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Laundry

far-trader said:
I do, depending on my application :)

Something like the Free-Trader with 20 lowberths in a separate area I include a fresher (half ton) per 10 lowberths (and lockers for gear/clothes - my lowberthers are nude or disposable thin suit).

Something like a Far-Trader with a couple of converted cattle lowberths (;)) that's all you get (no freshers, no lockers, not much of anything, take the desperate lowberthers on at the adjacent airlock and freeze them on the spot, at the other end thaw and toss them out, the starport freshers are that way).

The big haulers just stack the dozens or more lowberths in cargo slots and the actual freeze and thaw is done starportside in dedicated facilities. The hauler just handles it like freight, and popsicles making multiple jumps just stay on or get shifted to another ship.
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Consider stolen for MTU. hehe, I love all the ideas I garner here.
 
The only time I ever saw this in SF/ Sci-Fi was the old "Lost in Space". One little throwaway scene in the first season had Mrs. Robinson doing the laundry. The machine was a vaguely Maytag looking box with useless blinky lights on it. She loaded the dirty laundry in the top, the blinkies blinked, and in a few seconds, she pulled the clothes from the machine, cleaned, dried, pressed, folded, and wrapped in plastic!

I like the idea of the Steward being in charge of passenger laundry. Maybe that's part of the ditinction between mid and high passage? Another thought is higher tech clothes might have a microchip in them that "talks" to the laundry machine, and sets it to the proper care parameters.
 
leo knight said:
...Another thought is higher tech clothes might have a microchip in them that "talks" to the laundry machine, and sets it to the proper care parameters.
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Oh, I LOOOVE that :D

Add a voice chip and squeaker so it can really talk. Talkie Toaster meets it's match...

"Hey smeghead, do you smell something or is it me? Yeah, it's probably me, I must reek. It's been weeks since you washed me. I know I'm your favorite party shirt but you won't score with all these curry stains and pit streaks. Oh, and your shorts say they can't remember the last time they were clean. HEY! There's the fresher now! Let's stop in for a sec ok? Just a quick wash and wear cycle? Pleaaase."
 
Likely not a politically correct term but perhaps a dedicated crew member designated as the ship's 'Coolie' could serve duties as steward, cook, laundress and such.

IMTU, that job slot is most often filled by a person seeking short term employment of passage between two ports of call or the purchase of a robot-droid-drone for periods of indefinite indenture.

Working passage does not always mean the contracted party is seeking transport but rather 'bed and breakfast' aboard whatever conveyance can be found.
 
Hi

Hi,

I guess I tend to favor lower tech eras like 2300AD & GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars. So I tend to look at solutions more along the lines of advances in current tech, rather then high tech stuff like smart clothes, etc.

Anyway, I have a couple deckplans that I have drawn up for some ships in the 100 to 300 dton range, that include small laundries, if anyone is interested.

For the most part, on a small commercial ship, I figure that the passengers won't likely need to do any laundry, though there will also be a need to provide fresh sheets and towels etc and since a ship's crew will likely be more or less living out of their ship most of the year, they will probably need someplace to clean their clothes.

Here's a couple links to the upper deck of a small 100 ton ship I had once sketched up. The Laundry is shown in the 1st link as the space labeled "L". For this ship, since its so small, I was only able to allocate a 1/2 dton, which included something similar to a modern small stackable washer/dryer and a service sink, as shown in the 2nd link. Here are some links to the lower deck as well, if anyone is interested - Link 1 & Link 2.

Next, here are a couple links to the upper deck of a 300 ton ship I drew up based on the GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars rules. The laundry on this ship is located in the space labeled "7" in the 1st link. Here I had a little more space, since it was a bigger ship, so I made the space about 0.75 dtons, which includes something similar to a modern stackable washer/dryer and a service sink (like on the smaller ship) plus a table for folding and sorting, as shown in the 2nd link. (Here are some links to the Lower Deck as well as some keys that help ID the other spaces if anyone is interested - Link 1, Link 2, Link 3 & Link 4).

Finally, here is a link to the upper deck of an alternate concept I had drawn up of a Free Trader. The laundry here is about 1 dton, and is located in the space labeled "L". Here is a link to the lower deck and bridge deck for this ship as well. Unfortunately I messed up the Low Berth spacing a little, and need to revise them. I also haven't laid out the spaces yet or added doors, etc, but I figure the laundry will probably be laid out similar to the 300 dton ship above.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass along the figures in case they're of any use to anyone.

