Exploring the Secondary Hull of the Refit Enterprise: a 10,000 subscriber special

[@thomasackerman5399]

You missed out on mentioning that Andrew Probert, who designed the refit Enterprise based off of Matt Jefferies Phase II design, did a set of partial plans of the refit that shows where everything is located. This set of drawings was also the basis for an official isometric cutaway poster released as a promotional item for the movie, and was the ur prototype of similar drawings since for science fiction spaceships in many franchises. In it, the cutaway poster shows that the vertical intermix core goes all the way down in front of the arboretum (botanical) and is fed by several pods labeled as antimatter pod. This would be the basis for similar pods seen in the Enterprise-D MSD display. In addition to this, you also missed out on mentioning that inside the turbolift we see in the movie cutaway maps of the Enterprise (presumably to let occupants know where they are in the ship) that are presented in a top and side plan views. They clearly are mapping out the turbolift system in both hulls! A small bead of light represents the turbolift car the occupants are traveling inside and moves as it moves in real time. We see this most clearly when Kirk enters the turbolift the first time in the cargo bay near the docking port, and then when he steps off into the chaos of the bridge. The arboretum/botanical section is confirmed in official plans and we do get glimpses of the trees inside through the 8-foot model's windows here and there in TMP. This becomes less visible in later films, and there are behind the scenes photos of the section showing the miniature room's layout. What's also interesting is that there is an actual double hull on at least that area of the Enterprise, since you can see a crewman's face in a porthole next to the airlock hatch as the shuttlepod backs in for docking. This implies there's enough room for at least a one-man control room or some other facilities, and the glass on the porthole is rather thick, like a deep ocean submersible's, implying rather thick hull plating. This explains nicely, along with the "defense fields" why main engineering wasn't can openered to space and everyone superheated into vapor when Reliant's phaser hit there in Wrath of Khan.

[@SuperSnakePlissken]

Wow! What you have done is help this old fan realize just how small the OG Enterprise really was. Nicely job. Beautiful work.

[@stever3832]

Your modelling is a pure joy to see - I could watch these renders all day, and I usually dislike CGI. The glow to the lighting really adds a beautifying effect too.

[@jeffery7281]

One of my idea on the Connie Refit is it actually showed a changed not only in design, but also in role. We all know the Connie in TOS is designed to be independently operating for long-endurance mission like the 5-year mission without regular docking and supply, so a large part of the Engineering Hull was actually taken by entertainment and crew support facilities, like the infamous bowling alley. But on the refit, what we see is the Engineering really becomes "engineering", with equippments and devices cramped in it, plus the unprecedented large hangar and cargo bay. That probably hint that the Connie actually changed its role after refit, from a large capital explorer ship that can conducted independently deep-space operations to a mid-size cruiser that will more likely operating in or near the Federation space, using its cargo bay to conducting bread and butter services.

[@IO_Darren]

One thing I've always wondered about. If you watch TMP closely, you can see that there's a corridor (that looks to be at lease 20-30 feet long) going directly forward, from where the warp core branches off heading aft to the pylons. It can be really well seen in the scene where Kirk tells Decker that he's taking command of the enterprise. I've never been able to figure out how to reconcile that corridor with where engineering is located.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

Easy, just place the Engine Room further aft and ignore that huge tall vertical plasma tube leading up to the Impulse Engines 😉

[@JimmyBlether]

I never expected it to be THAT hollow but I guess it makes sense.

[@danielwillliams9669]

One word! Nice! Thanks for the rendering. I wish they would have kept this design concept through out all the Enterprise Refits through Enterprise A shots. It gave the ship more depth.

[@Mr_Sovik]

Very well deserved. You are the most true, to Star Trek canon, channel on KZbin. This is the most accurate overview of the secondary hull, adhering to what is established on screen and referencing apocrypha only where appropriate.

