Failing the specifications we have the CT Budget Van/People-carrier/Yacht/Safari-ship:
Cheap space-van with ~55 Dt payload, generally filled with staterooms and used as a people carrier. Here presented as the "Safari Excursion" model:
100 Dt, streamlined, purif, J-1, M-1, 8 High Pass, 11 Dt cargo, Air/raft, TL-13, MCr 27.
Fully capable of wilderness refuelling, M-1 so can land on most (low grav) planets.
10 staterooms, so up to 8 high passengers. Max capacity 20 people.
11 Dt cargo, so can get 2×J-1 range with a demountable tank.
1 emergency low berth for emergencies, or live samples.
One or more staterooms can be replaced with alien environment tanks (capture tanks).
See to me this is the point of a contest, to come up with different.
Very useful for subsidized liners on a budget. I’d probably ditch a stateroom, get 5 tons for mail vault and still have the 10 ton fuel option.
Otherwise it’s a modified Marava for me, change up the stateroom space and alter the cargo bay for animal tanks and an airlock bay for grav carriers or a small craft. The hunter version of the seeker J, older surplus versions making initial acquisition and modifications cheaper.
This is a safari ship based on the standard Empress Marva class far trader. 200 tons, J2 M1. As a Traveller staple, the particulars are well known otherwise.
You could really fit out the double height cargo deck for some big critters, though above a metric ton I would still recommend a LOT of tranq in addition to the physical restraints.
The Scout and Seeker are close, if a little weird about deck heights in the galleries. The given height in S7 is better suited to the Judges Guild single-deck version, though. The Sulie is taller.
The Marava is double sized. The licensee SGS would later print the A2 in miniatures scale accompanied by a 400 ton stat block.
The Subbie is a bit small due to hull rounding, but not terrible.
The X-Boat Tender is odd in several ways, and, I think, too big. It's been a while since I ran its numbers.
The Gazelle is also odd, but IIRC fairly close to the 300 ton baseline hull. Where it tucks the Gig *and* the drop tanks is a question with difficult answers.
In other books:
The Subsidized Liner (Type M) in Signal GK is a tad small, IIRC, and burns a LOT of space on "luxury" facilities.
The Broadsword is 50% too large, and impossible to make work in an 800 ton correction due to the inherent problems of mixing the cylindrical Cutters and the spherical main hull.
The Beowulf in DGP's Starship Operator's Manual is, like GDW's Marava, double sized.
(Compared to the FASA stable of deckplans, the GDW collection is not bad aside from the A and A2.)
The Scout and Seeker are close, if a little weird about deck heights in the galleries. The given height in S7 is better suited to the Judges Guild single-deck version, though. The Sulie is taller.
That smaller decks outside the hull view is because it’s showing where the ship narrows down to the forward/bridge cross section which doesn’t have the two other decks.
That smaller decks outside the hull view is because it’s showing where the ship narrows down to the forward/bridge cross section which doesn’t have the two other decks.
The cross-section is at the bulkhead between the passenger compartment and the bridge. The upper gallery goes all the way forward to this point. The lower cargo compartment goes even further forward. See side view.
Even the main deck extends outside the hull, compare the green triangle with the deck outline in red in the top view, and see the effect in the cross-section.
Type K variant for pure hunting... CT B2 design...
m-drive-A 1 (1G)
j-drive-B 15 (J-2)
p-plant-B 7 (P-2)
fuel 60 (2 pscs & 4 wks, standard; 2 pscs & 12+ wks, Beltstrike)
comp/2 2
bridge 20
2 hp 0 (two Solomani-style double fixed mounts; 1 sand & 1 missile each)
16 states 64 (p, m, e minimum; s, 3v, lh, 8hp -- single occ w/1 luxury suite)
4 emer low 4 (may also be used to hold add'l trophies in non-emer situations)
3 hunting a/r 12 (in dedicated bays)
stores 1 (add'l life supp [150 person/wks], Beltstrike)
cold locker 4 (as one big emer low, to hold trophies)
common area 10 (for onboard r&r, large gear stowage, excursion prep, & rendering)
----
200 dtons, streamlined, paramilitary
TL9
base cost MCr83.628 before armaments; in quantity MCr77.2652 as built & armed
Safari Ship, Mark II special edition (Type K Mk. II): Using a custom 200-ton hull, the Type K Mark II is a refit or alternative build-out of the generic Type K and is intended for serious hunting expeditions that focus on trophy-taking rather than luxurious sightseeing or scientific field study (the proper domains of Yachts and Lab Ships, respectively). The vessel is not outfitted to host dilettantes or researchers, but only genuine predators looking to test themselves and their skills in a variety of planetary environments and against non-trivial quarries.
