The Golden Hide
The Hide beginning a broadside and at max speed with the sails unfurled and the steam engine running.Description and History
The Golden Hide is the first modernized 74-gun ship of the line that is an almost perfect blend of firepower, speed, stability, maneuverability, durability, and cost. Despite having only two gun decks instead of the typical three it is able to fire in all weather conditions and carries heavier 32 pound cannon that excel at both ship combat and land bombardment. It carries a large skilled crew that is capable of repairing and maintaining it and enough supplies to carry out a five month journey without replenishment. It also sports an experimental steam engine that can boost its sailing speed during combat so it is not entirely reliant on wind and heat the ship during particularly cold conditions. It carries six smaller boats to enable its crewbeasts to land on any shore that they choose, approximately up to around 100 at any given time. In addition it now has a copper-plated hull below the water line to help resist barnacles and the striking of objects, although it should be noted for captains that this is far from making the ship invulnerable and icebergs should still be meticulously avoided.
The history of the Golden Hide is illustrious since its laying down in the early 1720s and it has faithfully served the Imperium for the past four and a half decades in continuous service despite naval downsizing, wars, and mothballing of most of the fleet during this time. It has been seen as the pride of the Imperium's navy with many ministers arising from its ranks having risen from modest seabeasts, with even the two time Minister Talinn Ryalor once serving as a mere seabeast and then an officer aboard the Hide along with the wife of the future Emperor Vladimir Ullyanov Vertherian. It remains to be seen what the future holds but if its history is indicative of anything the future is bright.
