I have another problem with your vision of the waertagi relying so much on undines for propulsion. I agree that an undine makes a great engine. However there are other uses for engines besides going places. If one were to take one of your undine propulsion systems, like the hollow cylindrical keel you proposed, and point it at a water-wheel then the industrial revolution just started. If undines or any other elemental are so readily available that they can become the standard mode of motive energy, then they are readily enough available to become the standard mode of all energy, and the bronze-age/medieval world of Glorantha that we all love will vanish. The cultures and life-styles that we all use in Glorantha only make sense for energy poor technologies.
Getting back to one of your earlier points, you indicated that we don't use sails much in the real world because steam and diesel are better. Well, back in the days of the energy crisis (which may come again) there were serious proposals to bring back windjammers. Not the old-fashioned ones, but new high-tech fully-automated versions that would be comparably fast to most cargo vessels but would use almost no fuel. If energy is expensive then using sails makes sense. I believe that energy is expensive on Glorantha.
Summoning an elemental costs a priest ( a rare, highly-trained and expensive individual) many hours worth of ritual. Commanding that elemental for 15 minutes costs that priest a full day's worth of prayer and devotion for the divine spell.
The waertagi may have a special knack with undines, but how many orders of magnitude easier are you going to make it for them?
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