Patent ID: 8430049

Claim:
An apparatus for launching and recovering at least one water vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a base; a frame supported by the base and including an elongate stand for supporting the water vehicle, wherein the stand has opposite front and rear ends that are spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction, and the frame is mounted for being moved relative to the base between a stowed position and a deployed position, so that the rear end of the stand is at a lower elevation in the deployed position than in the stowed position; a guide carried by the frame and adapted for being moved back and forth along the stand in the longitudinal direction, for mechanically guiding the water vehicle along the stand in the longitudinal direction; and a winch for reeling in and unreeling a flexible tensile member that is attached to the water vehicle, wherein a first length of the flexible tensile member is more rigid, on a per unit length basis, than a second length of the flexible tensile member; the guide comprises a guide passageway through which the flexible tensile member extends so that the first length is positioned between the water vehicle and the second length; and the first length and the guide passageway are cooperative for mechanically guiding the water vehicle along the stand in the longitudinal direction.