Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Leviathan
It is tough to pilot a tall ship. A skill of 15 is probably not good enough to navigate shallows or dock the ship without accidents. However your ship doesn't just hit the bottom of the ocean if you fail one of those -3 skill rolls. Most tall ship maneuvers are made far enough out that you can make a correction to avoid a hazard. That correction might put you off your desired course or allow a ship pursuing you to gain a bit but it's probably not a wreck unless you fail by a wide margin. If your crew aren't ship-shape chances are you have a first mate on the main deck shouting them into order so if they fail their seamanship roll they can get another roll and the outcome is your orders are delayed a second or so.
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Seamanship-15 is only necessary if the GM is making you roll all the time, and thus you really need to not fail badly except on a 17-18.
Also, while that cog has Handling -3, it also has Stability Rating +4. This while you take -3 to your control rolls, you have to fail by more than 4 to have a major problem. Also, if the situation is a bit risky but otherwise easy (docking in a familiar harbour in good weather) you'll get a bonus to your Seamanship skill. Thus there's not reason to require professional helmsmen, etc. to have higher levels of skill than other professionals do in their areas of expertise.
Note that very few vehicles have negative Hnd and SR levels so low that the SR doesn't at least cover the penalty.