Much of this comes down to your actions....
You have been given several ship recommendations, and you have got links to the Coriolis tool that let you build ships on paper without having actually build them in game to test out....
Some things you need to test ingame to get a feel for it. Do you like the cockpit view? As that can be a real big deal breaker, as Anaconda has a notorious bad view from the cockpit, if you are after some nice cockpit view of the scenery, especially compared to DBX, AspE, etc. Also Krait with its underside cockpit offers a distinct feeling and in most and cases a great view. In general, ships with their cockpit in the front offers the best views, and the further back the cockpit is located the more restricted will the view be. But the great view in AspE/Type 6 etc, can also make you feel more exposed, ie more unsafe... so that could be another factor to consider.
Cost can be a factor aswell! Do the size of the ship matter? (small, medium or large)
I do understand that the no engineering thing,, etc. Unless you only have the base game, the requirements to unlock the any of the entry level engineers in the bubble that do FSD upto grade 5, are fairly easy. Some exploration rank or distance from your starting position.. and then go and fetch some specific cargo. Trying to figure this out in the game can be a challenge, but there are plenty of resources to walk you through this to make the effort easier.
The second thing to consider is the Guardian FSD Booster, pretty straight forward to unlock as well, works well as a mini exploration trip, as the Guardian ruins are a some distance away.... but in most cases, going after the Guarding stuff, also helps alot with the unlocking of engineers...
Both or either of these options allows you more options for what ships to choose from!
My experience in what affects jumprange the most
1. FSD engineering, and even just some G2-G3 have a significant impact on range
2. Guardian FSD Booster
3. Smaller modules, like 4 instead of 5 (Thrusters, Powerplant, etc) , D-rate anything except FSD, that only have one option when it comes to jump range, A-rated.
And with either or both 1-2 available, that will open up even more ships or to bring more nice to have stuff...
What do you want to bring with you?
SLF?
SRV?
etc?
- If getting boored, having a SLF with you can make for some fun flying around in Rings/Asteroid belts, on planets, etc. I brougth a SLF fighter with me and never used it...
- SRV, atleast two if you want to land on planets. The more the better, as accidental destroying an SRV by tumbling down a ravine etc can happen.... and having a second one good.
- AFMU, most useful if you intend to use Neutron Star Boosting, if you skip this, the biggest risk you suffer are face planting stars and rough landings on planets. both of which are pilot errors.... Training and practice is the key to avoid this.... Neutron Star boosting will damage your FSD on every boost, and thus you need to repair at some point...
- Repair Limpets, to repair windshield/hull, damage to these are often caused by bad landings or crashing into asteroids...
- Heat Sinks, these are for the event that you jump into a system with two orbiting stars, as that could put you in the middle between the stars and that is like an owen... can get pretty toasty fast.... popping a heat sink can save your ship from alot of damage.... FDev have fixed most of these situatios so that you do not end up in absolute danger zone. So the risk is now lower than it used to be.
- Mining laser, if you need to gather resources, for example using FSD injections (synthesis) to boost jump range, then you could find yourself without material to jump back. having a mining laser could in that case save you to get that missing material, also SRV can be used, but that requires landable planets, and this requires rings/asteroids belts
So what of the above is important to you, it all depends on what kind of explorer you want to be... and how much stuff you can bring and still achieve your goal of atleast 30 LY....
I am the sort of person that want to be prepare for most things, so I went with all of the above and then some...And remember, back in the days, we did not have most of these fancy things and people still went out exploring in stock ships and went as far as Beagle Point and then back and their ships was fine... and all damage I sustained was all from Neutron Star Boosting! Avoid that and you should be fine... and there are some stations scattered around out there, so there are more options for repairs/restock out there.
Just some careful flying and having a bit of luck will be enough for most explorers.
So I wish you good luck in finding your exploration ship and a good journey that brings you back home in one piece.