Regards

PF
 
Hi

Patron Zero said:
Thanks for the links, PF, deck plans are always welcome in my universe !
Click to expand...

Hi,

I'm happy to share. Bye the way, I forgot to mention that in the 100 and 300ton ships I have tried to include a deck head/fresher near the Low Berths area and Cargo Holds that can be used by the Low Berth passengers before they enter or exit the low berths, or by anyone working in the cargo hold during cargo loading/unloading. I may try and add a similar space to the 200 ton ship when I (hopefully) get a chance to rework them.

Regards

PF
 
aramis said:
Drawback: can't use it on non-fluid-permeable materials. set it up with a single-side option as well (force in, suck out same side)...
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So no throwing your vac suit in the washing machine.

But then, I would suspect that your vac suit would be cleaned personally, like your rifle. There are some things you would not want to trust to anyone or any machine.
 
Drakon said:
So no throwing your vac suit in the washing machine.
Click to expand...

The whole thing as a unit, no :)

I imagine the liner(s) to be easily removable and washable though, and the rest not generally in need of washing beyond a walk through the airlock decontamination shower as needed.

But most PCs seem to live 24/7 in the things, afraid that at any moment some danger will require them to be in a Vaccsuit (tm) or die.
 
Funny, my players just wanted to know where to store them, and where the various emergency equipment was stored, they even keep all the guns in the arms locker, aside from a few pistols and blades in each ships locker.

I do have a PC who keeps wanting to use the low berths for storing his excess personal frozen goods.:oo:

Frozen peas and carrots in storage on the low passengers is his running joke.:nonono:
 
Western perspectives on personal hygiene aside; if your average flight is seven to ten days, is their really a need for a laundry onboard a scout or freighter?

The environment is carefully controlled and dirt and perspiration is likely kept to a minimum, so flight suits and crew coveralls could probably worn multiple times before really needing a change. A solitary Scout probably has little reason to change at all until making landfall or going ashore.

If you have passengers onboard, then things may be a little different. I imagine such ships would be equipped with a small washer and drier out of necessity, if only for bedding and other sundries. Still, the crew could easily put away a week's worth of clothing, so the need to wash for them is minimal.

Otherwise, this is just another reason to wander the starport to find a good deal. I'm sure anywhere there are Scouts or merchants in need, entrepeneurs will rise up to render whatever service is necessary. They might even wash and repair vacc suits.
 
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Hi

Ran Targas said:
Western perspectives on personal hygiene aside; if your average flight is seven to ten days, is their really a need for a laundry onboard a scout or freighter? ...
Click to expand...

Hi,

I guess that's possible but it does raise a couple questions like;

  • what if a mission lasts longer than 10 days, say if you are a scout on a long duration survey of frontier systems, and/or
  • what if you end up visiting a very primitive system, or
  • what if you end up visiting a very expensive system

Even if a ship's crew doesn't exert itself too much while onboard, once planetside while adventuring I'd suspect there could be at times a chance to really exert yourself. Also, I'd suspect that having a small laundry on a ship for the crew would give a crew alot more flexibility in allowing you to do your cleaning whenever you want rather than having to take the time when planet side, when you could be out adventuring, etc.

In real life I've spent a little time working with small craft test crews as well as doing some ship checks myself, and although you can wear a pair of coveralls (or a flight suit) for a couple days in a row, usually I ended up getting my laundry done once a week [Edit] even if I had brought more than one set of work clothes or coveralls [End Edit], even if it meant springing for the cleaners at the hotel I'm staying at (which sometimes - especially when overseas - could get a little pricey).

Anyway, just some additional thoughts.

Regards

PF
 
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I've got a euro-style washer-dryer under the sink in the fresher. The clothes/tech are such you just kick your old stuff off going into the shower, pulling out the clean stuff that's in there, dirty into the laundry. As far as packing light, it's ideal. Really don't need more than a few sets of utilities shipboard.

High passengers, the Steward/robot will use the same equipment, but will fold and put away clothes (according to passengers' solicited instructions) while passengers are out of the stateroom.

As far as Vacc suit liners, you have 2, and there is no problem.
 
Why would a scout flying solo in a type S or X-boat even bother with clothes at all?

I envision a standard stateroom to be something like Corbin Dallas' apartment in The Fifth Element, but without the police control circles on the wall.

The fresher handles the laundry. Sonics are involved somehow. That's as far as I care to get into in my games.
 
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