[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

By RAW, Mechanic has a long list of required specialties.

One of which is Vehicle Type.

Mechanic (High Performance Spacecraft) (used for life support),

Sure and everything else on the craft. Do you suppose Mechanic (Automobiles) is only for fixing the A/C? What if a vehicle doesn't even have any life support or climate control? What does Mechanic (Bicycles) fix?

I wound up effectively with specialties of Starship

Yes this is a specific example of Mechanic (Vehicle Type) you can use it fix Starships. B207 says "the controls, hull, motive system, power plant, transmission and even the paint job" and I am certain that isn't meant to be exhaustive, but rather it saying that it covers all the big things (power plant) and trivial things (paint job) and everything in between.

If you're willing to declare the entire "use" column to be Spacer (along with sir_pudding),

No, that's not what I am saying. Weapons use Gunner. Sensors use Electronics Operation. However, among the core systems of a vehicle are a motive system and a power plant. Just as the specific skill of Seamanship includes the ability to raise sails and adjust trim, all Crewman skills include the ability to operate the core systems of the vehicle. Otherwise what systems could the skill possibly include to be necessary?

and the entire "Repair" column to be one Mechanic skill (along with Fred), then you might well just declare the entire "design" column to be Engineer (Starship) -- or perhaps call it "Naval Architecture". Then you're down to three skills, one of which everyone on the crew will have, so the engineer really just needs two broad skills -- Engineer (Starships) and Mechanic (Starships).

Yes, Engineer (Starships) as an example of Engineer (Vehicle Type) is a speciality listed on p. B191.

You can then go back and introduce familiarities if you want a security guy to be good at maintaining personal weapons (only) while the ship engineer doesn't bother with them.

I think it is pretty obvious that Mechanic (Starships) doesn't overlap with Armoury (Small Arms) very much at all.

But once you start down the dark path of splitting skills, forever will it control your destiny, until you wind up back at something RAW-like. There's a reason they made all those distinctions in the first place. The right place to stop splitting is one of those things that's going to depend on the focus of the game and personal taste.

Mechanic (Starship) and Spacer are totally in the rules.

If the hotshot pilot can navigate and fly anything with six skills ... then you probably shouldn't require the engineer to buy 20 to 30 skills to fix and repair anything -- but rather about six.

Pilot has the exact same Vehicle Type specialities as Engineer and Mechanic. If you think Mechanic (Spaceships) can only fix the life support, then Pilot (Spaceships) can only operate the life support, and you would need the same 20 or 30 skills to fly anything.