Launch and recovery devices for water vehicles and methods of use

A water vehicle launch and recovery device comprising:

• a pair of spaced side rails;
• a plurality of wet-traction members extending at least a portion of the distance between the pair of spaced side rails and arranged to provide a plurality of apertures that allow water to pass through the device, the plurality of apertures comprising about 10% to about 80% of surface area in a plane defined between the pair of side rails;
• a device to drive at least one of translation and rotation of the plurality of wet-traction members;
• and
• side retainers extending vertically from the side rails, wherein the side retainers comprise plastic or metal sheets or open meshes supported on foldable frames.

A water vehicle launch and recovery device comprising:

• a ramp having a forward portion and an aft portion and including a plurality of traction members for supporting at least a portion of a water vehicle;
• a pivotable connector for attaching the forward portion of the ramp to a vessel used in a launch or recovery process, wherein the pivotable connector is a dual, two axis pivotable connector or a three axis connector;
• and
• two or more floatation devices attached to the aft portion of the ramp, wherein the two or more floatation devices reduce relative heave motion of the aft portion of the ramp due to pitch motions and yaw interactions between waves and the vessel.

A water vehicle launch and recovery device comprising:

• a ramp having a forward portion and an aft portion and including a plurality of traction members for supporting at least a portion of a water vehicle, wherein the plurality of traction members comprise an inner support member and an elastomeric covering on an exterior surface of the inner support member;
• a pivotable connector for attaching the forward portion of the ramp to a vessel used in a launch or recovery process;
• and
• two or more floatation devices attached to the aft portion of the ramp, wherein the two or more floatation devices reduce relative heave motion of the aft portion of the ramp due to pitch motions and yaw interactions between waves and the vessel.

A vessel for water vehicle launch and recovery, comprising:

• a hull having a forward portion, an aft portion, and a longitudinal axis extending between the forward and aft portions;
• an extendable ramp including a plurality of spaced traction members that can support at least a portion of a water vehicle;
• and
• a connector that attaches the extendable ramp to the aft portion of the vessel and allows the ramp to be rotatably positioned at an angle between 0 degrees and 50 degrees from the longitudinal axis, wherein each one of the plurality of spaced traction members comprises an inner support member and an elastomeric covering on an exterior surface of the inner support member.

A method of recovering an underwater marine vehicle from a body of water, the method comprising:

• positioning a ramp extended from a hull of a recovery vessel at an incline of about 10 degrees to about 35 degrees, the ramp including a plurality of spaced traction members;
• lowering a rear portion of the ramp into the body of water;
• and
• supplying power to the plurality of spaced traction members to lift the underwater marine vehicle from the body of water to the recovery vessel without the use of a tow line.