supports on the deck be closer together and that the vertical members 

 of the railings be heavier and fastened to the deck with two side 

 flanges instead of deck flanges. 



13. The deck folding hinges are weak. The "Strap Hinges" should be 

 replaced by "T-Butt" hinges. 



14. The only advantage of the folding boat appears to be that it does 

 not require a special permit for land transportation. The disadvantage 

 of the folding boat is that it cannot be safely deployed with a crane. 

 However, its deployment over a ramp is fast and simple. 



15. The manufacturer states that the boat is designed to be flexible in 

 order to improve load distribution. Therefore, according to the 



manufacturer : 



a. Any effort to strengthen the FTB will make it rigid, and, 

 therefore, weaken it. 



b. The lifting sling of the FTB must be used to fold 

 and unfold the boat. Other methods may damage the hinges. 



c. Lifting eyes are not provided because the boat is 

 not rigid. 



d. Rollers should not be placed on the underside of 

 the decks to facilitate deployment. 



16. The FTB was felt to be stable, at least under the relative calm 

 conditions of the Port Hueneme harbor. The total power of the two 75-hp 

 engines was considered to be adequate for the use of the FTB in harbor 

 oil spill cleanup situations. 



17. The FTB could be used for towing towable storage bags, for 

 deploying and retrieving boom mooring systems, for connecting and 

 disconnecting boom sections, for transporting men and equipment between 

 pier and spill site, and for transporting, deploying, and retrieving 

 boom. 



18. The removable inner rails of the FTB permit an increase in the 

 usable deck area, if necessary. However, when the inner rails are in 

 place, they provide safe walkways on both the port and the starboard 

 sides as well as access to the storage areas and the fuel tanks. 



19. For the most effective use of the deck space for boom storage, the 

 specifications of the Navy boom and the FTB should be coordinated to 

 that the usable width of the FTB (or the usable length if fore and aft 

 faking is planned in future FTB design) will be slightly in excess of an 



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