A kayak launching system provides a vertical support pole and submersible rack arms extending out from a dock beneath the water. The rack arms may be lowered to allow a kayak to be positioned above them and then raised to stabilize the kayak during entrance or exit.

A kayak launching system provides a vertical support pole and submersible rack arms extending out from a dock beneath the water. The rack arms may be lowered to allow a kayak to be positioned above them and then raised to stabilize the kayak during entrance or exit.

The invention relates to methods of putting a boat in the water and removing the boat from the water and to a boat launch and recovery platform (1) comprising a frame (10) for receiving a boat (2), flotation means (20) fixed to the frame (10), and a floating floor (30) coupled to the frame (10) so as to be vertically translatable. The launch and recovery platform (1) is arranged for, and the methods enable, a transition from a configuration in which the floating floor (30) rests on a support floor (11) when the launch and recovery platform (1) is out of the water, to a configuration in which the floating floor (30) floats on the surface (S1) of the water when the launch and recovery platform (1) is afloat.

The invention relates to methods of putting a boat in the water and removing the boat from the water and to a boat launch and recovery platform (1) comprising a frame (10) for receiving a boat (2), flotation means (20) fixed to the frame (10), and a floating floor (30) coupled to the frame (10) so as to be vertically translatable. The launch and recovery platform (1) is arranged for, and the methods enable, a transition from a configuration in which the floating floor (30) rests on a support floor (11) when the launch and recovery platform (1) is out of the water, to a configuration in which the floating floor (30) floats on the surface (S1) of the water when the launch and recovery platform (1) is afloat.

The invention relates to methods of putting a boat in the water and removing the boat from the water and to a boat launch and recovery platform (1) comprising a frame (10) for receiving a boat (2), flotation means (20) fixed to the frame (10), and a floating floor (30) coupled to the frame (10) so as to be vertically translatable. The launch and recovery platform (1) is arranged for, and the methods enable, a transition from a configuration in which the floating floor (30) rests on a support floor (11) when the launch and recovery platform (1) is out of the water, to a configuration in which the floating floor (30) floats on the surface (S1) of the water when the launch and recovery platform (1) is afloat.

The invention relates to methods of putting a boat in the water and removing the boat from the water and to a boat launch and recovery platform (1) comprising a frame (10) for receiving a boat (2), flotation means (20) fixed to the frame (10), and a floating floor (30) coupled to the frame (10) so as to be vertically translatable. The launch and recovery platform (1) is arranged for, and the methods enable, a transition from a configuration in which the floating floor (30) rests on a support floor (11) when the launch and recovery platform (1) is out of the water, to a configuration in which the floating floor (30) floats on the surface (S1) of the water when the launch and recovery platform (1) is afloat.

The device includes a sling with four flexible support strands, including a pair of rear strands, each of which is attached by a bottom end to one of two lifting points provided in the lateral end portions of the transom stern, and a top end of which is linked to at least one attachment member, for engaging with a hook suspended beneath a helicopter, and two strands, each forming a loop capable of passing around the outer lower contours of the two lateral floats and beneath the keel of the boat, and of which each of the two ends is attached to the attachment member, one of the two looped strands, referred to as the middle strand, surrounding the boat at the central portion of the latter, and the other looped strand, referred to as the front strand, surrounding the boat at the bow of the boat.

The device includes a sling with four flexible support strands, including a pair of rear strands, each of which is attached by a bottom end to one of two lifting points provided in the lateral end portions of the transom stern, and a top end of which is linked to at least one attachment member, for engaging with a hook suspended beneath a helicopter, and two strands, each forming a loop capable of passing around the outer lower contours of the two lateral floats and beneath the keel of the boat, and of which each of the two ends is attached to the attachment member, one of the two looped strands, referred to as the middle strand, surrounding the boat at the central portion of the latter, and the other looped strand, referred to as the front strand, surrounding the boat at the bow of the boat.

Conventional ship launching airbags are made of several layers of rubber and fiber meshes bonded together by vulcanization. With the existing fabrication process, an airbag is strong in standing heavy pressure at its surfaces, but weak against the cutting by sharp edges of metal debris or oyster shells. An airbag's functional failure during a field operation can cause not only stoppage, but also explosion, hence a serious safety hazard. To overcome such structural weakness, a new type of airbags with anti-cutting capability is disclosed in which a conventional ship launching airbag is covered with a layer of anti-cutting armor made of steel cord ply sheets, a standard off-the-shelf product for the making of tires, embedded at the surface of the airbag's main body.

Conventional ship launching airbags are made of several layers of rubber and fiber meshes bonded together by vulcanization. With the existing fabrication process, an airbag is strong in standing heavy pressure at its surfaces, but weak against the cutting by sharp edges of metal debris or oyster shells. An airbag's functional failure during a field operation can cause not only stoppage, but also explosion, hence a serious safety hazard. To overcome such structural weakness, a new type of airbags with anti-cutting capability is disclosed in which a conventional ship launching airbag is covered with a layer of anti-cutting armor made of steel cord ply sheets, a standard off-the-shelf product for the making of tires, embedded at the surface of the airbag's main body.