One of the most iconic images of World War 2 is the amphibious landings at Normandy using the Higgins Boat.
The idea of a ramp up front did not die with the end of the war, but has survived for operations were the loading and unloading of materiel is not “normal” or classical. Some Ferry boats use the ramp system and I have seen boats based on the Higgins design on TV shows about Alaska where there is plenty of water, no roads and heavy stuff needs to be delivered.
So what happens when you cross a Higgins boat with a Swiss Army Knife?
This happens:
Even I would not mind owning a baby like this. Amazing stuff!
Stolen from Sean G.
Could we please get a link or perhaps even a make/mod on the boat?
That is all I got, sorry 🙁
I googled “aluminum boat with bow ramp” and came up with this. Looks to be the same company, although I don’t see this particular boat:
http://www.billmunsonboats.com/video.php
The Higgins boat, or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) was indeed iconic. But there all sorts of variations on the theme, many of them with dropping ramps or a dropping ramp behind opening clam shell doors. The boat used on Alaska: the Last Frontier “might” be a LCT, Landing Craft Tank, with it’s sides cut down, from WW2. Or…it could just be boat built after the war based on the design. The cabin design looks awfully similar.
One episode did show the family getting the cabin from a WW2 LC to use as a beach “cabin”. The cabin had been removed from the landing craft and was just sitting near to a beach. But they never said which kind of LC it came from.
The hew boat you posted also looks like a boat that one of the family members “helped” build at a local boat building shop in Alaska. I’m guessing it’s a “plan” that shops can buy. And yes, I love the drop ramp!