The Boathomes of the Ykalu

_{The Ykalu people guard their boats with the utmost jealousy. These are their homes, their ancestor's homes, the culmination of several lifetimes of work and maintenance. It is not something they war over, not something that outsiders are invited into, but a secret space kept by the people with the same amount of reverence they give to the dead.}

Purpose / Function

The people of The Sea of Ghosts, the Ykalu people, have long made a living atop the waves of waters, amidst the fog of this otherwise intraversible sea. This explains their choice of housing; boats.
These are much more comfortable than a galleon where individuals must sleep on hammocks in tight quarters. No, each boat is made up of a family no bigger than an immediate family (usually consisting of parents, grandparents, and at least 3 children and thus is spacious by oceanic standards. It resembles a relatively small galley with two small masts and boat mills (though the Ykalu people have been mocked for this--seen as lazy instead of innovative), and up to four triangular sails for tacking off of the wind, and oars for the immediate family to push the boat along.
The boat itself has hooks embedded into the brim of the boat's wood with rope slung onto the boat, braided with saw-vine to strengthen the hemp fiber. This allows each boat to be pulled close together at night in order to sleep. As such, their schools usually one bigger galley at the center, a longboat that, if new land is ever found, the tribe of boat-homes can claim it.
Over time, boat-homes have become a signifier of the Ykalu people and has built a kinship of design between varying tribesmen.

Alterations

Only two alternations have ever been made to the structure of boathomes: size and roofing present. The biggest galley will contain the family of the chief, or the councilmen, depending on if a chief has been elected. This boat is therefore no longer a boathome, but a Leader, known as a Wyvern. This galley will be able to hold at least six families, and will thusly tower over the other boathomes.
Additionally sentry boats are the only boats known to have a cap on top of their rowing quarters, It is fairly thin, and does not have a mast, but side sails with a smaller mast near the rear for tacking. It also has several metal or wood spikes on the bow with which to ram other boats. These spikes go through the boat's false bow that is made to break and be removed when impacted in a way that would harm the boat itself. When rammed, the cap of the boat can be spring to latch into smaller boats and hold them in place. Other sentry boats instead don't have a sprung-cap, but basilisk harpoons to attach to boats they are chasing.
Aside from those two alterations, each boat can be unique in color and personalization due to each family on board. It is a matter of pride, usually, to be able to be identified by ones boat As such, trinkets each family values will be displayed, or tokens of each boathomes job within the school will mark the boat.

Architecture

The Structure

Boathomes are anywhere from 8 to 14 meters in length, with a beam (width) of 2 and (1/2) meters at most. There is room for 6 to 18 rowers on each side, given about a meter of space for each rower and accounting for the 5 meter long housing compartment, and not accounting for their "basement".
Instead, in their basement are breaking mechanisms, two metal claws that can shut around two separate spokes that connect to an outer, primitive motor that works off of momentum. These motors are more akin to "water mills", and have been internally modified to work for those purposes. These "mills" jut out less than half a meter, and have an added width of 1 and (1/4) meters, and a diameter of 5 meters. They are attached at the back of the boathome, under the living quarters in the basement, as noted before. As momentum is build up, the mechanism can help propell and limit the amount of effort put in. When the winds are strong, another will use a tiller, the mechanisms that control the sail itself (kept on a mast at the center of the ship) to achieve a greater momentum that the mills will then use to move forward.
While ultimately clunky in design, the idea was to build a boat that could fair in the odd conditions of the Sea of Ghosts, dominated by heavy fog, as well as strong and volatile winds due to the proximity to the volcano, Mt. Muspel, and jagged rocky spires that jut from the sea. By combining man power, machine, and using the air, boathouses are rarely ever stranded.

Adornment

TO-BE ADDED

Alternative Names

Canal Boats, Net Boats, Boat-homes
Plural: Canalites, Nettie, a School.
Derogatory: "Boat Mills"

Type

House