Evolution of Fengdao Ships

After the ancient Fengdao came to the isles by boat the Fengdao lost the technology when they lived underground. Over the years Fengdao has developed its ships from tiny canoes made from logs to navigate between the islands and throughout the waterways of the region, to large vessel capable of making the trip to other island chains and the mainland. Most Fengdao ships have distinctive red sails with a trapezoid shape. Fengdao has also created the lighthouse to ward of ships from the shallow shores of the isles.

### Early History

The earliest records of Fengdao marine history are small canoes to navigate around the isles and in inland lakes. They were usually made by burning out the inside of trees. The canoes were powered by a long stick to pish against the river-bed and later by oars allowing them to move in deeper water. These later developed into the Fāinay with the invention of a small tent. The red colour is due to the wool being dipped in a bark-solution to protect it at sea. Fishing was conducted on these with harpoons.

#### Fāinay

The small canoes later developed into small fishing vessels called Fāinay. These were essentially a long strips of wood, carved symmetrically with a red tent on top. The tent is used for rougher voyages or when the boats are docked. The boats were powered by oars and the symmetrical nature of the boat made turning extremely simple as the rower would just have to turn around on his seat. The main method of fishing at this point had become the net. A small fleet would surround the fish in order to capture them. Some sources even point at model sharks being put in the water behind the boat in order to scare the fish.

#### Fāiyuēqía

The Fāiyuēqía is a model of enlarged fishing boat used by Fengdao. It is capable of much further travel than its predecessor the Fāinay due to its sails. The sails were invented after a young engineer noticed how the tent of the Fāinay could inflate and lift the boat. He then put this on the side and created sails, boats could now read around 4-6 knots The sails therefore kept the distinctive red colour, and it has become the traditional sail colour for fishing ships in Fengdao. This boat saw the invention of a rear oar aimed to steer the boat, which later became a rudder. These are still used in the modern day for fishing and for transporting goods from the larger boats who cant make it to the shallow shores of Fengdao.

### Modern Era

#### Taōyuēqía

The Taōyuēqía is a type of ship like the Fāiyuēqía, yet larger, with 3 sails, hence the name “3 sails”. The model was first used to go over to Angnipīn, the mesa west of Fengdao. It has kept the traditional red colour of sails, but the sails are tighter making the boat go faster, around 5-7 knots. It has a built in rudder making it easier to turn then earlier models. It is also at this time that the boat makers of Fengdao start to make the boat less symmetrical back to front, increasing speed as the new sails could not turn as easily as the oars.

#### Kopīn

The Kopīn is a large raft used to transport large amounts of wood from the mainland to the shores of the isles. The Fengdao wanted lots of yànko wood to make boats. Because of the lack of flat land suitable for growing them they were transported to the flat lands of the mainland and land was cleared out for them to grow. Much of the wood cut was useless to the Fengdao. Some was used for temporary towns for wood chopper and some was taken back to the isles on rafts and burnt as charcaol. These first rafts were massive lines of logs tied together and rowed across the shallow ocean. When the yànko trees were ready to harvest about 60 years later, they were transported to the isles on similar rafts and turned into boats. The rafts used here were often around 300 metres long and manned by about 200 men. This was a massive undertaking and most men that lived outside the cave went on this trip.

### Notable Ships

#### Dongfāinay

The Dongfāinay is a ship that carried the ancient Fengdao from across the seas to the isles. Not much is known of the ship but reconstructions have been made and the Fāikāmsāng is largely respected to be the most accurate. It was said to be carried by the hands of the water spirits above the waves to reach the isles. Once the ancient Fengdao reached the isles and were banished underground they appear to have lost this technology and have only used small canoes in underground rivers and lakes.

#### Fāikāmsāng

The Fāikāmsāng was the first large boat of Fengdao, it was built of of hard wood with an acacia trim. The name means “sea panda” after the nation animal, the panda. It was commissioned by Guru Xu Qīnshu as part of the new ambition to explore the world. The ship is very large and has many internal cabins. The design of the ship is based on scholarly reconstructions of the Dongfāinay from plans from monasteries across the seas.

### Light houses

Fengdao has used lighthouses even since the invention of the Fāiyuēqía, they are used to stop ships from hitting the large amounts of moving sand banks. The lighthouse at Changxi is largely respected to be the oldest lighthouse of the isles. The light houses of Fengdao use a large fire behind a white canvas to hold back the wind.

## See Also

* Ploughwater Galleys: A form of riverine craft found in the west
* Great Rafts: Large rafts used on the great rivers of Sabrim