Boat, 35' Land Amphibious Rescue Craft (LARC)
35-Foot Land Amphibious Rescue Craft
Number: 35086 thru 35100; 35112 thru 35113; 35738 & 35747
Completed: 1963 thru 1967
Remarks: Stationed between Massachusetts and North Carolina; disposed of between 1968 & 1979
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Cost: 47,850
Hull
Displacement (lbs): 20,063 fl
Length: 35’
Beam: 10’ (max)
Draft: N/A
Machinery
Main Engines: 1 diesel
BHP: 300
Performance
Max Sustained: 18 mph (10 hours on land)
Max Speed: 30 mph (short distance on land); 8 knots (in water)
Logistics
Complement: 3
Electronics
Radar: N/A
Design
The 35-foot LARC was designed for the US Army to carry men and supplies from offshore ships to the beach or to an inland area. It can carry a maximum load of 5 tons on either land or water. The USCG used the LARC primarily for shallow-water flood-relief work and as a platform for underwater searches.
The amphibian construction is of aluminum. It is fitted with four low-pressure tires that permit it to travel over soft surfaces, such as sand or mud. It can ascend/descend grades of up to 60 degrees.
Due to the extremely high maintenance cost associated with these amphibians, LARCs were used only when the task could not be accomplished by another type of craft.
Sources
Boat Files, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office.
Scheina, Robert L. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft, 1946-1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.
Wilkinson, William D., and Timothy R. Dring. American Coastal Rescue Craft: A Design History of Coastal Rescue Craft Used by the United States Life-Saving Service and the United States Coast Guard. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009.