12. A safe method of deployment and retrieval of the FTB with a crane 

 was not available. However, for deployment and retrieval, the use of a 

 ramp was found to be fast and simple. 



13. The railings are too light, and they might not withstand a man's 

 impact in adverse weather conditions. 



14. The deck folding hinges appeared to be weak. 



15. According to the manufacturer, the boat is designed to be flexible 

 in order to improve load distribution. Therefore, according to the 

 manufacturer : 



a) Any effort to strengthen the folding FTB will make it rigid 

 and, therefore, weaker. 



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 deck to 

 facilitate deployment. 



16. The FTB was found to be stable, and the total power of the two 



75 hp engines was found to be adequate for the use of the FTB in harbor 

 oil spill cleanup situations. 



17. The usable width of the FTB is not an integral multiple of the 

 length of the boom floats at the end of which the boom could be easily 

 folded without damage to flotation. 



18. The FTB could be used for transporting people and equipment, for 

 towing a towable storage bag, for deploying and retrieving boom mooring 

 systems, for connecting and disconnecting boom sections, and for 

 transporting, deploying, and retrieving booms. 



Mooring Systems. 



1. The three mooring systems, small, medium, and large, were found to 

 be compatible with the 36-inch Bennett U.S. Navy boom. 



.2. The length of the mooring line connecting the boom to the buoy 

 should be small to minimize drift of the boom in wind, wave, and current 

 conditions . 



3. The crown and the mooring lines were stored in coils with reverse 

 twists in the lines to minimize the risk of entanglement during deployment. 



38 



