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Andrew Probert talks about TMP drydock designs.

Okay, I think I got the merge done correctly. It's not something I've done before, so I hope it's right... :lol:
 
I've seen (and have) many of these sketches, but it was terrific to hear from The Man himself. Thanks, Mr. Probert!

The thing I was most excited about was hearing his idea for work platforms placed by cranes. I had been trying to justify the reason for cranes on a drydock (other than that they look cool). This will do nicely. (It also goes a long way to explain why you need the whole thing at all.)
 
I liked the idea I read in one of the early TOS-era books (I think it involved a young Kirk and his father, and a recently built 1701) that the dry docks (aka "box docks" as the book referred to them) could be raised and lowered - while containing a ship - to and from the surface of a planet.

I always thought that was a neat idea.

It would have been cool to see the Trek'09 1701 constructed on the ground in a landed version of a "box dock" - would implied it could have been constructed both on the ground, and in space, in different phases. (Maybe saved a lot of argument - especially if we could see the same dock/1701 combo in orbit later as Kirk & co. come aboard...)

I also always thought it would be neat to see some of these docks joined in twos (to utilize the same crew/office/living space) and "stacked" in clusters of four - or even sixes or eights!
 
I had been trying to justify the reason for cranes on a drydock (other than that they look cool).

Hmm. What good would the drydock do if it didn't have any cranes? Create an aesthetically pleasing shape around the ship? Cast thin, webbed shadows on the ship's hull? Catch any components larger than 10x10 m in size if these happen to detach from the ship, and don't happen to fly forward, aft or down?

The box itself makes rather little sense if it isn't a solid mechanical support for either cranes or their futuristic tractor beam equivalents. Things like lighting fixtures wouldn't need such a massive frame: indeed, the ship can self-illuminate its hull in most situations, so why not during repairs or construction? Most repair or construction work could probably be conducted better if there wasn't this stupid box around the ship to hinder such operations.

Timo Saloniemi
 
I liked the idea I read in one of the early TOS-era books (I think it involved a young Kirk and his father, and a recently built 1701) that the dry docks (aka "box docks" as the book referred to them) could be raised and lowered - while containing a ship - to and from the surface of a planet.

I always thought that was a neat idea.

It would have been cool to see the Trek'09 1701 constructed on the ground in a landed version of a "box dock" - would implied it could have been constructed both on the ground, and in space, in different phases. (Maybe saved a lot of argument - especially if we could see the same dock/1701 combo in orbit later as Kirk & co. come aboard...)

I also always thought it would be neat to see some of these docks joined in twos (to utilize the same crew/office/living space) and "stacked" in clusters of four - or even sixes or eights!

Ahh, now all of these are terrific ideas. :)
 
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