Type TC(S) class Free Trader/meta
MegaTraveller design[edit]
http://www.republicofnewhome.org/lair/games/traveller/designs/megatrav7.html#traders
CraftID: Free Trader (Steve's), type TC(S) (Trader, cheap, Steve's), TL15, MCr27.75 Hull: Disp = 200, Config = 4SL, Armor = 40G Power: Fusion = 405MW, Duration= 30/90 Loco: Maneuver = 1, Jump = 1, Agility = 0 Commo: Radio = Far Orbit, Lasercomm = System Sensors: Passive EMS = Interplanetary, Active EMS = Far orbit Off: None Def: None NOTE: There is sufficient power for a pair of missile racks or sandcasters, if you want them, and if you can pay for them. Control: Computer = 1bis x 3, Panel = HoloLink x 75, Special = HeadsUpHoloDisp x 1, Environ: basic env, basic ls, extend ls, grav plates (these last two do not extend into the fuel tankage. extended ls does not extend into the cargo hold). Accomm: Crew = 3(Bridge = 2, Engineer = 1), Stateroom = 4 Other: Cargo = 1890, Fuel = 390, ObjSize = Average, EmLevel = Faint, Fuel refinery = 40 Kl/6 hours, 1 Airlock
This Free Trader is based on the assumption that spec-trade is where the money is. They do not carry passengers (since passengers can hijack your ship, or otherwise make nuisances of themselves). It is built as cheaply as possible (which, oddly enough, means they are TL15). And it is designed for minimum operating expense (so fuel purifiers are part of the ship, even though it raises the cost slightly). The power plant does NOT have to operate at full output unless necessary (if you dislike that assumption, then split it into a 125MW plant (for housekeeping), and a 280MW plant (for M-drive)). Specifically, the M-drive does NOT have to operate during the 7 days in jump.
Note that there are an excessive number of control panels, so that you can add things onto the ship without having to rebuild the controls at the same time.
Note that if the rules did not require a crew of three as the absolute minimum, the ship could be run by one man quite easily. One of the big differences between this and *our* "free traders" is that we design ships that are as large as possible while still requiring only three men on the crew. For this model computer, that's about twice this size, with the engineering crew the limiting factor.
Fuel assumptions: J-1, plus housekeeping for 30 days, plus M-drive for 22 days.
Monthly Note: Cr115,625. Fuel costs per jump: (less than) Cr2,889. (Note that you buy unrefined fuel and refine it yourself. You DO NOT skim gas giants!!! That cuts the number of jumps per year from 25 to 16, and only saves you KCr72 per year, maximum.). Operating in the classic Traveller fashion, this ship will make 25 jumps per year, bringing in a MINIMUM (assuming Freight, not Cargo) of MCr3.5, with operating expenses of MCr1.577 (assuming skill-3 crewentities, plus maximum fuel expenditures), thus your net is MCr1.923 per year, with an initial investment of MCr5.55 (you recover your investment after 3 years, worst case).
Assuming that you have enough to put down for a standard free trader (MCr7.38), you'll have MCR1.83 left over after putting down on one of these. This should be sufficient to get you started in spec trade. It also should be sufficient to rent 500T of warehouse space on the four worlds you hit most often, and hire brokers to buy cargos for you whenever they become available on these worlds (to be stored in your warehouses). This has one amusing effect: you no longer have to wait one week for your turnovers on these worlds. So now you can make a jump-cycle in 9 days instead of 14, and make up to *40* jumps per year, with the expected increase in your gross. And since the Note is the majority of the operating expenses, your net will increase all out of proportion to the increase in your gross.