THE LUCILLE

 

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The Lucille is a large, multi-decked Galleon sailing ship easily recognizable by its odd shabby Turquoise colored hull and faded, dirty brown sails. Unlike most Galleons, Lucille is outfitted with two main masts, supported with aft and rear lateens.  It is moderately armed and carries 32 twelve-pound cannons: 18 on the gun deck and 14 on the main deck. Its full broadside contains 16 cannonballs in a volley. Extremely unusual for a pirate ship, the Lucille has no chase guns in her bow or stern.

 There are four sections of the ship which may not be entered: The Bow and Aft Bilge Rooms, The Orlop, and the Aft Hold. All of these are wards with powerful runes, charms, and sigils that turn invaders into piles of smoking ash.

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• BOWSPRIT: The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel’s prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestays, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.
• FORSTAYS: On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat.
• STEM: The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship’s bow and is an extension of the keel itself. 
• GUNS: This is the Magazine. This is the place within which ammunition or other explosive material is stored. Also called a Powder Room.
• GUNDECK: The term gun deck refers to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides.  This deck features 18 twelve-pound cannons that are fixed in position, and fired through mechanical hatches. These cannons are outfitted with Gnome technology that auto-loads the cannons through a side magazine. Each cannon can be operated by a single crewman who must fire the magazine and then spend a round reloading. The cannon is most effective with a team of two, a reloader and gunner.
• FOREMAST: The mast nearest the bow, or the mast forward of the main-mast
• MAINMAST: The tallest mast, usually located near the center of the ship. This mast also holds the Crow’s Nest  that is used as a lookout point.
• MIZZENMAST: The aft-most mast. Typically shorter than the fore-mast.
• FORECASTLE: In medieval shipbuilding, a ship of war was usually equipped with a tall, multi-deck castle-like structure in the bow of the ship. It served as a platform for archers to shoot down on enemy ships, or as a defensive stronghold if the ship were boarded. A similar but usually much larger structure, called the Aftcastle, was at the aft end of the ship, often stretching all the way from the main mast to the stern.
• MAIN DECK: The main deck of a ship is the uppermost complete deck extending from bow to stern. A steel ship’s hull may be considered a structural beam with the main deck forming the upper flange of a box girder and the keel forming the lower strength member. This deck features 14 twelve-pound cannons which are not fixed, and can be moved for deployment. Solomon is proud of the fact that each cannon is outfitted and upgraded with Gnome mechanics that allows each cannon to be operated by a single crewman rather than a team of two. This deck also features two apparatus for moving heavy weights, a large crane and a windlass.
  
• COCK BOAT: A small boat used to service or support other boats or ships, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship.
• CAPSTAN: A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.
• ORLOP: The orlop is the lowest deck in a ship (except for very old ships). It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line. Early steamships, like the Charlotte Dundas, housed their engines in this area. The entire Orlop deck is off limits and guarded by powerful wards.
• KEEL: The keel is basically a flat blade sticking down into the water from a sailboat’s bottom. It has two functions: it prevents the boat from being blown sideways by the wind, and it holds the ballast that keeps the boat right-side up.
• HOLD: Holds are below the Orlop deck, the lower part of the interior of a ship’s hull, especially when considered as storage space, as for cargo. Lucille has six large holds for transporting goods. The Aft Hold is off limited and guarded by powerful wards. The Hold Deck also has the Brig.
• BILGE: The Lucille has two, one in the Bow and one in the Aft. Both are off limits and guarded by powerful wards. The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship, below the waterline, where the two sides meet at the keel. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into the bilge. This water may be from rough seas, rain, leaks in the hull or stuffing box, or other interior spillage. The collected water must be pumped out to prevent the bilge from becoming too full and threatening to sink the ship.
• RUDDER: A rudder is “part of the steering apparatus of a boat or ship that is fastened outside the hull”, that is denoting all different types of oars, paddles, and rudders.  Stern-mounted rudders are uniformly suspended at the back of the ship in a central position A single sail tends to turn a vessel in an upwind or downwind direction, and rudder action is required to steer a straight course.
• SIDE RUDDERS: These strange devices are mounted on to the sides of The Lucille. They are made of ultra-strong adamantite and are deployed by use of mechanics operated within the Orlop Deck.
• TILLER: A tiller is a lever attached to a rudder post of a boat that provides leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. The tiller can be used by the helmsman directly pulling or pushing it, but it may also be moved remotely using tiller lines or a ship’s wheel.
• GALLERY: A gallery is an architectural feature of the stern of a sailing ship. It is a kind of balcony, typically placed on the sides of the sterncastle, the high, tower-like structure at the back of a ship that housed the officer’s quarters. They functioned primarily as latrines for the ship’s officers, and in inclement weather they also afforded those officers a view of the forward sails of the ship without having to go outside. On certain vessels and under certain conditions, the quarter galleries could serve as a firing platform for the ship’s sharpshooters during boarding actions. The galleries also provided a structure that was ideally suited for attaching decoration and often bore carved wooden sculptures.
• QUARTERDECK: This is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship’s colours are displayed. On the Lucille, this deck is the main ceremonial, briefing, and reception area on board. It also serves to house secondary armament, including a Light Catapult and two Medium Harpoon Ballistae.
• POOP DECK: A poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or “aft”, part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, “la poupe”. It was usually elevated with the helmsman at the rear, an elevated position was ideal for both navigation and observation of the crew and sails.