page_title: Sea tractor
section_title: Examples
hierarchical_section_title: Sea tractor / Examples
caption_attribution_description: Ballybunion Atlantic 21 RIB being launched into surf from the beach. The trailer is custom made and can accomadate a net recovery, and the towing vehicle is a modified buldozer capable of entering water to a depth of 10 feet.
context_page_description: A sea tractor is a motor vehicle designed to travel through shallow seawater, carrying passengers on a platform elevated above a submerged chassis. The sea tractor was most popular during the early 1930s, as a unique way to give scenic tours to patrons of waterfront hotels and resorts. In other applications, sea tractors were used simply as a ferry through shallow waters. The use of sea tractors has declined since, as boats, ferries, and other aquatic vessels often serve the same function much more efficiently and comfortably.
context_section_description: The hotel at Burgh Island operates a sea tractor, to carry hotel guests and other visitors the 250 m (273 yd) to the island at high tide, when the causeway connecting the island to the Devon mainland is submerged. The current tractor is the third one to be used at this location.
  A sea tractor is also used at South Sands Beach near Salcombe, Devon. The beach has no jetty or pier and the South Sands Ferry therefore cannot reach dry land to pick up passengers. The sea tractor transports passengers to the ferry waiting a few metres out to sea.
  The United States Army Corps of Engineers operates a three-wheeled sea tractor called the Coastal Research Amphibious Buggy (CRAB). This 8.2-tonne (18,000 lb) vehicle consists of a wheeled tripod supporting an operating platform 10.7 metres (35 ft) above ground level. It can move at 2 kilometres per hour (1.2 mph) on land and at a somewhat slower speed in water. It was built for scientific research on Beach nourishment.
  The British and Irish maritime rescue organisation the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operates a number of different amphibious tractors for launching and recovering inshore lifeboats from beaches. These are wheeled or tracked vehicles capable of operating largely submerged, and some have cable winches. They include:  
  Talus MB-H amphibious tractor, a tracked vehicle
  Talus MB-4H amphibious tractor, a wheeled vehicle
  Talus MB-764 amphibious tractor, a larger wheeled vehicle. One variant has a propeller, for fully amphibious operation.
  RNLI New Holland TC45 launch tractor, a small agricultural tractor adapted for marine operation.
  Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, based at Ballybunion in the west of Ireland, operates a specially constructed, tracked sea-tractor, used for launching and recovering the group's Atlantic 75-class lifeboat.
caption: The boat launching vehicle used by Ballybunion Sea and Cliff Rescue, 2008
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