Name:  Lifeboat, Maritime
Type (Category):  Equipment (Other)
Reference:  TechManual (p. 227)

Description:
Lifeboats, like escape pods, are an emergency evacuation system for larger crewed vessels, both seafaring and spaceborne. But while they serve the same function at heart, and support the survival of the same number of people, lifeboats differ from escape pods in their approach to the mission at hand, with lifeboats being a less energy-intensive version of the escape pod.

Where aerospace escape pods are powered, for instance, their equivalent lifeboats lack anything more than the most basic life support and food stores. These craft are thus forced to drift in space until friendly craft can pick them up, unable to adjust their vectors or even manage an unpowered atmospheric re-entry. On the other hand, the use of energy collection sails enables aerospace lifeboats to send distress signals indefinitely, while its six to seven passengers can survive for 24 to 30 days on the craft’s internal oxygen supply.

Maritime lifeboats are likewise simplified (but much lighter), with most amounting to rafts or rigid-hull boats not designed for an underwater launch and possessing—at best—a basic outboard motor (though many use a collapsible wind sail instead), and a food/supplies store typically stocked enough to sustain up to ten persons for a week.

It is not uncommon for a given vessel—aerospace or maritime—to employ escape pods and lifeboats at the same time. For spacecraft, this redundancy allows the crew more exit points in the event of an emergency, as well as a means to jettison under any power crises. For maritime vessels, lifeboats are often a legal requirement and a low-cost answer to escape pods—usable by any vessel as long as it remains on the surface.

Game Rules:
Escape systems are not covered in Total Warfare game play. These systems are covered more fully in Tactical Operations: Advanced Rules. Lifeboats are never considered disabled by engine shutdown or crew injury.

Combat Vehicles

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

Combat Vehicle Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Lifeboat (Maritime)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Lifeboat, Maritime

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	PS
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

Combat Vehicle Specific Construction Rules

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Lifeboat (Maritime)
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Lifeboat, Maritime