How far can you see at sea?

[garrowolf]

I am working on the Naval rules for a rpg game system and I need help with some details. I am defining certain ranges based on what kind of information can be gained about a target. I understand the horizon calculation. What I need to know is how far out can you tell an object is a ship and not a rock. How far out can you tell generally what kind of ship it is (fat merchantman versus thin warship)? How far out can you tell what kind of ship it is (Sloop versus Corvette)? How far out can you actually see a flag? How far out can you see the colors on the crew? etc.

I know that conditions, excellent eye sight, and using a telescope will all adjust this but I need the baselines to start with.
Any ideas?

[PMarione]

Your question is a tough one.
I think that , as you say, eye sight and quality of the optic were factors as was the eight above the sea the observer was posted.

But I believe that the most important factors were the weather and the time of the day : morning mist, sunset, position of the sun (or the moon), etc.
For the weather, there were plenty of conditions which can reduce the range of sight : waves, fog, grains, rain, etc.

So my conclusion is that its almost impossible to make a calculation and include it in a game.

Maybe other listers have other ideas ?

@+P

[PMarione]

Maybe you can use the Douglas Sea Scale to estimate the roughness of the sea.