D&D 5E Folding boat deck plan

[Sword of Spirit]

Has anyone been able to turn the description in the DMG of the ship form of the folding boat into a deck plan that works? I'm making a Ghosts of Saltmarsh style ship write-up for it, and I'm having a hard time trying to fit what what the DMG says it has into the dimensions provided.

 

[R_J_K75]

The second larger boat description does seem odd, though I never gave it much thought until you brought it up. 6 foot depth seems a little short to put a cabin in. Then again I remember being in a friends boat when I was about 16 and there was a cuddy cabin that was pretty short I remember having to bend down to get into it, Was much more than a small bunk and some storage, so Im guessing this is what the description may be referring to, Im guessing there are 2 decks and would be above where the rowers sit. Id have to assume this is just for short trips, with little to no room to sleep or storage for everyone needed to operate the boat.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

The main problem is the combination of a cabin and oars. The deck is only 24' by 8' with five pairs of oars. That means room for 10 people to sit along the sides and effectively row. They cannot be sitting next to the cabin, because there is no way to pull that off. Let's say you cram them into 3 feet of rowing space on each side. The cabin is now 2' wide. So the rowers either need to be sitting on top of the cabin, or just skipping the area covered by the cabin.

So how much area should that cabin cover? If we make it 8' long, it eats up a third of the ship. Is there a good placement for that that still allows for rowing, or should there be a couple seats just stuck up on top of the cabin?

Putting the cabin in the front or middle makes it harder for the crew member with the tiller to see where they are steering. Putting the cabin in the rear puts that crew member on top of it with the tiller, making it harder to physically manage. You also have to deal with the interaction between the mast and the cabin.

What sort of monstrosity do we have to create here to make this thing work?

 

[R_J_K75]

The main problem is the combination of a cabin and oars. The deck is only 24' by 8' with five pairs of oars. That means room for 10 people to sit along the sides and effectively row. They cannot be sitting next to the cabin, because there is no way to pull that off. Let's say you cram them into 3 feet of rowing space on each side. The cabin is now 2' wide. So the rowers either need to be sitting on top of the cabin, or just skipping the area covered by the cabin.

So how much area should that cabin cover? If we make it 8' long, it eats up a third of the ship. Is there a good placement for that that still allows for rowing, or should there be a couple seats just stuck up on top of the cabin?

Putting the cabin in the front or middle makes it harder for the crew member with the tiller to see where they are steering. Putting the cabin in the rear puts that crew member on top of it with the tiller, making it harder to physically manage. You also have to deal with the interaction between the mast and the cabin.

What sort of monstrosity do we have to create here to make this thing work?

Not too sure about this without pulling out some graph paper and drawing it up. I might give it a shot tomorrow cause now Im curious. Seems like someone should have done this already. Im almost thinking I at least seen a picture of it somewhere.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I hadn't noticed the 5e version of this item had a cabin. I've always considered it like a standard ship's longboat (which would have an erectable tarp if shelter was needed). DM is free to change the item though, no reason to suppose all folding boats are identical. I could imagine a gnome artificer creating one that looked completely bonkers.

 

[R_J_K75]

I hadn't noticed the 5e version of this item had a cabin.

I did in 2E too, so Im assuming it always did. But I never used it for anything but for the utility of getting the players from point A to point B so I never paid a whole lot of attention other than the required crew and maximum capacity. Lets face it I dont think this thing is holding up to any kind of reasonable attack. The cabins only there for the Captain to hide in.

 

[R_J_K75]

What sort of monstrosity do we have to create here to make this thing work?

I laid it out very crudely. If you take the dimensions given in the description and figure 2 medium sized creatures can fit in a roughly 5' area then it works as far as I can tell. Now its going to be close quarters for sure but as I said above due to space limitations for provisions and sleeping as a DM Id rule that depending in the number of those aboard I wouldn't let a party be on the water anymore than 8-16 hours without the potential of something bad happening. I dont think this is meant for long-range or long-term travel. When the description says it can hold 15 medium sized people comfortable in a 24' by 8' area it seems a bit of a stretch.

 

[aco175]

I saw this on a Google search and thought it could work. The Reddit was about not working and some stuff on speed.

 

[LordEntrails]

When the description says it can hold 15 medium sized people comfortable in a 24' by 8' area it seems a bit of a stretch.

Sounds more comfortable than a commercial airplane...
which are in the range of 18" wide and 31" 'pitch' (front-back space).

So, 8ft wide is easily 4 people abreast! And 24' long would be 9 rows. So 9x4 + 36 passengers!

 

[R_J_K75]

Sounds more comfortable than a commercial airplane...
which are in the range of 18" wide and 31" 'pitch' (front-back space).

So, 8ft wide is easily 4 people abreast! And 24' long would be 9 rows. So 9x4 + 36 passengers!

Im sure what Im visualizing is different from the next person. But Im guessing theres going to be two sets of rowers, one on either side which leaves an aisle in the middle, then the mast. Im not a sailor so Im not too sure but if theres a cabin in the back wouldnt there be one on the other end or else the boat would be weighted too heavily on one end? So Im guessing the open air deck would be less than 24' at least the portion where the rowers would be. Definitely an interesting question, one I'd never given much thought.