Construction Assistance Vehicle (CAV)

Without a doubt the most intriguing “special product” Vulcan’s West Palm Beach facility produced was the Construction Assistance Vehicle (CAV). The purpose of this was to provide an underwater craft to transport personnel and materiel during underwater construction. The CAV was capable of transporting one U.S. Ton (2000 lbs.) at a speed of 2 knots. It was intended to be manufactured using ordinary materials and fabrication techniques.

Vulcan fabricated the hull for the U.S. Navy and loaded it out for shipment 29 November 1969.

Construction Assistance Vehicle, on the trailer, ready for transport to California.

An aft view of the CAV.

A better view of the deck.

Loading out the Construction Assistance Vehicle. This underwater craft was one of the most interesting things the SPD built.

Vulcan: The Offshore Experience Without a doubt the most intriguing “special product” Vulcan’s West Palm Beach facility produced was the Construction Assistance Vehicle (CAV). The purpose of this was to provide an underwater craft to transport personnel and materiel during underwater construction. The CAV was capable of transporting one U.S. Ton (2000 lbs.) at a speed of 2 knots. It was intended to be manufactured using ordinary materials and fabrication techniques. Vulcan fabricated the hull for the U.S. Navy and loaded it out for shipment 29 November 1969. Below: on the trailer, ready for transport to California. An aft view of the CAV. A better view of the deck. Once in California, it was fitted out with its propulsion system and prepared for testing. Below, as completed and ready.

The helm and controls of the CAV.

The CAV was tested by the Seebees at the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory (NCEL) in Port Hueneme, CA. This is an artist’s conception of what the CAV looked like in action.

You can obtain details of the design, configuration and testing of the CAV in the NCEL Technical Report R-762, CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE VEHICLE (CAV)-The Design, Fabrication, and Technical Evaluation of an Experimental Underwater Vehicle, dated March 1972, available here.

Two years later the American Iron and Steel Institute presented NCEL, Stephen Halpern, and M. Rosenblatt and Son Inc. with an award for the “Best Engineering, Transportation Equipment” for 1971.

Although the Navy didn’t pursue this craft, in looking at it for today, the recreational possibilities of this–especially with modern materials, controls and propusion systems available–are endless.