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Discussion: The thing about boats

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Original-Sin	The thing about boats Jul 25 2009, 9:33 PM EDT Im going to stop you right there. Who the hell said Zombies CANT swim? No body. Until they actually come about to perk up their ugly, maggot infested heads I wouldnt jump to rash assumptions like this, they could very well get you killed. But I agree, boats are a great form of transportation, but your missing a key part to it. Freighters, barges, and aircraft carriers are vast, floating, movable structures which can house an entire colony and can be completely isolated even at port. Hoist up the gang-plank or draw up the bridge and nothing can get on without you letting it, unless it can fly or is quite proficient with a grappling hook but a few sentries posted will solve those problems. The walls of these structures are high enough that nothing can get on to them from the water without super-human abilities. It is for these reasons I will chose my fortress to be either a barge, aircraft carrier, or freighter. You can house a small colony of survivors, most include generators, all include radios to reach other survivors and you can survive on meager crops and a load of fishing with even a few livestock if you wanted. And, if it comes to it and you know how to do it, you can move the entire fortress to another port to raid an entire new town every few years. Do not understimate boats, they come in all shapes and sizes, and almost nothing is going to get to you if your on one and are smart enough about it.. otherwise you were a fool deserved to die. -OS Post reply 5 out of 5 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you? Keyword tags: None
USNtwidget	1. RE: The thing about boats Jul 26 2009, 10:04 AM EDT Being in the navy, i have a certain fondess towards ships, i think your best bet would be a freighter, the systems on board are designed for a minimal crew of civilians, where as navy ships are packed with sailors, each doing a specific job One thing you need to think about is, how much food is onboard, is it capable of producing its own water, and how much fuel it has, The electric generators use the ships fuel supply, granted since you are sitting tied up or not moving the fuel will go down slower, but its still a limited resource. If the ship can make its own water, i recomend looking for one with a Reverse osmosis system, way better and more efficent then the old evaporator systems Lastly Radios, i dont know what you imagend to find on your ship but i work on radios on navy ships, and they are very complicated, very percise peices of equitment, unless your trained on that system you wont be able to just turn it on and start chatting away Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Painiswild	2. RE: The thing about boats Jul 26 2009, 6:09 PM EDT Original-Sin do you have any experiance on boats such as those you describe. How would you get your hands onto one? Oh yeah military hand them over to people thats it! Pardon my mistake... Post reply 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
inu-dude25	3. RE: The thing about boats Jul 26 2009, 10:29 PM EDT OS, you raise some good points, though a few issues still remain IMO. First, with the boat you do have protection but if the bilge pumps aren't working (which they may not be), one good storm could sink you. Another boat that's worked free of it's ropes could drift into your boat and sink you. Also, obviously ports are all different, but I'd starve before eating anything that came out of the water near me. Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Original-Sin	4. RE: The thing about boats Jul 27 2009, 4:24 AM EDT I dont plan on taking the freighter or carrier out to sea and I understand more than enough about them to keep it afloat. In my honest opinion it's a great defensive structure in comparison to any building on land. Skinjobs should find it nearly impossible to make their way onto one whilst when holded up in any building on land when the hordes find you they will most likely just wait it out, pounding at your defenses day and night until they break in, find you, and kill you. Zombies will most likely have a lot harder time getting on even a docked ship with the gang-walk hoisted up, won't they? And if your concerned about the ropes holding it to the dock.. i believe that was why the ANCHOR was invented. And everything i listed was just examples of what you are capable of when you have hijacked one. No doubt, any freighter or carrier is going to still have a good handful of crew members still on it, capable of keeping it in shape and perhaps even piloting it. They may not be a fool-proof fortress but it has a lot of advantages over any base made on dryland.. but even the holes shot into my freighter plan can apply to any base, anywhere. Your food will run out just the same in a Wal-Mart than it will on a large ship, just might last you a bit longer. Your going to need fuel just as much on land, if not more. Of course Im going to be prepared before trying to take over one myself come Z-Day, that's why we have time now to make our plans. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Painiswild	5. RE: The thing about boats Jul 27 2009, 8:34 PM EDT Don't get me wrong post Z-Day if your on a ship like that I will beg for you to let me abored XD Post reply Do you find this valuable?
USNtwidget	6. RE: The thing about boats Jul 27 2009, 11:18 PM EDT So heres the ship im currently stationed on Its a ticonderoga class missle cruiser its 567 ft long 55ft wide its roughly 10k tons and its powerd by 4 engines that put out around 80k horsepower its range is listed at 6000 nm at 20kts, but since on z day we will wanna conserve fuel, we'll probaly just anchor somewhere and only use fuel to run the generators on the ship we have a crew of about 300 enlisted and 30 officers armament its 2, VLS (verticle luanching systems) both foward and aft with 61 launch cells each 2, 5'' guns one on the Foc'sle and one on the fantail 2, 25mm Mk38 mod 2 plus the ship is an armorey on board with numerous 9mm M16s, M500 shotguns, with have 3 M240 staions and about 12 .50 cal stations. this ships a fortess even sitting at the pier and sry to you guys, but i dont think my captain will be taking on refugees, our orders would be to get the hell out to sea, and fast Post reply Do you find this valuable?
