Re: packing the yawl

>In a message dated 7/14/2003 8:48:59 PM, all_are_not_lost@???????.com writes:
>
><< Considering the expense of spelljamming (costs of buying and operating the
>ships), the only commodities likely to be transported between planets are
>things that have a high value to volume/weight ratio. >>

Actually, the type of cargo is going to be most closely linked with
travel time.
Taking something from a planetary surface to orbit or a moon, any kind of
bulk cargo may be found.

I would expect there to be a big difference between 'coasters', ships
which operate
within a day of a atmosphere all the time, and can therefore have a much bigger
crew, and long haul trade.

Another thing to consider:
If you have a regular cargo run of live cattle or other bulk good on
the outward run,
and it is a regular run, you will want cargo of the same approximate
size on the
way back.  It may be that it would be profitable to take _any_ cargo that could
generate more profit than the loading and unloading costs, on a round trip.
Equally important is that the amount of idle time for the ship be kept down.
If a shipping company has a trading factor in each port, assembling cargo for
delivery, then the huge capital investment of the ship can be more usefully
employed.

With luxury goods, the trader is probably going to want to keep it a
secret where
he bought the goods, in order to maintain a monopoly on a rare good,
and to keep
it rare, for that matter.  I would expect that some traders would make side
jaunts with a very trusted portion of their crew for picking up the real luxury
goods.  These are goods with _huge_ markups, and the usual rules of fast
turnaround simply do not apply.

Michael Sandy