Ironclads are a type of armored ship that were developed by dwarves in the mid Age of Enlightenment. They are primarily used as a ay to transport goods.
Description
Ironsides are smaller ships covered in thick armor plating. From bow to stern they are usually built to be somewhere between 160 and 170 feet long and are about 40 feet wide. The outside and hull of the ship are covered in wrought iron sheets of metal approximately 5 inches thick and are backed with heavy timber. They do not have sails, being incredibly weighty and difficult to manuever with normal wind power. Instead there is a massive paddle wheel in the rear. The gears and pulleys are designed in such a way that it needs two people to crank the wheel at all times, but it is incredibly easy and puts little strain on those that are. They are typically big enough for a crew of about 50 people. They don't carry many weapons besides whatever the crew has, relying on the shell for defense rather than returning offense.
History
Ironclads were developed by the dwarves of the Irongate Mountains as a means to transport their own goods to foreign lands to trade. It cost too much for them to use the services of other ships with contracting and shipping fees, and was exacerbated by the fact that these ships still could not guarantee delivery. With a rise of pirates during the Age of Intelligence, it just wasn't safe to trust anyone with their goods for fear they would either be stolen or their contractors would double cross them. Construction began on the first designs during the Age of Enlightenment, favoring defense rather than a comparable offense with the iron plating. It made it much easier for the dwarves to ignore most threats as the only thing pirates could do was send boarding crews, which the dwarves would be well prepared for. They are still used to this day and are considered one of the safest, if slowest, ships in all of Malgrave's oceans.
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