When we started the design process of Impetus, the first discussions we
had about carrying a mode of transportation on board was about bikes and
"scooters". It was decided the boat would carry two scooters and we
discussed the drawbacks regarding items you could carry and
riding in the rain.
Click any Image on the Right for a Larger Image
I suggested they consider a "Smart car" which where
only available in Europe at the time. They did not weight much more then
two scooters and you would be dry and could carry things. So we designed
a system for loading the Smart car on and off which is not much more
complex then loading scooters.
Then the new MINI came out and the owners fell in love with them. It would
allow you to carry 4 people and lots of other things but it was much
larger and heavier then a Smart car.
We re-engineered everything and by upgrading the crane and lifting system, the decision was made that it was
possible to carry the car. There was a lot to this as we needed to figure
out the reach to get it off the boat past the pilings and on to a
dock. We needed a system to lock it down to the boat under way and a
system to lift it. I came up with a design that used the bottom lifting
bar to also be part of the lock down system and the whole thing could be
disassembled for storage.
These are the first photos I have seen of the system in action and it is
nice to see something work out just as planned.
John DeCaro