Catamarans: rigid, but flexible.

• Author: Foster, Sharon
• Position: Tech Talk - Brief Article

The growing popularity of catamarans in he the U.S. military is good news for Nautica, of Pembroke Pines, Fla. The company is marketing a catamaran series of rigid inflatable boats for military and law-enforcement agencies. A catamaran is a boat with two hulls side by side. Originally, Naurica's RIB catamarans were designed to serve as landing craft, with loading ramps in their bows.

The new version--the RIB 28 Cat--is, as the name suggests, 28 feet long. It has a 4-feet, 8-inch-wide loading ramp that lowers to accept passengers and cargo, including wheel chairs, stretchers and even 4-wheel all-terrain vehicles. The ramp can be lowered...