I'm working on the background for a fantasy novel I'm going to be
writing as part of NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org) the National
Novel Writing Month. Fifty thousand words, written in November. As
part of it, I'm trying to come up with plausible sailing ships for
various types of conditions. A friend of mine suggested replacing the
sails with windmills and using them to drive a screw or paddle. Does
anybody here know if this would work, and if not, why? If so, what
are its limitations.

Also, I need a reasonable type of ship for restricted waters (Adriatic
or Mediterranean type) that wouldn't work well on the open sea. The
tech level is roughly early medieval. I'm thinking of using the
classic Greek merchant galley, as it's nice and maneuverable, but
fairly frail; they had to run rope around the hull to hold part of the
strain. If anybody can make better suggestions, I'd be grateful. I
don't know how much, if at all, it will matter to the plot, but I do
want to have the background right.

--
Joe Zeff
The Guy With the Sideburns
If you can't play with words, what good are they?
http://www.lasfs.org http://home.earthlink.net/~sidebrnz