Moat Cailin]].{{ref|ACOK|24}}{{ref|ACOK|69}}

The [[royal fleet]] is divided between King [[Joffrey Baratheon|Joffrey I Baratheon]] at [[King's Landing]] and [[Stannis Baratheon]] at [[Dragonstone]]. Both fleets are largely destroyed during the [[Battle of the Blackwater]].{{ref|ACOK|58}}

===''A Feast for Crows''===
[[Euron Greyjoy]] leads the Iron Fleet and [[ironborn]] lords in the [[taking of the Shields]].{{ref|AFFC|29}}

The [[Redwyne fleet]] assists in the [[siege of Dragonstone]].{{ref|AFFC|32}}

===''A Dance with Dragons''===
Victarion leads the Iron Fleet to [[Slaver's Bay]] to find [[Daenerys Targaryen]] in [[Meereen]].{{ref|ADWD|56}}{{ref|ADWD|63}}

The [[Golden Company]] sails from [[Volantis]] to [[Westeros]] on Volantene ships,{{ref|ADWD|61}} and the bulk of the [[Volantene fleet]] sails to oppose Daenerys.{{ref|ADWD|56}}{{ref|ADWD|67}}

The Redwyne fleet sails back to defend the [[Reach]] from the [[ironborn]].{{ref|ADWD|44}}

[[Davos Seaworth]] spots twenty-three war galleys at [[White Harbor]],{{ref|ADWD|15}} while [[Wyman Manderly]] claims to have as many more hidden up the [[White Knife]].{{ref|ADWD|29}}

==See Also==
* List of all known [[:Category:Ships|ships]].
* List of known [[:Category:Warships|warships]].
* [[:Category:Images of ships|Images of ships]]

==References==
{{References|2}}

{{Transport}}

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