Eriksson's Fishing Boat Dream
"No, wait." Borkal stopped Eriksson. "What are you trying to do, Eyke?
Why did you buy this broken flipper?
There's such a huge hole in the bottom and even the bottom is cracked. Even if you want to buy it for cheap, you'll have to replace the entire plank. The only thing that's still usable is the bottom beam. "
Eriksson nodded. "That's exactly what I'm interested in."
He then raised two fingers at Wakri. "I'll pay two thales. If you don't think it's a good deal, just pretend I didn't say anything, Uncle Wakri."
Wakri smiled bitterly. "Add a bit more. I can't lose too much, you know."
"I don't have money either.
Uncle Wakri, two thales is the most sincere offer I can make. It's fine if you don't want to sell it. To be honest, I only need this bottom beam.
There's no value in repairing it anymore. Even if you dismantle it and sell the wood, you'll only get two or three thales at most. If you subtract the labor costs, you might not even be able to sell it to me. "
In Whitestag, dismantling ships was indeed a skilled job. It was usually done by a shipwright with two or three apprentices. Their main job was to repair ships and dismantle ships as a part-time job.
However, they were the only ones who could dismantle the planks and wooden beams that were still usable.
If a person who only knew how to work hard dismantled a ship, the planks might not even be of use at all. At most, they could be chopped up and used as firewood.
Of course, the bigger the ship, the more cost-effective it was to dismantle it.
Take this broken flipper for example. Even if it was a small ship, only the bottom beam was still useful.
If he didn't hire a shipwright, Wakri was worried that he would end up turning the bottom beam into scrap metal.
But if he did hire a shipwright, he felt that the price would be too high. Just as Eriksson said, the parts he dismantled wouldn't be worth as much as the labor costs.
"Uncle Wakri, I think it's better for you to sell it. Otherwise, if this broken flipper is displayed in front of your shop, everyone will know that you bought it at a loss. That'll affect your reputation greatly.
For you to be able to buy such a tattered flipper, I wonder if there's a problem with the quality of the goods in your shop … "Claude added.
Perhaps that was what Wakri was worried about as well. His expression fluctuated for a while before he waved his hand disappointedly. "Forget it, two thales it is. But you have to take this flipper away as soon as possible."
"Alright, I'll get someone to come and pull it over in the afternoon."
Eriksson happily took out two thales and handed it to Wakri, "I still have to go back to school, so I'll be a little late for this flipper.
If anyone asks, just tell them that I bought it and left it in front of your door for the time being. "
It seemed like Wakri thought the same. He nodded at Eriksson, took the two thales, and returned to the shop.
The four of them walked towards the school.
"Eyke, can you tell me now? Why did you buy that flipper?" Borkal was the most curious one.
"Think about the waverider parked at my dock," said Eriksson, still trying to act mysterious.
A waverider was a common type of small fishing boat on Freia. However, it was mainly used to set up nets in tandem with long-distance fishing boats.
The boat was about seven meters long and less than two meters wide. It even had a movable mast and a small sail. It was equipped with a crew of ten.
Most of the crew consisted of six oarsmen, one helmsman, one sail operator and one net operator. The crew was led by a boatswain.
When a long-distance fishing boat discovered a shoal of fish, it would release a waverider and use it to pull the net from the ship to surround and capture the shoal of fish.
Usually, a long-distance fishing boat would have two waveriders. Sometimes, two waveriders would work together to pull the net before the larger ship would pull the net.
Of course, for long-distance fishing boats, the waverider could be used as both a lifeboat and a landing ship.
Eriksson's family had a waverider parked at their private dock, but it was broken.
It was said that the Wave-piercer once went out to sea to search for water on an island. Because the wind and waves were too strong, it accidentally crashed into a rock wall on the shore. Although the crew was fine, a crack appeared on the beam at the bottom of the ship, so the Wave-piercer was scrapped.
The cracking of the bottom beam was a fatal injury to any ship. No one knew when the ship would break into two if it continued to sail on the sea …
So, while the waverider looked fine from the outside, it was only when it was flipped that the bottom beam was broken.
Just like the broken flipper Eriksson had just bought, the cost of replacing the bottom beam wasn't as high as building a new boat.
"You want to replace the bottom beam of the flipper with that waverider?"
Borkal understood, but he immediately furrowed his brow. "That can't be. The bottom beam of this flipper is only five meters long. Isn't it a little too short for a waverider?"
Eriksson shook his head. "No, no, no. I don't want to build a flipper or a waverider. I want to combine the two and build a small fishing boat like Old Sunny's."
Old Sunny's small fishing boat was rented by the four of them to Egret. It cost three riyases to rent for two and a half days.
"Actually, you guys haven't noticed that apart from the bottom beam of this flipper, the frame of the boat is also in good condition.
I just need to remove all the planks and use the bottom beam and railings, as well as the good planks from the wave-piercing boat parked at my dock. I can definitely build a small fishing boat. "Eriksson seemed to have a card up his sleeve.
"Of course, I'll also need to install a steering wheel, a movable mast, and three cabins. I'll also need to lay planks on top of it. However, I have spare materials and tools in my dock's warehouse. I'll just need to modify it a little and won't need to spend money to buy it.
The only thing I have to consider is manpower, which will cost me a little.
I'm sure you guys don't know that Uncle Pegg used to be a ship mechanic when he was younger. He injured his leg during a storm and retired from the ship.
