Liotainian Coastal Fleet

The Liotainian Coastal Flotilla was a dedicated part of the Royal Liotainian Navy, tasked with the naval defense of the western coast from Alizava to Eletrinai. This coastline, noteworthy for its shallow water, sandbars, and constricted harbours, required a different method of defense than a full-scale battle-fleet.

### Types of Ships

#### Galleys

A traditional Liotainian specialty, the galley was briefly ignored following their disastrous performance during the Firoccan-Liotainian War of 1701-1707. Galley design restarted in the 1750s but remained a niche in the RLN.

Galleys were usually built in Sventoji to a common design perfected over preceding centuries; a shallow-draft hull designed for speed, with two lateen masts and up to forty oars. Three 11kg cannon were placed in a chase position forward, while several swivel guns of various sizes filled out the ship's armament.

#### Perlinés

The *Perlinés* or Littoral Frigate was a special class of sailing frigates specially designed for use on the shallow Nestorian Sea, Gulf of Breizh, and Gulf of Argent. Liotainian sailors called them by the slang term *Perlinéai* (from Perlinés Valtys, or Pearl-boats), which quickly stuck for all ships of the type.

A perlinés had similar length and beam dimensions to a regular seagoing frigate, but was designed with a strong emphasis on lowering the draft. Perlinéai sometimes were sluggish sailors compared to their seagoing equivalents, but could still perform quite well in most circumstances. They were equipped with sweeps (oars), and could be propelled entirely by their crew when necessary. However, they were much slower under oars than galleys.

The perlinéai, however, were very heavily armed in comparison to the galleys or even other frigates of their class. Most of the ships carried thirty-two guns (twenty-six 11kg long guns and six 1kg carronades on the upper deck), ten times the normal armament of a typical galley. Their crew accommodations0 also were vast improvements on the galleys.

Antargentina built several ships based on the perlinés design, but preferred to use their own locally-designed *littoria*.

#### Littoria

The *littoria* was a special type of sailing ship designed for use on the shallow Nestorian Sea, Gulf of Argent, and Varsow Sea. They were called *littorias* by their crews, and the name was applied to all vessels of the same type.

Littorias generally represented a major synthesis of the traditional oared galley with a small frigate or corvette. They were generally three-masted, with a shallow draft. Instead of a gun-deck, however, they carried a significant number of sweeps (oars), with their guns being placed on the main deck, mounted on swivels located on the centerline. Littorias usually mounted between twelve and fourteen guns, usually a mix of six 18-pounders and eight 9-pounders.

In general, littorias had indifferent sailing qualities due to their flat-bottomed design. In order to mount the swivel guns, they were longer than comparable vessels, and in strong winds tended to heel alarmingly.

Liotain built several ships based on the littoria design, but preferred to use their own locally-designed *perlinés*.

#### Barcaccias

Barcaccias were double-ended rowing craft equipped with two masts, eight oar pairs, and a crew of up to thirty men. They were usually armed with a single swivel-mounted long gun (8kg) and two to four 1kg or 2kg swivels. Barcaccias often carried a Breizhoned lugger rig, although sometimes an Astyrian batten-rig (or junk) was used instead.

#### Gun-yawls

The gun-yawl or *kanonjolas* was similar to the barcaccia, with a collapsible batten-rigged mainmast and a smaller batten-rigged mizzen. Kanonjolai were usually handier sailing vessels than the barcaccias, but had a much deeper draft.