boat trailer was first secured to a vehicle (a pickup truck capable of 

 handling 7500-lb loads) . The vehicle was then used to slowly back up 

 the trailer carrying the FTB onto the ramp. Care was exercised to 

 ensure that (1) the trailer and the vehicle were centered on the ramp, 

 and (2) neither the trailer nor the vehicle touched the side railings 

 of the ramp. The vehicle was backed slowly until the wheels of the 

 trailer reached the edge of the ramp. Figure 13. The vehicle was then 

 secured in place first with its brakes, and then by a line to the ramp 

 railings to ensure that the entire assembly did not slide into the water 

 when the ramp was lowered. 



Next, the ramp was lowered until the water reached the waterline of 

 the FTB at the stem. The outboard engines were then lowered into water 

 and the engines were started. Figure 14. The boat was then backed away 

 from the ramp with the assistance of the propellers. 



An experienced crew of four men was required to complete 

 deployment: a driver, a ramp control operator, and two people observing 

 and instructing the driver to ensure alignment of the FTB with the ramp. 

 Later, one person was required on the ramp control, one person was 

 required at the FTB controls, and two people were required for lining up 

 the FTB and providing assistance when necessary to push the boat off 

 the trailer and into the water. 



Using a crew of four trained people , the deployment of the FTB 

 from a ramp was completed in 10.0 minutes. The time was recorded from 

 the time the vehicle started lining up with the ramp prior to backing 

 up to the time when the FTB left the trailer. 



Retrieval of the Flattop Boat 



The procedure for retrieval of the FTB was the reverse of the 

 deployment procedure, with only minor differences. Only the differences 

 are described here. For retrieval, the FTB was maneuvered using its 

 propellers so that the FTB was lined up with the trailer on the ramp. 

 The FTB was then r\in up on the trailer by the use of the FTB propellers 

 as far as it could go. The winch line from the trailer was then attached 

 to the towing eye on the center hull, and the FTB was pulled out of the 

 water manually. 



Four men were required to complete the retrieval : one 

 man on the ramp control , one man on the FTB controls , one man pulling 

 the boat with the winch, and the fourth man in the vehicle. The total 

 time required for retrieval of the FTB was 13.0 minutes. 



Loading the Flattop Boat with Boom 



(i) Maximum loading: To complete loading the FTB from a pier, the FTB 

 was maneuvered so that the bow was parallel to and facing the camel log. 

 The boat was pulled close to the camel log as far as possible and then 



15 