I believe he still has his skills because he once asked my father to get a new bottom beam for the waverider to be repaired, even if it was free of charge. The main thing was that he didn't like seeing such a boat sitting at the dock.
However, my father had already bought a new waverider by then and the repaired one was also sitting at the dock, so I didn't agree to his request.
I'll drag this broken flipper back after school in the afternoon. I'm sure Uncle Pegg will be very happy.
Then, I'll tell him what I want and work for him. It won't be long before I have my own small fishing boat. "
"Will your father blame you if he finds out?" asked Borkal.
Eriksson gave it some thought and said, "I don't think so. If I go back at night and pester him to buy me a gun like yours, my father might ignore my request.
But if I say I want to build my own fishing boat, my father will definitely agree.
It just so happens that I can ask him to pay for my labor repair. "
Claude chuckled when he thought about it. Given how showy Eriksson's father, Captain Altroni, was, I'm sure he'd support Eriksson's proposal to build a small fishing boat. That way, he'd be able to flaunt his son's capabilities in town.
Just think about it, which of the captains in town could own their own fishing boat at the age of 16? Yet, his son managed to do so. That would be enough for him to brag about for a while.
He climbed over the wall and returned to school. He put the bag he was carrying in the drawer of his desk and got ready for his first physical education class in the afternoon, which was sword training.
The swordsmanship class taught the students to master three basic sword styles: the rapier, the two-handed sword, and the shortsword.
Based on the classification of swords, the rapier was the most common one. It was similar to the Western rapier in Zhang Heng's previous life. It was light and used stabbing as its main method of killing.
The two-handed sword, on the other hand, was similar to China's Longquan sword. The length and width of the blade were about the same, but the handle was different. It was a foot long and could be held with both hands. It could be used for horizontal slashes and vertical slashes.
The shortsword, on the other hand, was a powerful weapon for hand-to-hand combat. It was also a necessary defensive weapon for every soldier in the kingdom's army.
Generally speaking, the liberal arts students and the female students who signed up for sword arts classes would basically learn the thrusting technique. This was mainly because they weren't as physically fit as the physical students, so the light thrusting technique became their favorite.
The physical students, on the other hand, could learn all three styles of swordsmanship if they were interested and had the time.
However, after the school's swordsmanship instructor taught the students the basic skills of the three types of swordsmanship, the swordsmanship training classes in the future would be for the students to familiarize themselves with the basic movements of the swordsmanship. The swordsmanship instructor would only occasionally give pointers from the side, or arrange for the students to fight and supervise the competition.
Claude preferred two-handed swords and he was also the champion of the second-year two-handed sword competition.
The strongest of the four was Welikro, but he didn't choose a two-handed sword. Instead, he chose a shortsword like Eriksson.
The reason was simple. Eriksson was taught by his father that a shortsword was the most suitable for hand-to-hand combat on the ship. A two-handed sword wouldn't be able to display its full potential in the narrow corridors and cabins. Instead, it would get tangled up in ropes or nets.
Welikro chose it out of habit. His father had been a guard for fifteen years and was only familiar with the shortsword.
Ever since he had a son, he only taught him the shortsword. Also, as a hunter, short swords, knives, or axes were more practical in the woods.
So, Welikro wasn't interested in rapiers or two-handed swords. He was the best in school with the shortsword.
Borkal was the only one who didn't specialize in anything. He knew all three styles of swordsmanship, but he wasn't that great in any of them.
Claude was the champion of the two-handed sword, Welikro was the champion of the shortsword, and even though Eriksson wasn't the champion, he was among the top three in the shortsword competition.
Borkal, on the other hand, was the one who lagged behind in all three styles of swordsmanship. Only three or four liberal arts students were weaker than him.
After the swordsmanship class, there were two more horsemanship classes in the afternoon.
However, Claude and the other three didn't plan on going.
Eriksson wanted to find a few sailors to tow the broken flipper from Wakri's shop to his private jetty.
The two weren't too far from each other. The hole at the bottom of the flipper could be plugged with a wooden plank and dragged into the lake with a rope. It wouldn't take much effort, so Eriksson didn't plan on asking Claude and the other two for help.
Welikro had to follow Borkal home to get his musket and two targets from his family's warehouse. He would then drive the carriage to fetch Claude and the three of them would go to the forest outside of town to practice their shooting.
When Claude got home, he pulled out the wooden box from under his bed and took out the gun and the matching match. Even if he ran out of those, he would have to buy more. Then, he took out three argali horns of similar size.
The argali horns were also part of a matchlock gun and were used to store gunpowder.
One end of the horn was sharp and the other was wide. Both ends were fitted with copper covers.
The large head was used to pour gunpowder into the goat's horn, while the small, sharp head was used to pour gunpowder into the gun barrel. The inside of the goat's horn had been polished, and there were ten scales drawn on the inside. Each scale represented the amount of gunpowder needed to be fired.
One argali horn could hold exactly one unit of gunpowder.
Three argali horns could hold exactly three units of gunpowder and could fire 30 times.
There were also two small copper rings on the horns that could be tied to a strap and carried on one's back.
Claude recalled that Welikro had two small black cow horns on him during his previous trip to Egret. Those were also used to store gunpowder.
There was also a large leather pouch in the wooden box that looked like a money pouch. There was a slipknot at the mouth of the pouch, which was used to store guns. It could be hung on one's belt for easy access.