Renard Marine “Lark” class Patrol Yacht:


The industry producing small vessels on the Great Lakes is surprisingly robust after the Apocalypse. One of the better known companies is Renard Marine. The produce a wide variety of designs, some military while others are not. The produce several patrol type vessels, a number of different cargo vessel designs, tugboats, barges, and barges. Their facilities are small and the company is limited to producing vessels of only around three hundred feet in length. Their vessels can be found quite widely. Mostly found on the Great Lakes, their vessels can also be seen in the various river systems on North America and even along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.


The Lark design is a bit different than most designs. It is as much a civilian design as it is military. Many people travel along the water instead of by land. Water has its advantages and dangers compared to the land. This really has always been the case but dangers of both have just gotten more extreme with the coming of the Rifts. Some military and mercenary forces operate the Lark as a shallow water patrol vessel able to operate in places where the large patrol ships cannot. They are also extremely effective rescue vessels. Civilian owners, on the other hand, often operate the vessel as effective a well armed and fast houseboat. As with many vessels built by Renard Marine, several other companies manufacture similar designs.


The patrol yacht is built with a “V” style planing hull and a sharp "Stiletto" bow. It has a slightly deeper draft than the Thrush class even though shorter. Top speed of the patrol craft is slightly slower than the Thrush class at around forty knots. The vessel is designed to operate in quite heavy sea states. An interesting feature of the vessel is that it is designed so that if it capsizes, it will automatically self right itself in less than fifteen seconds with all equipment fully functional. Like most Renard Marine designs, the boat features both “Fly-By-Wire” control systems and twin vectored thrusters. It is available with two different types of power plants. One is a fusion reactor system similar to what is carried on power armor type designs. The second is a diesel electric hybrid engine which gives a range of about six hundred nautical miles.


Construction, like other classes produced by Renard Marine, is from high strength composites and alloys stronger than steel. The vessel is not armored in any class sense but is designed to be extremely lightweight and take abuse at the same time. Still, even though not a military design, Rifts Earth can be an extremely dangerous place and the vessels have been known to survive incredible abuse from time to time.


The vessel is designed to be operated by a crew of two although three is preferred in most cases. It can be operated by one although the nose mount cannot be operated in that case. Often, a couple of troops are carried as well as the standard crew when operating in military roles. There is berthing for up to ten aboard the vessel and there is a small galley as well. Like all designs by Renard Marine, the Lark does not have full life support although does have environmental controls. In combat, it is expected that the crew will be operating in environmental body armor.


Electronics are quite limited. The vessel does mount a short range radar system, equal to that carried on most power armors and is as much for navigational purposes as anything else. There is a short range sonar system mounted as well. Some civilian owners use the sonar systems as much as a fish finder as anything. There are enhanced optics carried aboard the vessel including thermal vision and light amplification systems.


The vessel is available unarmed although most owners do mount weapons on their vessel. Some owners will get weapon systems fitted after purchase including pulse lasers. As well, most crews carry energy weapons as their personal gear. The nuclear powered versions have an energy clip charger for this purpose. Standard weapon though is an automatic grenade launcher and a pair of mini-missile launchers. Both are Wellington weapon systems like with other Renard Marine designs. The automatic grenade is mounted in a pintle mount on the bow and has a total of eight hundred rounds of ammunition. The mini-missile launchers are four shot launchers which must be manually reloaded. Usually forty-eight mini-missiles are carried.


Model Type: PC-06 Class "Patrol Yacht"
Vehicle Type: Ocean & Waterway, Light Patrol Vessel
Crew: 2 or 3; 1 Commander / Pilot, 1 Gunner, and Communication / Sensor Operator (Can be operated by a single crew although Grenade Launcher Mount is unmanned)
Troops / Passengers: 2 Embarked troops (Can carry between crew and passengers a total of ten aboard)


M.D.C. by Location:

Bridge / Pilot House:120
[1] Spotlight (2):20 each
[1] Short Range Radar Array:40
WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher - Optional:40
WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers - Optional (2, sides):30 each
[2] Main Body:300


Notes:
[1] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a “called shot,” but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[2] Destroying the main body causes the vessel to lose structural integrity, causing the vessel to sink. There are enough life preservers and inflatable life boats to accommodate everyone on the vessel.


Speed:
Surface: 46.1 mph (40 knots/ 74.1 kph)
Range: Conventional Hybrid: 690.9 miles (600 nautical miles / 1,111.9 kilometers) Fusion Model: Unlimited due to fusion engines (needs to refuel every 10 years and requires maintenance as well).
Both versions of the vessel carries about one week of supplies on board.


Statistical Data:
Length: 57.41 feet (17.5 meters) at waterline / 68.08 (20.75 meters) overall
Draft: 4.27 feet (1.2 meters) fully loaded
Width: 14.11 feet (4.3 meters)
Displacement: 18 tons standard and 22 tons fully loaded
Cargo: Can carry 2 tons (1.81 metric tons) of nonessential equipment and supplies (1.00 tons / 0.91 metric tons for Conventional Hybrid Version.) Each enlisted crew member has a small locker for personal items and uniforms. Most of the vessel's spaces are taken up by extra ammo, armor, troops, weapons, and engines.
Power System: Two versions: Conventional, Diesel / Electric Hybrid and Nuclear Reactor (Average life span is 10 years)
Black Market Cost: Conventional Hybrid: 30 million credits. Fusion Model: 40 million credits.
Reduce cost by 500,000 credits for unarmed versions.


Weapon Systems:

  1. One (1) WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher (Optional): Mounted on the bow, it is mounted in a pintle mound which has a 360 degree rotation and can angle up to 60 degrees. Mostly designed for anti-personnel, the weapon is extremely powerful and can damage other naval vessel as well. As a result, many crews use the armor piercing round even with a smaller blast radius. The gunner is outside the vehicle's armored sections when he / she uses the weapon mount.
    Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914 meters)
    Mega-Damage: 4D6 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 12 feet (3.6 meters) and 1D4x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 3 feet (0.9 meter), burst of 10 rounds does 2D6x10 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 40 feet (12 meters) and 3D6x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 8 feet (2.4 meters.)
    Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner.
    Payload: 800 Rounds.
  2. Two (2) WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers (Optional): Mounted on either side of the vessel's superstructure / pilot house, these launchers are lightweight but add greatly to the potential firepower of the vehicle. Controlled by the pilot / commander, each one has four tubes than can be fired individually or all four in each may be fired at the same time.
    Maximum Effective Range: Varies by mini-missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Mega-Damage: Varies by mini-missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Rate of Fire: Single shot or all four mini-missiles only (Both launchers cannot be combined)
    Payload: 8 total (4 each), takes 15 seconds (one melee) to reload each launcher. Usually forty-eight (48) mini-missiles are carried for reloads.


Sensory Equipment:



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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2010, Kitsune. All rights reserved.


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