There isnt much discussion of the shipyard area in Waterdeep. This is the small knot of buildings gathered around the main boatyard in the city. The shipyards run along adder lane on the west also known as Sakiir's St. and Dock St.. It runs along wastrel alley on the west.
The area is different than other parts of the city by design. Although Waterdeep is not known for building the largest ships along the sword coast they put out very high quality merchant and smaller military vessels.
Two large warehouses stand along the east edge of the shipyards. The wood in these drying and curing warehouses is of incalculable value. Each huge building has a water elemental in stasis in case of a fire. Light globes are used in this building rather than the usual oil lamps. Fire is prohibited within 10' of the perimeter. Other wards may be present but nobody has been foolish enough to test them.
Just to the west of the plank warehouses stands the few masonry and stone buildings in the shipyards. This group along the south end of Wastrel alley are the black smithy and finesmithy for the yards. There are a handful of stone warehouses as well. Most of the forging and bulk work on the goods these shops make is done elsewhere. They are responsible for the custom fittings, brackets and other metal needs for each ship constructed or repaired on site.
Along the docks just east of the main boathouse are several other goods warehouses along with some barracks. Ship workers at the main boatyards are housed here at no additional charge but they are required to train and be ready to serve as fire fighting crews for incidents in and around the yards at no additional pay.
The buildings along the northeast edge of the main boathouse contain the sales, accounting and management offices of the shipyards. Several long buildings at the northwest corner of the boathouse are the mast preparation buildings. 2 of 5 buildings near the docks, these are used to clean, prepare, straighten and add any pieces that need to go on the masts. For safety most of the work is done before they are ever raised on the ships.
To the west of the boatyard are the rigging and sail buildings and warehouses. There is an entire neighborhood west of the shipyards dedicated to creating sails and nets but the rigging for the shipyards is done on site. Boats completed at the shipyards come with standard sails but if you want something custom it will have to come from the cloth yards and they are not cheap. A good set of custom sails could cost half or more the cost of a whole ship!!
To the north gathered around fishgut court are the other buildings as part of the neighborhood. They consist of row houses, apartments, a couple poor taverns, some minor shops and offices that round out what is needed to provide for the area.
Finally there are a few shops along the intersection of Wastrel Alley and Dock St. One small one on the west is owned by a hafling named Yesne Xanris. She is a kindly lady, on the chubby side with white hair. She could be 30 or she could be your grandmother, there is just no way to tell. Yesne has uncommon charisma, the entire shipyards loves her and would defend her to the death.
Her shop sells clothing made from cutoffs from the sail maker's. The cloth they use is imbued with a waterproof material. Some say one of the ingredients is Krakken sperm if you believe that. Anyway, regardless of the contents the material is rough but certainly waterproof and a staple of the dock workers and others who have to be outside in the rainy wet months of the spring and summer. Due to the origin of the materials as cast off's the clothing is very inexpensive which is the other driving factor for brisk sales. If for some reason the characters want to purchase some it would be 1/2 of the normal price for clothing. The inventory is simple work clothes including shirts, pants, cloth hats and rain poncho's.
Yesne's shop has a table in the center with a basket of money. A sign in common says 'Put in what you owe, and take the change'. The basket is magic. If you put some money in the basket you will be able to take some money out. If you just reach in the basket and attempt to remove any money then your hand will be stuck fast until you release the coins. There is no other action or damage caused by the trap. The magic does not discern the amount of coins put in versus taken out and has no way of knowing if the change is proper. None of the merchandise is trapped and can be taken normally. Yesne is frequently out of the shop chatting at other nearby businesses during the hours her shop is open.
Yesne is a hidden lord of Waterdeep. She has lived her for a very long time under several aliases. Her function is to know the pulse of the dockyards and harbor of waterdeep and keep the ruling council aware of any potential issues. She will not reveal herself for any reason and will not physically impede any characters. People who cause trouble will gain her attention and possibly the notice of the watch.
The building next to the clothing saleswoman is a run down hole in the wall known as the "Sailor's Corner". It serves "yesterday's catch" soup along with hard coarse bread and watered down ale for 1cp. The outside has a counter where people can just walk up and get their food and drink without going inside. The owner is trying to buy the adjacent building to combine them into an Inn. Flop house more likely is what it will be as the Sailor's Corner often has the workmen who pass out inside just allowed to sleep it off until morning.
Lots of workers prefer to take their lunch to the pier on days with good weather. Even more so if it is a day they launch a vessel. That is done usually at lunchtime or at the end of the work day to allow the surrounding community to come out and watch and celebrate all their hard work.
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