[gurps] Excuses for a TL10 Super-Catamaran

[Onno Meyer]

I was doing the initial numbers on a 100-knot catamaran and 
a 1,000-ton flarecraft when I noticed that TL10 ducted fans  
with vectored thrust and fusion power are 0.2 lbs. and $34 
per pound of thrust (not counting the startup cost/weight). 
There is a proverb that sufficient thrust allows brick to 
fly, and TL10 meets this level.

So I could do a VTOL passenger ferry, a VTOL cargo hauler 
and a VTOL research craft, but how exciting is a world if 
everybody flies in similar vehicles?

* When cost is an issue and speed is not, it watercraft are
  an option: floating homes from houseboats to arcologies, 
  harvesters/processors for slow or predictable prey, etc.

* When TL10 state-of-the-art technology cannot be maintained,
  fusion power becomes much heavier. But would that be the TL
  of a high-speed, long-range ferry?

* In residential areas of arcologies, dust and noise may be
  an issue. Small electric carts or boats are nicer. 

By TL11, reactionless thusters (if they are available) are 
the predominant technology. I wonder if TL10 leaves more 
niches.