Fluvial barges
Designed by architects for The Guild during the 15th century, fluvial barges answer to a decisive question: how can we travel and transport goods through shallow and meandering rivers? The question was particularly hot in the area of Sookva, where many rivers converge.
Thus, barges were created with a very low profile, a flat bottom and no rudder. To drive the barges, teams of three to seven people are formed. The rear one manages the direction and gives orders to the others, while they place themselves on the sides, to give speed to the barge. Each one has a very long wooden pole to push the boat around. There are also smaller barges used as personal transport, because their nimbleness makes it easy to handle by a single person.
While very simple, this concept allows to transport people and goods relatively quickly through shallow rivers, meanders, deltas and swamplands.
Thus, barges were created with a very low profile, a flat bottom and no rudder. To drive the barges, teams of three to seven people are formed. The rear one manages the direction and gives orders to the others, while they place themselves on the sides, to give speed to the barge. Each one has a very long wooden pole to push the boat around. There are also smaller barges used as personal transport, because their nimbleness makes it easy to handle by a single person.
While very simple, this concept allows to transport people and goods relatively quickly through shallow rivers, meanders, deltas and swamplands.
Around the world, fluvial barge are used to transport cattle, merchandise, people, ores, and sometimes even waste. In Sookva, they are also massively used in embankment works around the river, and in immersed fields. They are so simple of conception that almost anyone with access to wood and tools can build one, or simply buy one for a reasonable price.
In 615.II, a sookvan ceramist tried to make barges out of lightweight, plant fiber-reinforced ceramic. The prototype showed extremely good buoyancy and stability, but after the first test, it appeared that it was way too fragile for proper use. The ship broke in half when it hit a floating log near the riverbanks.
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