Page 45: of Marine News Magazine (August 2013)

sions. While that still must occur in special circumstances, having one boat that can accomplish multiple missions is ideal. Yet another capability of the Connector Boat system is the ability to quickly and easily convert your boat system to a ? reboat. With the removal of a seat in the Connector Boat, the boat can be ? tted with a ? re pump. A specially design 500 gallon per minute ? re pump ? ts into the void of the front bench seat to provide immediate ? re? ghting or water source capability. In its custom ? tted frame, the Connector Boat ? re pump houses a 20hp pump, fuel tank, battery, 8 ? ex hose suction, barrel strainer and ? xed moni- tor with nozzle making it a self-contained unit capable of being dropped in at a moments notice. Not only does the pump act as a quick attack apparatus for on water ? re? ght- ing, its 2.5? utility discharge can be used to pump water to a land based tender when other sources of water are not available. Dewatering of ? ooded vessels can also be achieved with the on board pump system. The Connector Boats unique design allows it to navigate extremely shallow water. With a draft of mere inches, the boats are able to take rescuers to location such as ? ooded urban streets that traditional boats just cannot go. And with its durable aluminum construction, it is made for the demands of work in debris ? lled ? ood rescue and evacua- tion missions. Connector boats can even be out? tted with outboard jet drives which can propel the boat in less than 10 inches of water. While its singular form is a tremendous asset, the system really proves itself by linking boats to- gether for various purposes: Evacuation bridges to literally walk victims from a ? ooded or endangered area. There is no limit to the number of boats that may be connected.Humanitarian aid barges to disperse food, water, and other sup- plies to remote areas. When you reach your destination, you disconnect the boats and send them on individual missions to disperse the aid. Floating command platforms can become bene? cial when man- aging a large scale water incident. Diving platforms can also be created to stage rescue divers and large scale extended dive recovery operations. BOAT OF THE MONTH www.marinelink.com MN 45MN August2013 Layout 32-49.indd 457/23/2013 7:28:19 PM