Colonial Chrome

My dear comrades,

currently I working on ideas, to improve scout ships.
At first, I discussed deep water possibilities and I'm sure, we can modify, replace or install shields, that withstand great water pressure for a long time.
Now I think about alternate energies, sneak and stealth abilities and useful additions, especially an improved freetime area.

For Energy systems, I would prefer solar plates OR solar sails, like the genosian solar flyer. Sure, it will be a great modification, but I think, it will be worth the price.
Great Solar sails, that will be "stayed" on top of the ship.
For loading the battery, put the ship in position, fold out the sails and collect energy.
Solar plates are a cheaper, but less effective variant. For this, they can be used as last rescue, supporting the life systems, while the crew repair the engines. So I would install Solar Sails at scouts and plates at anything else, which is no longer than 50 Meters in length.
For protect the sails, when the shields are not in function, there could be a system, but it will increase price, weigth and time for modification...

Any ideas?

On solar panels -

There are profound limits on how solar panels can generate power. Essentially the amount of light hitting them can only be transferred, there will always be loss, but even if we assume 100% energy conversion, we're still nowhere near enough to make them worthwhile. Most things thought of as being solar panels are in fact CRMS system emitters.

Solar sails able to generate enough power to operate a ships systems would be many hundreds of kilometers across.

On solar sails -

The Star Wars solar sail works by manipulating the subluminal photonic energy arriving at the ship and converting them to superluminal hyper photonic energy which is massively more energetic and accounts for the ships being able to move at speeds not normally associated with the physics of the thing.

Make a scout capable of water landings... like the Bebop.

Good idea.
So it will have a greater range of landing spaces...

*thinking*

Quint, unless you're talking about landing underwater, I think this subject was covered in the Deep Water Diving discussion. And, to note, even landing underwater was covered as well.

After your ship landed on or in water, btw, where would you go? There are only a few species which can survive in water without drowning. And if you have an underwater base, just make an underwater hanger. Nothing bigger than fighters or a small-to-medium-sized passenger ship should be landing there anyways.

Well... In the same way, you go out of space...

Go to the "schleuse", take on your space/underwater clothes, go (space) diving.
Exploring fish, harpoon your meal, flee from great ugly fishes...
Just another way to explore the galaxy...