Inspecting the Shipyard

After the public trial, Paul Greiman did not immediately return to Lakeheart Town. There were still many matters that needed to be settled, so he decided to stay in Franklin Harbor for a few more days.

For example, in terms of administration, the Old Town Chief was clearly unable to continue in his position due to health reasons.

According to tradition, they should gather the local dignitaries and elect a local to be the new town chief. This was a common practice in the northern territories. As long as the lords could collect enough taxes and conscript enough labor and soldiers, they were happy to relinquish what they considered to be minor powers to the local areas.

In return, they would use this as an excuse to evade their due responsibilities and obligations when something happened locally.

However, Paul did not intend to continue this tradition. He wanted to appoint his own candidates. The power to appoint and remove all officials within the territory must be firmly in his hands, so that his will could be implemented relatively effectively, paving the way for a series of reforms he had in mind.

Of course, in view of the Old Town Chief's extensive experience, Paul still left him a position as an advisor, with his salary paid by him and counted as part of the Lord's Manor's financial expenditure.

So he wrote to Chief Steward Ford, asking him to immediately send two experienced and trustworthy people to Franklin Harbor to serve as the town's chief and deputy chief.

To his surprise, Franklin Harbor actually had a small shipyard, and it was even his family's property. As soon as he learned of the shipyard's existence, he led Schroeder, Bryce, and a group of officers to visit it.

After the public trial, the shipyard continued to operate. Paul and others stood near the dock, watching the craftsmen busy at work from a distance, while the shipyard head Rubin cautiously accompanied these big shots.

"Do we only build this type of ship here?"

Paul asked with a frown. In his opinion, the ships in the harbor and dock were somewhat similar to the Nordic Viking longships of the medieval Earth, with a single mast, a main square Hard Sail, and wind power was only an auxiliary function. Most of the power came from the rowers on board.

The shipyard head Rubin respectfully replied, "Yes, sir. Our shipyard currently only builds this type of ship."

The little Earl seems to be not very satisfied.

Paul was indeed not very satisfied. In his mind, even if they couldn't build steam-powered ironclad ships now, they should at least be able to build sailing battleships like the British Royal Navy's Victory. This kind of single-masted rowing sailboat seemed like a toy to him.

He shook his head and said, "This won't do! The navy we want to build can't go to sea in these kinds of ships."

The surrounding landlubbers were puzzled: "Earl, don't all ships look like this?"

"We need warships with larger hulls and more sails, with longer endurance, capable of crossing the ocean, instead of having to return to the dock for supplies in less than a week at sea."

He turned to ask the shipyard head Rubin, "Does the whole world use similar ships?"

Rubin thought for a moment and replied, "I wouldn't dare to say the whole world, but as far as I know, they are basically like this. There may be differences in the details, but the structure is similar. Some large ships will have two to three masts."

"Do they all use this kind of Hard Sail?"

"Some use Soft Sail, which is very popular in the Horn Bay area, for example."

"What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of sails?"

"Generally speaking, Hard Sail require fewer operators, can catch wind from all directions, and adapt to changeable wind directions and complex sea areas, but they don't make full use of downwind power and are relatively slow, making them unsuitable for long-distance voyages. Soft Sail, on the other hand, are lighter and can have taller masts, increasing the wind-receiving area of the sails, making them suitable for long-distance voyages, but they are complex to operate, cumbersome and dangerous to furl, and require higher quality sailors."

Rubin paused and continued, "Maritime transport in our Northwest Coast area is not very frequent, and it is generally along the coastline, where we can go ashore for supplies at any time, so this convenient Hard Sail is popular. Southern countries, such as the Horn Bay Alliance, have more developed maritime trade and more advanced shipbuilding technology than us, so they generally use Soft Sail, and the hulls are larger."

"Horn Bay Alliance, huh... I see." Paul thought of the unlucky young master who had been captured by pirates. Wasn't he from the Horn Bay Alliance?

Rubin suddenly remembered something and excused himself, "Please wait a moment, sir." Then he hurried back to his office, and hurried back with a thick book tucked under his arm.

He handed the book over with both hands: "This is the information on various ships that I have compiled since I started in the industry. Since the Earl is so interested in ships, perhaps looking at it will be helpful."

Paul took it and flipped through a few pages. He saw that it was illustrated with both pictures and text, recording every ship that the shipyard head had learned about since he entered the industry. The information was very rich, including load capacity, draft, personnel configuration and number, range, materials used, and so on.

"Amazing!" he praised sincerely. This Rubin is really a talent.

Receiving the lord's praise, Rubin was a little shy: "Hehe! You flatter me, sir."

Paul immediately announced that he would give him 10 Silver Coin as a reward. Rubin couldn't believe his ears. His usual little hobby had actually made him a small fortune.

"What's the largest ship you've ever built here?"

"The largest was a longship nearly 30 meters long with a load capacity of 70 tons."

"How long does it take to build a ship?"

"Different ships require different construction periods. Assuming that the main materials are readily available, small ships, not to mention, can be completed within a month if we rush the work. Large ships can be completed in about a quarter if they are urgently needed, but if it is a sturdy and durable large ship with particularly high quality requirements, the keel and ribs must be dried naturally on the slipway for a year before the internal and external plating of the ship can continue. Subsequent construction can only be carried out slowly and methodically, which takes a long time."

"How many years have you worked at this shipyard?"

"I've been helping my father here since I was a child, and it's been almost 20 years now."

"This place is always 'visited' by pirates, right? Have they made things difficult for you?"

"Pirates also need to build and repair ships, so they haven't made things too difficult for us, and they will give us some money, after all, they still need to buy shipbuilding materials, tools, etc. Sometimes they send ready-made ones, as for where they come from, you know."

As they watched Paul and Rubin's exchange, the crowd muttered to themselves, "It seems the Earl is determined to develop the navy. This Rubin is likely to be put to great use."

After touring the shipyard, Paul bid farewell to Rubin and prepared to lead the group back to their temporary residence at the Church in the town center. Before leaving, he patted Rubin on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Work hard, this shipyard will be of great use to me."

Although it seemed a bit comical for a boy to make such a gesture to a middle-aged man in the eyes of others, it still moved the shipyard supervisor to tears. He patted his chest and swore to the heavens that he would never fail the Earl's expectations.

Finally, Paul instructed Rubin to use the weight of the water displaced by the ships after they were launched to measure their size. He still preferred the concept of displacement, and as for how to calculate it, that was up to the shipyard supervisor himself.