Lifeboat release hook

A lifeboat hook assembly which comprises:

• a pair of plates adapted to be affixed to a lifeboat;
• a hook received between said plates, said plates being provided with spaced apart pairs of guide slots;
• respective guide pins affixed to said hook and each engaging in a pair of slots of the two plates for guiding said hook between a loop-engaging loaded position and a loop-releasing disengaged position;
• a stop affixed to said plates cooperating with an upper end of said hook for said loop-engaging loaded position for retaining a loop from which the lifeboat may be suspended in said hook, said hook moving away from said stop into said loop-releasing position for disengagement from said loop;
• a locking pin displaceable perpendicularly to said plates and mounted on at least one of said plates for releasable engagement with said hook when said hook is in said loop-engaging loaded position for retaining said hook in said loop-engaging loaded position under loading caused by suspension of the life boat from the loop;
• and
• a hydraulic piston-and-cylinder unit mounted on said plates and actuatable to brace against a lower portion of said hook for releasably retaining same in said loop-engaging loaded position upon withdrawal of said locking pin from engagement with said hook, whereby depressurization of said unit enables loading of said hook to cause its displacement between said loop-engaging loaded position and said loop-releasing position.