So I am working on a species of large quadrupedal sentient beings at a level of technology similar to 16th century Asia. Specifically I was trying to conjure up an image to what their sailing vessels might look like when a thought struck me.

Would these creatures bother with sails?

Now here is why that particular thought struck me. You see the sentient creature I am working on are fairly similar to giraffes in general body plan. Their necks are noticeably shorter and their heads are a bit larger, but they’re about the same size, their tongues and lips are dexterous (allowing tool use) and evolved from the similar niche of tree top browser.

Why is this relevant?

Well, handling sails on larger ships usually requires an ability to climb, and while the human body plan is pretty good at climbing and rigging necessary for sailing, the giraffe body plan is not. Now I was thinking on how they could row like the old style Thai barges.

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7yZ7I.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7yZ7I.jpg)

I’m not sure if these could be properly scaled up for ocean going vessels, but I think these creatures grabbing an oar with their mouth and rowing would be more plausible than shimmying their 1.2-2 ton body up a mast to unfurl a top sail.

So here is my question **Would hoofed creatures too large and cumbersome to climb, bother with sails on their ships?**