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. In actuality, the gears that
controlled the winding-up mechanism rusted almost
immediately in the salt water, and the sail often hit the
water either completely or partially open. In this manner it
swept under the ship, creating a tremendous drag that
occasionally pulled the vessel back farther than it had gone
forward. This small inconvenience was considered to be
fully outweighed, however, by an unlooked-for bonus.
When the open sail came up from the sea, it acted as a net,
hauling in schools of fish. As the sail lifted up over the
prow, fish rained down upon the deck, providing lunch,
dinner, and the occasional concussion if one had the
misfortune to be struck by a falling tuna.
The ship had no tiller, there being nowhere for a tiller to
go, since the boat had, in essence, two prows and no stern.
Nothing daunted, the gnomes designed their vessel to be
steered by the use of the aforementioned pressurized air
casks. Located at either side of the hull, these were kept
filled with air by giant, steam-driven bellows. Letting the
air out of one or the other allowed the ship to be whooshed
along on a different tack. (We have said earlier that it was
impossible to turn the ship around
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