On 17Apr2020 1219, Kurt Feltenberger wrote:
> Yachts in Traveller have always been somewhat of an enigma to me. By
> the design rules, it is very difficult to have a ship that is anywhere
> close to what we consider a luxury yacht today, especially if you what
> it to have any amount of range (J-drive) or subordinate craft.  I
> figured I'd post a video about Planet Nine, an ice rated yacht that's
> ~74m long and has a helicopter, several large tenders, some small
> tenders, and a ton of amenities.
>
> Given the level of luxury that the owners would be used to living in,
> and that they'd be cooped up on the yacht for at least a week, most
> likely closer to 8-10 days, I don't see yachts, as they are shown in
> canon designs, being that popular.
>
> https://youtu.be/ZqJ1Kaszsao
>
> Deck plans: https://www.fraseryachts.com/en/yacht-for-sale/planet-nine/
>
I think that the yacht in CT, etc. at 200 DTons and Jump-1 is the low
end of the scale - it's a small barely interstellar ship that would be
used by a noble (or wealthy non-noble businessman) who wanted to travel
the local sub-sector, probably for work. Alternatively, it's the sort of
ship you give your wayward offspring when you tell them to go on a tour
and not to hurry home - adequate for travel, not too much of a loss if
it gets totalled, stolen, etc. With 14 staterooms and a crew of four
(maybe five is a gun is installed and a gunner hired), there's plenty of
room for a couple more stewards, and half a dozen guests. In fact,
doubling up more staterooms, and/or turning some into an extra-big
lounge seems quite reasonable.

Bear in mind that *Planet Nine* has an effective volume (allowing for
her deck area being usable, which it's not in a spaceship) of about 500
DTons, and no more than about 20 DTons is fuel. So, 480 DTons plus fuel.
Such a ship would be ~530 DTons if J1, ~600 DTons if J2, ~680 DTons if
J3, ~800 DTons if J4, ~960 DTons if J5, and 1200 DTons if J6.

Looking at *Planet Nine's* deckplans, the Captain's Cabin is about twice
the size of a crew cabin, the non-owner VIP suites are about 50% bigger
than the Captain's Cabin, and the Owner's Cabin, Lobby, Bathroom, & etc.
takes up something like 12 times (or more) what the Captain's Cabin does
(yes, the owner's spaces are bigger than the space given over to the
entire crew). Taking a Crew Cabin as being a standard stateroom in CT
(because most of them are double occupancy, and CT doesn't like doing
that in small staterooms), and assuming a chunk of the lounge space,
etc. goes with each VIP Suite we have something in the mid-30s of
stateroom equivalents, or about 140 DTons. Add another 80 DTons for
ship's boats and air/rafts, etc. and about half the ship's non-fuel
volume is used up by accomodations and sub-craft. That seems to leave
plenty for the rest of a functional spaceship, and we've got the owner
in a 4-stateroom bedroom/bathroom, with twice as much more space in
lounges and office space to work and entertain, we have the other guests
in double-sized staterooms (possibly at two per room) with 5-6
staterooms worth of lounges and dining rooms. The owner's two personal
staff share a double stateroom and have an office (or in Traveller
possibly an armoury if they are bodyguards). The captain has a double
stateroom, the senior officers have single staterooms each, and the rest
of the crew get to double up.

Some of the really big super yachts would come in at several thousand
DTons in volume if converted into Traveller terms, even before
considering jump fuel.

Now, Traveller ships in general costing a lot more than current sea
vessels of similar size or mass could be an issue, though I don't think
it's one for the mega-rich who might want a J3-J4 super-luxurious moving
palace. It's a concern for groups wanting a game of smugglers and
swashbucklers who always seem to be able to find a ship, even if they
can't always keep it running.

--
Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>