Remember in the opening pages of VDT when Lu and Ed notice how Narnian the ship in the painting looks? Well this brings up a good question, just what did Narnian ships look like?
The Dawn Treader- Well we all know this one. Dragon head for a prow, the tail coming of the back (stern, right?) the wings along the sides. Purple sails.
The Splendour Hyaline- in the last page of Ch 8 in PC, this ship is described as having a swan's head at the prow, swan's wings along both sides. "great stern lanterns." In VDT I believe it's also said that the Dawn Treader isn't as majestic as the ships from the golden age, including this one.
So it appears as though animals and creatures are a basis in the design of Narnian ships.
Another question I have, did Caspian use the Dawn Treader in SC? Or was it a different ship altogether?
"The mountains are calling and I must go, and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly." -John Muir
"Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed." -Richard Adams, Watership Down
If we're to go off of the Pauline Baynes illustration, then we have to assume that it was a different ship entirely. The ship that Baynes gives us looks more like a ship that one would expect to see in a medieval navy, in that it is compact, practical, and sensible.
Member of Ye Olde NarniaWeb
I think all Narnian ships were based off of the same concept: winged animals at the prow with their wings along the side, and a large single sail with only one colour.
SilverSea, I'm not so sure about single sail, in PC it says that the Splendour Hyaline had "silken sails." It uses sails plural not singular. I do think however that the ships during Caspian's reign were smaller, and therefore required less sails than those in the golden age. I could be wrong though.
"The mountains are calling and I must go, and I will work on while I can, studying incessantly." -John Muir
"Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed." -Richard Adams, Watership Down
I agree with SilverSea (that rhymed)
I assume it has something to do with the same concept of any animal.
Long Live King Caspian & Queen Liliandil Forever!
Jill+Tirian! Let there be Jilrian!