Expected Ship Traffic

[BackworldTraveller]

I can't disagree with Spinward Flow's argument about ACS operators!

The suggestion that a starship cabin is a viable long-term living space is both true and untrue. That humans can spend a lot of time in a small space within a restricted community is well documented. That they tend to want to escape (at least for a time) is also well documented. There will be a definite tendency to want to get off periodically due to space considerations and the set up would often tend to be inadequate for various stages of family life.

 

[whartung]

For a MegaCorp freighter that jumps as many times a year as possible, I would guess not.

I dunno, it wouldn't surprise me at all if modern vessels, like container ships etc. had stable crews that stayed with the ship. They may not "live there" per se, that they actually had an on shore "home" and address, but I don't think they'd necessarily switch crews each time they hit home port. But I dunno how much down time they had in port.

But I can see them on ship for 40 weeks a year.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I can't disagree with Spinward Flow's argument about ACS operators!

It's mainly a question of scale.
Penny-ante operators can't fund themselves or operate the same way the meagcorporations can.
Business "works differently" at different scales of volume.

But I can see them on ship for 40 weeks a year.

If you're jumping once every 14 days, you're in jump about 25 weeks a year (allowing 2 weeks for annual overhaul maintenance).
If you're jumping once every 10 days, you're in jump about 35 weeks a year ... with 2 days in port unloading and loading after each jump.
I've done the math on it.

 

[Peleliu]

It's mainly a question of scale.
Penny-ante operators can't fund themselves or operate the same way the meagcorporations can.
Business "works differently" at different scales of volume.

Boy isn't that true even today. Take the stock market as an example. The rules punish small those trying to make small scale trades. Those that deal in huge volumes have different and more lenient rules as well as fee and tax breaks. The future in an Empire based on Trade is likely to magnify that.

 

[Grav_Moped]

For a Free Trader, yes, sure.

For a MegaCorp freighter that jumps as many times a year as possible, I would guess not. Imagine them like oil rig workers, two weeks on, two weeks off? I.e. jump out, quick reload, jump back, switch crew, rinse and repeat?

That's sort of what I was getting at.

The idea is to have standardized fleets (as @Spinward Flow notes) to minimize crew orientation requirements, with barely-adequate crew quarters (double-occupancy by the rules, maybe worse than that if you fudge things) in order to maximize payload. Life on board becomes unpleasant enough that the crews would need a break every week to avoid significant morale impacts.

Economies of scale suggest that this wouldn't be necessary on any but the smallest ships, though.

 

[Condottiere]

A lot depends on a level playing field, and a neutral referee.

 

[BackworldTraveller]

A lot depends on a level playing field, and a neutral referee.

But the referee is usually appointed by those in power who are backed by those with lots of money who generally want to keep things that way.
Or am I being too sceptical here?

B.T.W. Did those Ancient Greek philosophers ever find that "one honest man"?

 

[Condottiere]

The Romans may have.

Or at least, their folk tales have: the Consuls and dictators that deal with emergencies and return to the farm, and the generals that execute their own sons for breaking discipline or not following orders.