Caravel

A caravel was a medium-sized sailing ship used in Amn, and on the Inner Sea by Cormyr, Sembia, and Impiltur. They were less popular in Turmish and Chondath.

Description
Typically 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 meters) long at the keel and 20 feet (6 meters) wide, caravels usually had two or three masts and no oars. A caravel's full deck was about ten feet above the surface of the water, but it also usually had a small forecastle and sterncastle. The ship had a smooth hull, which was constructed around a strong internal framework.

Crew size ranged from a minimum of seven to fifteen and could carry up to a maximum of 30 to 50, including passengers. It could bear a load of 120 tons (110 metric tons) of cargo. A caravel could be armed with a large weapon (such as catapult or ballista) but was not built to wield a ram. On the Inner Sea, the sails were usually square, but in Amn, caravels had triangular lateen sails which allowed the ship to tack into the wind.

Caravels were seaworthy and capable of deep sea voyages. Their sailing speeds were three miles per hour in light winds.

A typical caravel took three months to build within a small shipyard.

Notable Owners
Cordell's Maztican fleet had several caravels.