Daughter boat
A daughter boat is a dinghy that is carried on a larger watercraft and can leave the mother ship and enter it again independently.
Sea rescue
The daughter boat principle was developed in the 1950s by the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People (DGzRS). There it was recognized that for an effective sea rescue service on the German coasts, on the one hand, ocean-going vehicles are required, on the other hand, operations must be carried out in shallow water.
For example, rescue cruisers have been developed that can carry a smaller vehicle in a tub in the stern, which, if necessary, can be launched into the water by opening a tailgate and can then operate independently of the mother ship.
The principle of the daughter boat concept is to offer crew and rescued persons maximum protection and safety despite the small size of the vehicle. This allows use in rough seas or independently of the rescue cruiser. The daughter boats of the DGzRS are between 6.90 m (e.g. Minden ) and 8.90 m ( Hermann Marwede ) long. The smaller cruisers of the 20 m class are equipped with rigid inflatable boats as work boats. These do not offer the seaworthiness of the larger daughter boats, but a significantly higher top speed.
Customs and police
For some years now, the federal police have also been using ships that carry a daughter boat. These can e.g. B. reach other ships in areas where the water depth is insufficient for the main ship; and people can be transported to another ship without the main ship having to come too close to the other ship (risk of collision, safety aspects).