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

Dammit Jim the Enterprise refit cargo area is too spacious..👍🤷‍♂️🤦‍♀️

[@WeTravelbyNight]

That's a lot of space. I'm reminded of a warehouse I use to work in. I nearly threw in a forklift truck for the hell of it!

[@Workerbee-zy5nx]

@@WeTravelbyNight 👍

[@purefoldnz3070]

its the Amazon warehouse deck.

[@danandtab7463]

for the longest time there was this big window visible on the side of the hull, most prominent in those "about to go to warp" shots, and I thought that was for a huge swimming pool. I mean it looks like sloshing water there. besides that, I dig the rendering of the cargo bay in this.

[@bravodelta3083]

Cetacean Ops. ;)

[@thomasackerman5399]

There isn't water in it. There's trees that are just visible here and there. Behind the scenes photos actually show the botanical garden section being built and installed in the 8-foot model, and you can find other photos of it through the windows by model building enthusiasts.

[@danandtab7463]

@@thomasackerman5399 fun to know. just funny that I thought it was a pool all these years.

[@barryelverson9486]

Love these videos! ❤ I’d love to see the TOS Constitution engineering hull. Personal note, I think the E-A engineering hull was a different arrangement compared to the refit.

[@grantmobile8777]

These videos are fun exercises. For the most part you rendered only what we ever saw on film. And left blank any space which isn't accounted for with sets. The only thing I ever saw - which many fans adopted - were the layouts speculated upon by Shane Johnson's Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. I owned it from first printing and it's a fine book. Though that needn't be the only word on how the layout of the starship might be made use of.

[@danandtab7463]

I still have that book on my shelf.

[@IncidentElectron]

I think that's where the idea of a swimming pool comes from. I'll have to pull out the old manual and check :)

[@wendigos_eat_people7177]

@@IncidentElectron I still have that book,and yes it is in the plans.

[@johnthomson2377]

As someone building this in Minecraft 1:1 scale and using proportional measurements from blueprints and calculators, this series has been a blessing. I only hope that you can do this for the primary "saucer" hull and address the issue of the size of the recreation deck.

[@SaturnCanuck]

Congratulations. But were is the bowling alley?

[@christopherrobin4619]

Absolutely love your videos and your approach to trek lore. Wish this video had been longer and more indepth. More please!

[@bravodelta3083]

Lovely model; thank you!

[@baahcusegamer4530]

Congratulations!!! The celebration genuinely made me laugh. 😂

[@UberNeuman]

Your render skills are top notch!👍

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

Great little look. And congrats! 😊

[@j.michaelpriester8973]

Congrats on the milestone! And a very good vid to celebrate!

[@billcapehart5238]

Very Nice. But it needs a bowling alley.

[@cmj0929]

Mr. Scotts guide to the enterprise shows exactly what’s in the enterprise refit, some say it’s beta canon but I take it as alpha

[@moxica93]

While not "officially" canon, the FASA deck plans of the Constitution Class had a lot of redundancy of the primary hull built into the secondary hull in case of saucer separation. I think it was mentioned in Scott's Guide to the Enterprise that as it was never used so much of it was removed in the refit to make room for more storage and other needs.

[@blue387]

Can we see discussions of other ships in Starfleet in future videos? I'm a fan of the Ambassador class Enterprise-C. Thanks.

[@alexbarrett3832]

Well done! The work you put into making these models is spectacular and definitely deserves all the attention that it can get!

[@TomMcShane]

These videos and models are amazing. Love your work!

[@mindfury1980]

“Rudimentary Blender skills” I think you massively underestimate yourself. Excellent renderings… love your videos!

[@tylerrea2568]

Another Outstanding Video!, Thank you so much for your work!

[@guillermodiego819]

Congrats on the subs, great video as always!

[@johnsledge3942]

I always love discussions about how the twin turbo lifts in the cargo bay connect up through the neck, I know that’s something fans have often debated. There are some cool theories, and iirc, one of them was sorta confirmed by Andrew Probert.

[@gregorymcmahon876]

Awesome job.

