Navigation on the Sundance south of the Chattalen is rare, except for coastal craft. The southern Sundance is given to contrary winds and typhoons.
Riverboats
The boats that ply the Det vary from small blunt-bowed barges about 25 feet in length, used by locals, to the big passenger packets, of which the most famous are the Obligation and the Sundancer; triple-decked, hollow-hulled, screw-driven, about 250 feet in length and 30 feet beam to beam, they offer cabin space and deck passage. The ill-fated Det Star was larger, at 300 feet and 35 feet beam; and relied on sail as well as engines.
The majority of Det freight moves on motor barges, many of which also accept passengers.
The felucs of the Goth River of Nevander are similar, but use a triangular sail.
The smaller waterways of Wold and Megon use craft of similar design but smaller size.
The Boats of Merovingen
Some Det-river craft can come beyond the Harbor, most freight, however is transferred to small canalboats, which are of design too eclectic to set forth here: but the notable types are:
1. THE SKIP: a flat-bottomed, blunt-bowed craft about 5 feet by 22 feet, with a very small inboard engine.
The living arrangement is often a tarp awning set with a couple of poles and guys, but it is not practical to have up while using the pole, which requires a lot of walking back and forth.
The bottom is slatted for water drainage; the rear has a cubbyhole forward of the engine mount under a sort of raised quarterdeck on which the poler can walk. It is common to shelter in this place, though it is tight quarters. The cubby (canalers call it the hidey) is about 5x5 with 1.2 feet of engine wall to the rear and about 1.5' overhead clearance. So there is about 16 feet of free cargo room on the slats to the front plus the deck surface, A good deal of gear is stowed to the sides of the cubby, which makes the centerspace quite tight.
The deck has a shallow rim that keeps things from going overboard and the pole, about 12' long, with the boathook, lies along the rim in a special rack. Other large items are stored in the open and shifted about at need. Ropes and tackle are stored along the sides of the forward well and down in the well, where needed.
The bow is not truly square but rather a blunt rounded affair. This type of boat is the most common craft in Merovingen,
2. The CANALER: about a third larger man the skip, confined to the main waterways and used for heavy cargo.
3. The POLEBOAT: a motorless gondola-like craft, long and slim and used commonly for hire, the taxi of Merovingen.
4. The CATBOAT: catamaran, a boat confined to the bay and usually propelled by paddle or sail, for small fishing and harbor freight.
5. The LONGBOAT: a 10-oar gondola-style craft used for state occasions and funerals.
6. The COASTER: one of the fisher-boats, high-sided and broad of beam for its length. It sails the edge of the Sundance.
7. The FANCYBOAT: a motor launch for the rich, generally used only in the uptown area.
8. The YACHT: a large motor-sail vessel used primarily by the wealthiest for transport either on the river or along the coast.
The Ancestors of Merovin were not spacers, but station-dwellers and employees of the founding corporations some of whom were planet-based. The original Merovans were polyglot, with some influence of spacer-culture, with which they worked.
Events combined to break down linguistic conformity: the Scouring and the lack of formal education.
Other factors tended to prevent breakdown: the religions.
And there was the necessity of coping with new professions and new environments, which meant new vocabulary.
Old French, Italian, Turkish, English, Russian, Hindi, German and the Slavic-influenced Union Standard station-speak of Fargone were among the predominant influences.
Add to that the abbreviated grammar and musical lilt of ships peak.
Merovan languages vary considerably, particularly the trade-languages, the languages of profession, which deliberately seek to exclude outsiders to the trade.
An example is the jargon of the Merovingian canalers, which, like many unwritten languages, is highly contextuaclass="underline" one word may have a dozen implications depending on situation and tone of voice.
Ware! Look out!
Ware hey! Calamity! Alarm!
Ware port Watch boat's left.
Ware starb'd Watch boat's right.
Ware deck! (sometimes just Deck!) Hit the deck.
Scup! Object about to roll overboard.
May be combined with direction, as aft, port, starb'd.
Bow a-port, a-starb'd! Turn left, right.
Hin Put the pole on the bottom.
Ya-hin You put the pole in.
Hey-hin I put the pole in.
Hup Lift the pole from the bottom.
Yoss Steady as she goes.
She's a wash There's a washout (hole) here.
Double pole Two people poling: (starboard poler sets pace and starts call).
Tie-up Any tie made to shore or boat; (2) a metal tie-ring for mooring.
Night-tie Mooring fore and side for stability.
Full-tie Same procedure as night-tie.
Jury-tie A quick tie to one point.
Hof Off! Back away!
Haw Stop! hold it!
Get aslant of Take objection to; blockade; oppose
Ne (neh) (1) Now. (2) Wait.
Ney (nay) No.
Yey (Expresses agreement, consent ac knowledges an order or request).
Yey and haw (lit. yes and stop) Give yey and haw: tell someone what to do.
Not know hin from hey (lit. not know turn-signal from collison-warning) Varies according to application: (1) of a canaler: he's stupid; (2) of a landsman: he's ignorant.
The Merovan oceans cover a great portion of the globe and abound with life both bathic and free-swimming. Some of the creatures are legendary, such as the many-armed Kra-ken, alleged to inhabit the deeps of the Sundance. Others are merely rare, such as the seaflower, which spreads jelly-like polychrome veils over a good three meters of surface.
Certain areas such as the Falken Isles and the Wold Sea and the Black Sea support major fishing industries.
The Det estuary is heavily reliant on fish but does not export much in the way of fish products. Known in Merovingen are, of sea fish caught by Merovingian coasters:
The whitetail: a slender, silver fish with a notable white streamer flowing from its topmost tail fin: delicate of flavor, rare, and expensive. Rarely tops five kilos in weight.
The silverbit. a prolific breeder and common foodfish with a rich, oily flavor. About a handspan in length and caught by trawling in great abundance.
The sailfin: a green to silver cartilaginous-skeletoned fish two to three meters in length, caught by hook. The meat is flavorful but has a toxin requiring care in the preparation.
The sea eel: as the name implies, an eel-like creature with impressive teeth, brown to black in color, edible, but difficult to take. Top size is two meters, top weight 13 kilos.
The whale: a slender-bodied, large mammal with a catlike face and numerous teeth. General color is ink black. It is forbidden to hunt this creature, which occurs primarily in antarctic waters, but in some seasons ventures to the equator. It is predatory toward other sea mammals and fishes. It is not known to attack humans. Top size, reported 100 meters. Weight unknown.