Ammo stockpiles

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by aspqrz

I was referring to the OP who opined that the larger craft (he mentioned ones up to 150') could mount weaponry up to a couple of tons.

Sure, if it's all in the form of field or pintle mount 20mms ... heck, probably even 25mms ... but no way will they mount a single weapon of that weight (or even two of half that weight) without the problem noted ... unless someone knows something neither of us seem to?

(Aside: Maybe they could mount Harpoon or similar Missile Boxes ... not much recoil on them, presumable ... as long as there's some way of minimising any effect from the rocket exhaust. But at the point where you're desperate enough to be using these sorts of civvie craft, what's the chance of any Harpoons being still around ... given that, even during the Cold War, my understanding is that there were never enough missiles for each available launcher/platform to carry one apiece at the same time, never mind reloads).

Phil

Since I am BOTH the "original poster" AND the person who replied the second time, I'll answer again, especially since I'm the owner of a sailboat and know EXACTLY what I was talking about in my earlier post.

We were discussing arming a SAILING ship to either protect one's self from pirates or for war using available equipment. The weight requirements were for mounting "old school" armaments that could be fabricated or commandeered for a sailboat, NOT a freighter or tramp steamer (which seems to be what you were referring to).
A centerline gun mount WILL NOT WORK on a modern sailboat. This is because the Bermuda Rig (with its angled head sail and angled main sails which will often overlap) REQUIRES a certain size of head sail (depending on wind conditions) in order to "balance the helm" (maintain control and enhance handling) at speed. ANY centerline gun mount would interfere with the movement of the head sail and induce "weather helm" during maneuvering.

The weight limits I posted were for "old school" black powder cannons and newer reproductions that could be lifted from museums or collectors and mounted on the decks EXACTLY like they were in the age of sail...on free rolling carriages that were restrained by rope "recoil arrest" & "run out" assemblies. Because these guns can "roll back" upon recoil, they WOULD NOT transfer that recoil into the deck plates (as demonstrated by the very small ships mounting such guns during the Age of Sail). Let's take the Brigg Niagara (which WallShadow and I were discussing at the time) as a "for instance..."
She is 110 feet long and mounts 18 32 pounder Carronades (at 900kg each) and 2 12 pounders (at 1500kg each) with NO DIFFICULTY in handling recoil. The ship is no more heavily built than say, PlayStation II (a 125ft modern Catamaran) in its deck area. PlayStation II would have NO DIFFICULTY mounting Niagara's weapons fit on her decks.

The only thing I WOULD do is mount the recoil ropes to the cleats or stay mounts (NOT THE RAILINGS) to prevent a cannon from crossing the deck and heading for "Davey Jone's Locker" through the opposite side railing during firing. Another thing you might want to do to a modern sailboat is to glue some plywood to the deck to prevent gouging up the fiberglass too much.
Otherwise, there is no reason a modern sailboat couldn't mount old school cannon on deck.

Other "real world" examples of "recreational vessels" pressed into service exist in our world right now. Just look at Iran's speedboats in The Gulf. They are "off the rack" Sea Rays complete with THE SAME commercial Raytheon radar/navigation suite that Sea Ray offers to boaters all around the world upgunned with remote fired RPGs (in racks of 8), 2 torpedo tubes, or (more recently) quad wire guided AT missile launchers on the foredeck and HMGs or Autocannon in a rear AA mount. They even have Sea Ray's commercial bow mounted spotlight. These boats are functionally IDENTICAL, except for the weapons of course, to the same boats rich people use in the Med, Bahamas, or Florida. These boats were so effective at causing harm to shipping during the Iran-Iraq war that the US Navy began escorting merchant ships through the Straits of Hormuz. They work.