[@christopheheraud9043]

well done. nice video

[@short72hp1]

congrats that's because we love you vids💯👍🖖

[@woufff_]

Congrats!

[@johnbockelie3899]

The 1701-A had a slightly different interior in its secondary hull. It had complete shuttle craft deck with rear walls. Also there was not a huge cargo deck as well. The warp drive reactor ( as seen in Star Trek 6) looked the same as the one on TNG Enterprise.( for movie budget reasons.)

[@steveg5122]

Congrats

[@ImmortalTreknique]

For the mighty algorithm 🍻

[@blockmasterscott]

I had no clue that the secondary hull was that hollow inside. Wow.

[@superzentredi]

I feel like the refit Constitution was used as a testbed bridging the technologies that would eventually end up on Excelsior and later starships, which would explain the ridiculous vertical intermix chamber set up having no place to go but through the photon torpedo pod. Seems like they fixed the ridiculously oversized cargo section in the A, which has a shuttle landing bay closer to the original connie.

[@yewtoob2007]

How much canonical (or non-canonical) literature is there on the Arboretum? It looks huge.

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

I just feel bad for all the plants and trees that died when she self destructed in twok. 😭😭😭

[@darrensmith6999]

Congratulations Sir (:

[@blacktronpavel]

Pretty cool

[@cliffthedroid1663]

Although I'm the biggest fan of TMP. I do have a problem with the secondary hull. Basically, there's nothing in it. They wanted it to look huge and sci-fi. And it looks great but they made it, rather empty. Nasa would have something to say about all that wasted space. I suppose they would have more cargo before they launched. Imagine all those hungry crew members in the primary hull. Ooof. I guess all that cargo has to go somewhere. I'm joking of course but it does make you think. The waste of space appeared to be re-addressed in Star Trek V where the hanger of the Enterprise -A was allot smaller in that film. TY for the video. The graphics and models are fantastic.

[@keyboardt8276]

Perhaps the shuttlebay was "mission-adaptable space" that could be used to store mission-specific modules, like the irl LCS. The LCS design wasn't that successful, but maybe starfleet made it work (or maybe they didn't given that the Miranda outlived the Constitution by far)

[@KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain]

Great vid. My only complaint would be that from the end of the presentation to the end of the video there’s 47 seconds you could have filled say 35 of those with something.

[@pcheintz7264]

One item to point out is the shuttle bay may not be the same in the 1701-A. That is because of the scene shown in the Star Trek V movie... In real life they likely did not want to deal with the expansive set shown in TMP and cut it down due to budget limitations. In the Show it could be due to the 1701-A being a different refit or slightly different design since it is a physically different ship.

[@stevencramsie9172]

Though I’m impressed with the rendering skills of the actual structure of the secondary hull, I’m a bit surprised that the font used for the numbers seems to be incorrect. It should be Eurostile Bold Extended.

[@davidsandy5917]

Comparisons to an aircraft carrier, don't really suffice. A typical aircraft carrier can house a hundred aircraft along with everything needed to service them, plus crew, fuel and supplies.

[@TONYGILLEY]

Based on blueprints I've seen (fan made) two separate Deuterium Tanks are located in that space in front of the Cargo decks and above the ship's arboretum. In another set, the tanks are on the deck below main engineering which conflicts with the turboshaft system. That one thing that bugs me about The Motion Picture is that there appears to be a long corridor at the front of the Engine Room which conflicts with the placement of the Navigational Deflector. The only way I can rationalize these oddities in my head is that the Federation has a limited technological trade agreement with Gallifrey. LOL!!!

[@WeTravelbyNight]

That corridor is a pain in the backside, I agree.

[@wendigos_eat_people7177]

Great job. There is only one mistake in the design. The flight deck. In the motion picture the bay doors are open and you can see the flight deck inside the doors is raised about 2 or 3 feet above the rest of the fantail outside the doors. The flight deck is dark blue in color and fantail outside the doors which are lower is a grey colored surface. A raised flight deck will give more head space for shuttles in the hanger. I always wondered what are those rectangular panels on wall that the doors slide open towards.They are on both sides of the ship. Are they large airlocks?

