> From: Bruce Johnson xxxxxx@Pharmacy.Arizona.EDU

>On Apr 12, 2014, at 7:19 AM, William Ewing (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
>specialty things like solar sails for those entering low-tech regattas…
>
>Any ship built for that is going to be a custom build akin to an F1 car. No salesman will ever be involved. These will be discussions between the team’s engineers, and possibly the team’s noble patron if she’s an enthusiast (or the pilot herself).

>> what does a prospective owner need to know?

bloody good question, as the yacht design will tell the players so much about the society they are in..
  Do senior business people use corporate yachts?
  Are Traveller yachts like super yachts or like private aircraft?
  Is business conducted on the yachts? what is their purpose?
  Are yachts the contemporary idea of toy, or are they their original purpose of fast support craft?
As discussed later, the choices also tell the players a lot about the owners.

the super yacht designs I know of meet an unusual mix of criteria:
the first is that owning one means you are in the club (>50M$ iirc). Then there is the degree of opulence and number of guests.
being a fellow of the club means you own an exceptional yacht, such as (currently) highest mast, longest, beamiest etc.
One billionaire sent his yacht to NZ for repainting after the first job was botched and wasn't good enough for his standards. (he also sued the painters for his out of pocket expenses such as having to lease another whilst the paint was replaced.)

Private aircraft, from the little I know, are more along the lines of the degree of opulence desired, then the range required.
Most go at the same speed (within 10%) which is cruising at about 85% of the speed of sound.

Few go supersonic, and I know of one which is a converted 767 complete with board room, bedroom, showers etc.
The flying office was a challenge to make it look executive office-like and yet keep the weight down.

So the answer is in the character of the prospective owner.
Is he egotistically showing his membership of the rich boys club?
Does he need it for business?
Will he be entertaining colleagues or business partners on the yacht?
Will he ever travel on it? or only stay on it? or only use it as a fast courier for information?

The last is interesting as the Jn can be reduced to say Jump 2, and the crew pre-position the yacht in the desired system, to await the owner who arrives on a much smaller and faster J4 or J6 pinnace.
And historically, yacht was used for support craft for a senior person (much like palace is residence of a senior dude such as a bishop)
A frigate Captain may have a pinnace to act as messenger etc, whereas an admiral had a yacht for the same reason (it also allowed the admiral to move around without needing a warship to carry him, not that he was supposed to move except to command warships).