How Big are River Boats?

Sigma · Jul 12, 2002

I'm getting the itch to start a new campaign, and was mulling over the following premise: The characters are given the task of taking a boat to the source of a river in a remote part of the campaign world. The setting will be a cold inhospitable Yukon/Alaskan style environment. My question is, how big a boat could you get up a medium sized river? About how many people would be needed to crew it? Would it even be a good idea to use a boat for this purpose?

My inspiration for this is a Jack London story about a guy trying to get eggs up to a remote goldrush town via boat. (Being a Jack London story, he of course suffers, starves, and nearly dies as he fights nature, only to find that the eggs are rotten by the time he gets them to the town. But that's beside the point.)

alsih2o · Jul 12, 2002

if i am not mistaken, several instances occurred that made lewis and clark(now there is a d20 waiting to happen) build new boats over and over, i would worry more about making sure the p.c.'s had some kind of boatbuilding skill, and let them fail or succeed depending on circumstance

Kid Charlemagne · Jul 12, 2002

There was a great article on Lewis & Clark in Time recently - check it out for details. The online site might have the picture of the boats that they used. I think the biggest was around 40'. They eventually abandoned it because the water got too shallow.

Draft (how far the bottom of the boat goes below the waterline) will be the biggest issue, especially going into wild, unexplored frontier territory. I would think that 35' to 40' in length is about the most you'd be able to handle. It would be a flat bottomed, barge-like boat. Canoes might be a better way; they can still carry a fair amount, and can be easily made en route when need arises.

Jack Haggerty · Jul 12, 2002

If you are thinking of the Lewis and Clark style river barges, think of something about twice the size of an averag living room... Big enough to pitch a large tent on, and still have plenty of room to store cargo and walk around.

They were usually built by making a simple raft of (large) logs lashed together, with hewn planks on top to provide a flat deck. They often had a single mast with a mostly square sail, and sometimes a shack-like shelter built on the deck. They were usually steered with oars and/or poles.

Normally, these buggers kept to the larger rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, etc...), and canoes kept to the smaller ones, as KC said.

Tonguez · Jul 12, 2002

Riverboats are great - irl and as an RPG setting.

I had a River-boat setting in one game I played the river was based on the Missippi (so lots of interaction with river towns) but transported to a UK-type country anyway.

as stated large barges were big enough to pitch a tent on and have horses and 'gear' etc as well as a average sized family/party (3-6).

On a river like the Missippi you can get away with minimum crew as long as you don't mind drifting on the current. The biggest problem with 'Alaskan' rivers is rapids etc where you will either need to transport your boat overland or risk having it destroyed on the rocks.

Sigma · Jul 12, 2002

Thanks for the feedback, not only did you answer my question, you gave me ideas for adventures (trecking around rapids, leaving the boat behind when the river gets too small). One more question. Any idea how hard it is to sail a barge like that against the current? Jack Haggarty mentioned a sail, would that provide enough power, or would you have to use oars or horses to pull it?

I have a National Geographic issue about Lewis and Clark, I'll have to take a look at that when I get home.

BiggusGeekus · Jul 12, 2002

Obligatory geek trivia:

* The Mississippi river is fairly calm. It is also very windy. Mark Twain noted that sometimes when a guy felt like taking a walk he'd disembark where the river would start to make a turn and meet the boat at the other side of the giant "U" the river was currently making.

* Adventure idea (also from Twain): Look again at that giant "U" which represents the curve (the river is actually making something more like an "s", but never mind that now). The farmer at the bottom of the "U" has some fantastic land that is surrounded by lots of water. What some scalywag could do (and historically this happened in America during the 19th century) was to buy land at the top of the "U" before the spring rains. He would then dig a very large trench connecting the points of the "U".

See what's going to happen?

When the spring rains came and the river starts to flood, the water will rush down the point of least resistance: which is now the trench! The river does the rest of the digging for him and shortly the guy at the top of the "U" now has some very valuable property and the guy at the bottom has property that isn't so good anymore.

The adventurers could be asked/hired do do something to prevent this or correct it with powerful magic.

Sigma · Jul 12, 2002

Minor bump to see if anyone knows how hard it is to boat upstream.

alsih2o · Jul 12, 2002

boating upstream by wind power is dependant on hull design and current, hard to sum up....

Sigma · Jul 12, 2002

alsih2o said:
boating upstream by wind power is dependant on hull design and current, hard to sum up....

I guess I'm looking for just a yes/no on whether or not it's possible. Assume a flat bottom raft with a small sail as described in the posts above.

How Big are River Boats?

Sigma

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alsih2o

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Kid Charlemagne

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Jack Haggerty

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Tonguez

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Sigma

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BiggusGeekus

That's Latin for "cool"

Sigma

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alsih2o

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Sigma

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