inu-dude25	7. RE: The thing about boats Jul 28 2009, 12:18 AM EDT "No doubt, any freighter or carrier is going to still have a good handful of crew members still on it, capable of keeping it in shape and perhaps even piloting it. " That's my only real issue with your plan. Assuming anything isn't good at best, and fatal at worst. Don't assume that you'll have an engineer/mechanic onboard to maintain the vessel, if you need to rely on the engines & pumps running learn to service them yourself. If you need to move the boat, learn how to navigate one. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Akerris	8. RE: The thing about boats Jul 28 2009, 7:12 AM EDT Whats wrong with a simple sailing vessel? Who needs motors? BTW my wife is Coast Guard reserve, and is the best damn navvy I've ever seen! Post reply 3 out of 3 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Original-Sin	9. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 4:28 AM EDT Once again, I dont plan on taking it out to sea. I plan on using it as a base and living off it with it anchored at port. That way im still close to supplies but theres no way any convention Skinjob is getting to me. Everything I listed was just to show the potential of such ships. Your going to have all the same problems as bases on land but much more advantages. You'll have to worry about keeping it afloat but as long as you dont thrash it and arnt reckless you shouldnt encounter too many difficulties in doing so. As USNwidget so easily pointed out, these ships are BEASTS and should not be underestimated. And Panis, I will gladly have any ZSDW member on my hijacked ship(assuming they arn't infected) :D -OS Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Travesty	10. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 4:43 AM EDT just another Idea for boats...it's only an idea it probably would take a lot of work and the right people to pull it off but if you could, you would have a pretty good fortress even at port...a Cruise ship like one of the Carnival cruises Royal Caribbean etc...the really big ones, If you could first find one of these at a port and get a crew that could work the ship you would have a decent fortress for some time those ships carry A LOT of food and supplies with plenty of room so if you had a crew about 100 maybe? or less you could possibly take it out to sea or coastline and possibly find a deserted island on the Caribbean...or even just have a nice place to hide from undead at port Post reply Do you find this valuable?
inu-dude25	11. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 11:45 AM EDT But they also have a good number of staff and passengers, which could mean several hundred undead cannibals in a tight space. The only other problem I'd see is getting the experienced crew capable of handling the boat to let you on-board. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Akerris	12. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 1:21 PM EDT "But they also have a good number of staff and passengers, which could mean several hundred undead cannibals in a tight space. The only other problem I'd see is getting the experienced crew capable of handling the boat to let you on-board." Cruise ships are also great germ buckets.....Just a thought... Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Painiswild	13. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 6:20 PM EDT Its a good idea this, reminds me of fallout 3's rivet city lol One thing I disagree on though... Even if it was possible to do so I wouldn't use the ships 25mm guns or whatever they are (I ain't familer). They would be heard for miles around and would be really ineffective against zeds (They're built to take down ships/aircraft, not infantery) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
USNtwidget	14. RE: The thing about boats Jul 29 2009, 7:59 PM EDT "Its a good idea this, reminds me of fallout 3's rivet city lol One thing I disagree on though... Even if it was possible to do so I wouldn't use the ships 25mm guns or whatever they are (I ain't familer). They would be heard for miles around and would be really ineffective against zeds (They're built to take down ships/aircraft, not infantery)" oh youd be surprised, ive seen first hand what the 25mm can do to humans, needless to say the somolian pirates arnt gonna mess with the USS Cape St george again, that shit was messy, a torso here, a peice of a lower half of a jaw there..... you get the idea Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Original-Sin	15. RE: The thing about boats Jul 30 2009, 2:30 AM EDT "oh youd be surprised, ive seen first hand what the 25mm can do to humans, needless to say the somolian pirates arnt gonna mess with the USS Cape St george again, that shit was messy, a torso here, a peice of a lower half of a jaw there..... you get the idea" I agree, they could wreck the undead with ease. Although Panis is right, they could draw A LOT of unwanted attention. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Painiswild	16. RE: The thing about boats Jul 30 2009, 6:42 PM EDT "oh youd be surprised, ive seen first hand what the 25mm can do to humans, needless to say the somolian pirates arnt gonna mess with the USS Cape St george again, that shit was messy, a torso here, a peice of a lower half of a jaw there..... you get the idea" Nice... I get that they do have the capacity to destroy them (Although personally I feel conserving the ammo would be more vital, suppose you get a convoy of unfriendly raiders coming towards you...) I would belive though that they are loud, hence attracting humans and zeds alike. Personally, If you on one of them boats to me they seem pretty-much inpenetrable, so I'd just wait until they starve (Assuming they do XD) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
USNtwidget	17. RE: The thing about boats Jul 30 2009, 8:00 PM EDT understood, and i imagin conserving ammo would be a good idea, if your think piracy is a problem now, wait till everybody with a ship boat or raft thinks life will be easier on the ocean, then see how many turn into pirates. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Painiswild	18. RE: The thing about boats Jul 30 2009, 8:20 PM EDT Yeah, personally though after all the ideas for bases I think am going to stick in my trusty house. At least I know the surroundings, I know its strong and weak points, and I know my neighbours. It's just too based on luck saying your going to "find" a boat, because if you don't, then what? Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Kavoc	19. RE: The thing about boats Jul 31 2009, 1:04 AM EDT \| Post edited: Jul 31 2009, 1:15 AM EDT My 2 cents: If your going to take a ship that requires fuel to sail then know where you want to end up. Without support from the shore it won't be long until you won't be able to sail anymore, even if you manage to scavenge some diesel. If your coming from the States or Canada, stay the hell away from warmer waters, I doubt you'll be able to prepare your ship for these conditions, especially if you don't have a certified hull tech, your hull will probably rust out on you before you run out of fuel. This is especially true for most modern warships because they tend to have softer (thinner) hulls then their civilian counterparts. Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?

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