[@davidsandy5917]

As an aerospace engineer, my comment about the secondary hull is simple. There is a lot of un-used space. Looks good on the screen but is not very practical.

[@ljayscott]

Wait. Wasn't the large room where Kirk had the 'all call' meeting to show the crew footage of V'ger's attack on the starbase also in the secondary hull...?

[@danandtab7463]

the rec deck is in the saucer, in the Spock docking scene you'll see that his shuttle goes just above the rec deck's windows.

[@wendigos_eat_people7177]

danandtab is correct. It's in the saucer towards the back right side (starboard) 8 windows.4 on the bottom and 4 on the top . The filming set wast constructed correctly, since about 20 feet from the lower windows the floor will start to rise towards the center of the deck by about 5 ft. ( half deck height) and then start to lower itself to regain proper deck height. on it's way to the central bulge.

[@90lancaster]

That was a bit weird it felt like 10% of a longer video or even just the intro.

[@nerfheardingfuzzball]

The more of your videos I see about the refit enterprise, the more I understand why the Miranda outlived the Constitution.

[@baahcusegamer4530]

I had always thought the rec deck was same as arboretum for some reason

[@Mannwhich]

Rec dec is inconveniently placed in the saucer decks just right of the impulse drive.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

That was originally one place proposed for the set, I believe

[@LTDLimiTeD1995]

I've always wondered, is there a turbolift shaft into the Naecelles? It feels like there should be, but I don't see the space.

[@vorlon010]

I always assumed, due to the nature of the space, that they were served by jefferies tubes only, possibly without gravity to allow them to be traversed - on the rare occasions it was necessary - without a fully enclosed turbolift. Possibly another 1-man inspection lift like the one that moved between the 3 levels of Main Engineering?

[@danandtab7463]

maybe it was a funky ride vehicle like the St Louis arch. though at least with OG Enterprise it was probably just a very long ladder.

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

I'm guessing there may be a Jeffries tube type of thing a single person could crawl up into the pylons during an absolute emergency, like when Scotty had to dink around with the magnetic field to the warp engines in the episode That Which Survives. (Something went out of whack when the Enterprise was transported and rematerialized far away from an artificial planet where a projection of a woman, named Losira, was trying to kill Kirk and the away team). Apparently, the nacelles on the original Enterprise (before refit) could be jettisoned from where the pylons attach to the secondary hull...because that last resort option was discussed between Scotty and Spock.

[@TurtleTrackin]

Then, along came ST V....

[@johnbockelie3899]

Why did the refit need such a big cargo deck for?. The Enterprise was a starship, not a freighter.

[@WeTravelbyNight]

I suspect the director wanted a wow moment. And he got one!

[@whatever1618]

Did anyone else look at the thumbnail and think Warhammer?

[@kadmii]

"rudimentary"

[@Darmok_]

Although I love the exterior design of the ship, the interior layout makes absolutely no practical sense.

[@wendigos_eat_people7177]

It does make sense , to a point. My biggest gripe is the turbo lift. If it goes vertically through the cargo bay then it must have a horizontal path. That would cut the engineering hull in half the long way. You wouldn't be able to get to the other side of the hull easily or quickly in an emergency, and a lot of wasted space. I would just have a vertical shaft behind the navigational deflector dish, everyone can walk to where they have to go from there.After all that hull isn't huge it's quite small. a quick walk . My second gripe is the hanger deck ceiling. There is hardly any head room for the shuttles. You couldn't work on the roof of a shuttle without having to pull it out on to one of the shuttle lifts. The plans ignored that the flight deck isn't flush with the fantail out side the hanger doors, rather inside the open doors you can clearly see the deck is slightly raised above fantail. It's a dark blue floor. If they gave that a little consideration you might get some much needed ceiling space in the hanger below it.