The Mark II safari ship mounts jump drive-B, maneuver drive-A, and power plant-B, giving performance of jump-2 and 1-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 60 tons supports the power plant for 4 weeks and provides one jump-2 under normal operations. Under extended (CT's Beltstrike-style) operations, the power plant may supported for over 12 weeks. The drives are built to use unrefined fuel at no penalty. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/2 computer. There are sixteen staterooms (two of which may be combined to make an 8-ton luxury suite) and 4 emergency low berths. There are two hardpoints but no tonnage allocated to fire control. Each hardpoint mounts a Solomani-style dual fixed mount containing one missile rack and one sandcaster as stern-chasers. There are three ship's vehicles: 3 air/rafts, each in a dedicated bay. There is 1 ton of cargo space, designated as stores and designed to hold additional life support supplies (150 person-weeks, from CT's Beltstrike) for extended operations beyond the default 4 weeks. There is a 4-ton cold-storage locker fitted to hold trophy carcasses, and in addition to the regular ship's locker there is a 10-ton mixed-use common area that can also provide for additional equipment stowage as needed. The hull is streamlined, allowing the Mark II safari ship to land on and take off from any world with Atmosphere-2 or higher, despite its low maneuver rating.
The Mark II safari ship requires a crew of three: pilot, medic, and engineer. For organized expeditions, a hunting party consisting of a lead hunter/guide, three vehicle drivers, a steward, and up to 8 high passengers may be added. An additional middle passenger or crew member may also be accommodated, if desired. Due to the vessel's specialized nature, a safari ship typically operates only under a negotiated charter (or direct corporate control) and ordinary passengers and freight are never carried. The basic ship costs MCr83.628 without armaments and takes 11 months to build. Where available as a standard design, it costs MCr77.2652 outfitted and armed as above.
Typically, the ship will be chartered as part of a commercially-packaged hunting trip as either an in-house or a third-party expense of the safari organizer. The lead hunter will be in charge of the safari unless specified otherwise, while the vehicle drivers are usually less-senior hunters or perhaps locally-familiar guides with, in addition to their Vehicle skill, Hunting or Survival skills suited to the territory. On planetside excursions, the steward can remain behind aboard the ship if available seating on the air/rafts is tight. Although it is considered a breach of safety protocols, some successful safaris have reportedly used the emergency low berths as additional cold storage for the carcasses of high-value animals (or plants or fungi or whatever) taken in the hunt once the regular cold locker has become filled to capacity.
Real hunters don't shoot their prey from what amounts to the equivalent of a helicopter... I would think that shooting prey from a moving vehicle--for the most part, I'm sure there'd be exceptions--would be looked on as bad sportsmanship.
Real hunters don't shoot their prey from what amounts to the equivalent of a helicopter... I would think that shooting prey from a moving vehicle--for the most part, I'm sure there'd be exceptions--would be looked on as bad sportsmanship.
I figure the air/rafts are mostly for transport; the hunters can get out and walk once they get to the designated hunting grounds (and tent or bivouac overnights as need be, for that matter), yet they may need the lift capacity to haul big game (or injured colleagues) back to the ship.
I'd also think the hunting party would prefer an enclosed vehicle as it gives them a portable shelter from the elements in transit and at their camp. It would also offer protection from critters when being used with parties that aren't out for a kill like photographers and such that would be an alternative type of safari. You get a contract to take several nature photographers and writers on a safari to planet xyz...
