My Current Games Next Two Planned Ships, The Tortoise-Class Ships.

[xenoscepter (OP)]

The Freighter
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Tortoise class Freighter    29,350 tons     88 Crew     692 BP      TCS 587  TH 600  EM 0
1022 km/s     Armour 4-84     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 15    Max Repair 37.5 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 16   
Cargo 20000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10   

StarTech Systems Model B (4)    Power 150    Fuel Use 6.63%    Signature 150    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 450,000 Litres    Range 41.6 billion km   (471 days at full power)

Pioneer Electronics Century 126 (1)     GPS 1200     Range 7.2m km    Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Colony Variant
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Tortoise C class Freighter    29,850 tons     185 Crew     1498 BP      TCS 597  TH 600  EM 0
1005 km/s     Armour 4-85     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 31    Max Repair 37.5 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 23   
Cryogenic Berths 80000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 20   

StarTech Systems Model B (4)    Power 150    Fuel Use 6.63%    Signature 150    Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 500,000 Litres    Range 45.5 billion km   (523 days at full power)

Pioneer Electronics Century 126 (1)     GPS 1200     Range 7.2m km    Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

 - The Tortoise-Class kinda lives up to it's name, although it isn't THAT slow. However, it is very well armoured, which is kind of the thing with this class. Weighing in at just shy of 30,000 Tons for both the Freighter and it's Colony Variant, it's definitely not a wee dainty boat. The Freighter version hauls up to 20,000 Tons of Cargo, while the -C Varaint can ferry up to 80,000 Colonists at a time. Both ships are powered by the StarTech Systems Model B Ion Engine, with four of them providing the needed thrust to let them get where they're going in... reasonable time. The ship's Pioneer Electronics Century 126 differs from the Waylander's experimental systems in that it uses more advanced Active Grav and EM Sensor tech, and blends it with Electronic Hardening 1, making it far less susceptible to being blinded by microwaves. Likewise, her four engine configuration lends robustness to the design, however this is somewhat offset by the two Large Fuel Storage modules which act to quench their thirst.

And that's the Tortoise-Class, I won't be accepting criticism for the 4 HS worth of Armouring that I've slabbed the thing with; that's what makes it a Tortoise and that's how it shall stay. As for those who would comment on the use of Electronic Hardening; yeah, I know I probably don't need it, but it's for Role-Play purposes. Space is full of radiation, EMP and other weirdness... having some protection against a freak event frying your sensors is considered important to my empire. I intend to lay the three Freighters C.C.S. Tortoise, C.C.S. Hare and C.C.S. Aesop right after the Traveller is done, so they can truck supplies. I'll make the three -C variants once I've got some colonies cooking and got the Boronide issue worked out. Other than those, all feedback is welcome.

[Father Tim]

I have found that having multiple, single-installation-sized freighters is more useful than one larger hull.  Five freighters that can each move one automine suits me far better than one freighter that can move five automines in a single load.

That's probably because I prefer to set up my logistics with repeating-orders loops, or routes.  I assign one Freighter to haul automines to a particular asteroid, then load up any minerals present and return to the homeworld to do it again.  Or I assign one to haul a CF to my first major colony, then a load of infrastruture from there to the newest frozen-moon outpost in the system, then collect a load of minerals from a nearby asteroid and dump some of them on Colony One before bringing the rest all the way home (and repeat. . .)

Oh, and your Tortoise doesn't have enough armour.  Sure, in a weak nebula that's 212 km/s per amour level it's still pushing 80% of its regular speed, but when it ventures into something stiffer -- say, 86km/s per armour level -- it will crawl.

[Cavgunner]

I suggest consolidating your designs by giving your basic freighter just a tiny amount of passenger capacity (say one standard cryo holding 10,000 people).  My logic here is that your freighter squadron will usually only need to transport colonists when first settling a world.  After that, immigration draw should attract your civilian colony ships until the colony is big enough to turn off immigration.  At that point the swarm of AI colony ships will simply go somewhere else, so you can kinda indirectly control them by using that immigration option.  In the meantime you can use your hybrid freighters for other things while all this is going on.