Re: [Low-Tech] Boating vs Shiphandling
 

I'd really tend to solve this by making competitive rowing into two Sports skills ("Oarsman" and "Cox"), although I'd then allow reasonably generous defaults to and from Boating (Oared). The setup is so artificial when compared to practical, getting-from-A-to-B rowing that this doesn't feel like a kludge. I mean, we'd do cricket or baseball with Sports skills, not with uncomfortable distortions of Throwing and Two-Handed Axe/Mace.

I don't think that one often if ever sees coxing as a refined skill in itself outside of a sporting environment, so we don't really need Shiphandling for things too small to be called a "ship" with a straight face. The chap in the back of the pirate longboat yelling "Row, ye scurvy whoresons, or we'll all swing from a Navy yardarm!" at the mob on the oars is just using Boating (floated to IQ), or Leadership, or Intimidation.

Re: [Low-Tech] Boating vs Shiphandling
 

That sounds right to me. I was thinking about making a similar point, but hadn't gotten my thoughts so well organized.

In a larger craft, say a trireme, you have the skill of Crewman (Oarsman), which lets you act as crew on a large galley. But the same skill is used to steer the ship, because the tasks aren't so finely divided up game mechanically as to have two different skills. Probably the rowers base their rolls on HT, though, where the steersman bases his on DX or IQ.

Bill Stoddard