Thousand Sunny

The Thousand Sunny is the second ship of the Straw Hat Pirates that they are now using as their main mode of transportation after the Going Merry was lost. It is a Brigantine Sloop type ship designed and built by Franky with a little help from Yokuzuna, Iceburg, and the remaining Galley-La foremen. Built from Adam Wood, it is a magnificent ship that is at least double the size of the Going Merry and apparently contains the requests the Straw Hats wanted.

Ship Design and Appearance
The Thousand Sunny is a Brigantine Sloop, which relies on the skills of it's navigator. The ship also has a lawn on it's deck, as well as an observation tower for a crow's nest. The masts are huge, and help make the ship extremely manuverable. The figurehead, like on the Merry is an animal's head, only this time a lion (although the face looks more like a bear's) with its mane in the shape of a flower's petals. There is a giant "1" on the side of the ship.

Features
The Thousand Sunny features many additions which the crew have long awaited for, and some nice additions Franky added himself.

The Deck and Upper Ship
The deck has a lawn on it, perfect for gardening, and will likely be the place of Nami's mikan trees, although other plants are not out of the question. Luffy will probably enjoy rolling around in it. Whether there being a lawn or gardens on the deck will have any effect on battles on the ship is unknown.

Kitchen
The kitchen is likely to be increased in size and quality of equipment. All that is known is that Sanji got the perfect lock he's always wanted for the fridge, and that there is a huge oven.

Observation Tower(Crow's Nest)
The crew no longer needs to sit out in the cold or the heat of the Grand Line. An observation tower can be seen at the top of one of the masts where normally a crow's nest would be. It is in a ball shape and has windows on the sides.

Sauna/Bathhouse
The ship also includes a huge bathhouse, with a much larger bathtub then the previous ship. As Nami commented, taking a bath there while the ship gently rocks gives it the feel of a high end spa.

Below Deck
A number of additions likely below deck, but so far none have been seen.

Aquarium
Great for keeping fish so they stay perfectly fresh once caught, Franky says it's a good place to eat dinner. Luffy and Usopp foolishly put a shark in there, which devoured all the fish they had previously caught.

Soldier Dock System
The Soldier Dock system is a special system built within in the ship represented externally by the giant plate marked with a giant number. It is a turn table of compartments of sorts that each contain a special device or vehicle that the Straw Hats can use. It is so named because the vehicles stored within are as Franky calls them are the soldiers of the Thousand Sunny.


 * Channel Zero: Two compartments containing the paddle wheels to change the ship into Paddle-Wheel Sunny. It is powered by a Cola. In chapter 442, Franky showed use of it by changing the number which transformed the Thousand Sunny.


 * Channel One: Contains Nami's Waver, the Shiro Mokuba I


 * Channel Two: Contains Mini Merry II


 * Channel Three: Contains Submerge Shark III


 * Channel Four: Currently empty. Franky stated he'll probably fit it with weapons.

Coup de Bust
The name of a maneuver used by Franky in order to escape Vice-Admiral Garp's attack. Basically, Franky uses 3 bottles of Cola to fire a giant cannon downward and rocket the ship into the air, making a great escape, or as he calls it, a "Water Escape".

Sick bay
The ship has a sick bay, which the previous ship didn't seem to have. Chopper was seen lying in it, relaxing in it, as the room was his (seeing as he is the ship's doctor).

History
The concept of the Thousand Sunny was first thought up by Franky when he was young. Inspired by his mentor Tom's creation, the Oro Jackson, Franky dreamed of making a ship that would sail around the world. This dream however was shattered when Tom was taken away. Franky blamed himself for Tom's arrest and vowed to never build another ship ever again.

After the events in Enies Lobby, Franky's dream was revitalized and he decided to build the Straw Hats a new ship to replace the one that was lost. He felt he owed them for the things that had happened. With the Adam Wood his gang bought with the money they originally stole from the Straw Hats and some aid from Yokuzuna, Iceburg, Paulie, Peepley Lulu, and Tilestone, Franky toiled in making the new ship. After several nights of labor on Scrap Island, Iceburg revealed the new ship to the Straw Hats.

Voyage
The ship will likely go many places, as its journey is just beginning.

The Journey So Far

 * Water 7 (Built here on Scrap Island)

Current Island
The ship has left Water 7 and is currently at the Florian Triangle zone. Hence, it is in the open sea.
 * Thriller Bark (believed to be an island, but actually a giant ship)

Naming Issue
The name Thousand Sunny is a name suggested by Iceburg that describes a ship sailing through a thousand seas like the sun. However before the ship was properly named as thus, a couple of names were suggested by the crew. Most of which were suggested by Luffy and involved the word lion in it. The following are those names suggested by the crew.


 * Bear Polar Bear Lion: Luffy's first suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Tiger Wolf Lion: Zoro's first suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Squid Octopus Chimpanzee: Luffy's second suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Dumpling Gorilla Lion: Luffy's third suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Master Sleeping Lion: Zoro's second suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Darkness Pill: Robin's own suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Marshmallow Sunflower: Sanji's own suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Battle Franky, Lion Gang Champion: A name which Franky himself intended to call the ship.

This naming issue had also affected readers before the ship was actually named. Many assumed that the ship's name was "King of Beasts" due to Iceburg's comment that the Pirate King should ride a ship with the theme of the king of all beasts, a lion.