Shipwright Letter (VG)
o the August Minister Dardan,
Greetings to you, sir. I send this missive regarding the commission of your most recent order. Our company has recently encountered supply setbacks that make it impossible to meet our agreed completion date. In addition to requesting more time, we are writing to ask for a fee adjustment. While I do not wish to bore you with a list of technical shipwright details, I do want to explain these issues as clearly as possible in hopes that the Crown's understanding of them will hasten renegotiation of our agreement and resolution of the problems.
As you know, steamed timbers are needed in great supply when building ships. Unfortunately, the most recent delivery of wood to us was of such inferior quality that we refused it. We are currently short the three wagonloads of timber needed to complete the outer hulls of five ships. We are thankful that we have found a trusted vendor who can replace the unsatisfactory goods. Our hope is that we will receive the needed shipment in the next week. However, the new supplier's price is significantly higher. Thus we request an adjustment to our original agreement with the Crown. We are committed to both creating superior ships and to providing for those in our employ. If we were to absorb this increased cost, we would be forced to either cut corners in fulfilling the order or we would be required to ask several longstanding and competent employees to leave. Neither solution is acceptable to us. We humbly ask the Crown to hear our petition and increase our compensation to cover the new costs.
Finally, the canvas sail supplier recommended by the Crown is extremely late in fulfilling our order. Our last visit to their warehouse revealed a startling near-disaster. We were dismayed to find that the canvas for the mainsail had been cut too short to accommodate the length of the boom. The sail makers have since corrected the problem, but the completed order is slow in arriving.
We of Lokus and Marcotte Shipyards know how important the delivery of this fleet is to the Crown. With His Majesty's latest edict, many other interests have begun to build and outfit ships. We recognize the need for sturdy and impressive ships to carry His Majesty's soldiers. Our desire is to fulfill the confidence the Crown has placed in us.
In The Crown's service,
Shandler Lokus Master ShipWright Lokus & Marcotte Shipyards New Targonor
|
