hovercraft rescue boat

[mtrfd2518]

My department is considering buying a hovercraft for our new rescue boat. It is a Scat XT Fire/Rescue model. We currently use a aluminum boat but it has its downfalls. Does anyone have any comments about hovercrafts in general?

[Hovpod]

We manufacture the Hov Pod Hovercraft, the first available in high impact PE, our website is www.hovpod.com. There are a number of issues to address with hovercraft, due to the fact that they are weight dependent vehicles. Some hovercraft have poor buoyancy, some are difficult to steer, some have two engines, one for lift, one for propulsion, we use one engine to do both to simplify operations and keep the noise and servicing to a minimum. Some hovercraft have real difficulty starting from a water start - term is getting over hump, some stop suddenly on water, spilling their contents forward. We cover all operational aspects in a free guide on our website www.hovpod.com

[bolt109]

Here is my take on the hover craft, it is certainly a great tool, but the problem being if the engine goes so does your boat, because it no longer has anything pushing air under the boat to keep it afloat other than that they are pretty nice, however if you have a Zodiac or John boat at least if the engine goes you can still paddle and stay afloat to get you and your crew to safety

[mtrfd2518]

Actually the model we are looking at has heavy duty floatation built in to it. The motor can die and the inside could be swamped (full of water) and it still floats!

[keith46]

Feel free to call me. We have had a hovercraft for about 8 years now. We have a unique need in that we have water depths that can be as little as a few inches, as well as rapids. Like any solution, there are pros and cons regarding the hovercraft. If you understand those, train correctly, and use safe operations practices, they work fine.

It is also a blast to fly!

Keith
215-862-4837

[CANFF2706]

The inherent problem with a hovercraft is that it "flies" on a cushion of air. I observed a demonstration during an Ice Rescue class at the New York State Training Academy in Montour Falls during the winter of 1997. The hovercraft was a larger 6-passenger version and "flew" in and hovered beside the victim.

First off the pilot couldn't see the victim from his seat and had to go by hand signals from the rescuers. They almost crushed the victim into the ice shelf when the craft came to close and nearly jammed the victim into the ice.

Second, the air cushion was throwing up a cloud of ice chips and water into the victim's face and eyes as it hovered beside the victim.

Third, there is a very high freeboard on a hovercraft. It was all the two big, young, firefighter rescuers could do to pull the 100lb victim out of the water, up and over the side of the hovercraft. And that was with a victim in a full floatation suit, not wet clothing. They ended up grabbing the victim’s rescue harness and hoisting the victim up into the craft using unsafe lifting technique (their backs) and roughly dragging the victim into the craft. Just take a look at the photos in the posts above and imagine trying to get an unresponsive victim out of the water and into those craft.

Finally, there is a serious risk that the approaching hovercraft can break the ice shelf apart that the victim is holding on to. Up here in Canada the Feds use large hovercraft for some light icebreaking work.

Personally, I think they could possibly have a place but their use is limited to transporting a crew to a distant rescue scene and not for actual close in rescue work. Not sure they are worth the cost for such limited use.

[mcaldwell]

It has been a couple of years since I got to play with any of the light-duty hovercraft (back in my military days), but many of the factors have been mentioned.

IMO, they are a good specialty tool, useful in unique circumstances. However, with the weight and performance limitations, and the high level of user training/proficiency required, you have to really need it to justify it. They have too many drawbacks to be practical as an all-in-one front-line rescue craft.

They are constantly being refined though, so test a few out. Necessity is the mother of invention, so the fire service should have a real stake in the R&D process of a few companies. If you can get a manufacturer on-board to sell/service, and keep up with tweaks to your unit and training as you grow, you could end up with a nice unit.