5. BOATS

5.1 COUNTERS: There are three types of boats provided in the game.¹⁵ Each type is rated for water speed (MP; 5.3), size (stars; D1.7), capacity and ability to be Manhandled (MA#; C10.3) DYO BPV are, Large Raft: 5; Assault Boat 3 (if motorized: 4); Small Raft with three boat depiction: 3 (two-boat depiction: 2, one-boat depiction: 1). Boats are purchased during the "Vehicles" segment of the DYO Purchase Sequence and are recorded in the "Vehicles" section of the Purchase Roster.

5.11 ASSAULT BOATS: The German Assault Boat has an Inherent Driver; its four MP may be used regardless of the number/status of its Passengers. However, this counter can also be used to represent Assault Boats that have no motor or Inherent Driver and therefore must be paddled (with only two MP) by Personnel worth at least five PP (D6.1).

5.12 PNEUMATIC BOATS: Pneumatic boats (i.e., Large and Small Rafts) must be occupied by Personnel worth at least ⅓ of their listed portage capacity to use that boat counter's MP.

5.121 SMALL RAFT: Each Small Raft counter with three boat depictions represents enough boats to transport ≤ 14 PP as per D6.1, or if flipped over to its reverse side (with two boat depictions) represents enough boats to carry ≤ seven PP. One Small Raft counter (a single boat depiction) can transport ≤ three PP. Once in the water, a three-boat counter may transform into a two-boat counter only to accommodate Casualty Reduction combat losses (5.5, 5.53). This is done by flipping that counter to its two-boat side and eliminating a HS (or possible crew) from among its Passengers. Any surviving HS does not have to take a MC/LLMC. In addition, each SW/SMC in the boat counter must make a dr to determine whether it is eliminated (dr 4-6) or saved (dr 1-3). Those SW/SMC which are spared remain in the two-boat counter without further penalty even if they exceed the counter's reduced portage capability. A two-boat counter cannot be Reduced to a one-boat counter due to combat losses; it is eliminated instead. The three-boat Small Raft is the only boat that automatically suffers loss of an MMC Passenger when subject to Casualty Reduction; all other boats use Random Selection to determine the Passengers affected. However, either a one- or two-boat counter can be separated from a larger counter while on land/Beached, and can be Manhandled/launched by leaving behind a substitute counter with the proper number of boat depictions. Whenever possessed by the same Good Order unit, boat counters can be recombined into a larger boat counter, making "change" as necessary.

EX: A one- and a two-boat counter can be recombined into a three-boat counter, or two two-boat counters can be recombined into a three-boat and a one-boat counter.

5.122 LARGE RAFT: A Large Raft may carry one piece of ordnance with a M# ≥ 10 at a Passenger cost of 10 PP. However, the Gun can be loaded onto the boat only if the boat is Beached (5.23) along a hexside of the Gun's Location. Loading the Gun then requires passing a M# DR (C10.3), at a cost of one MF (not doubled). Unloading the Gun also requires passing a M# DR at a cost of one MF (not doubled) in addition to the normal MF entry cost of the land hex.

5.123 PASSENGERS & SW: Passengers and any Gun/SW on a boat can be removed from view by placing them in the Cloaking Box corresponding to their boat's ID. Such pieces remain out of view until landed (although they are not considered concealed for TH/IFT Effects purposes), and are subject to loss/wounds normally. Any necessary Casualty Reduction is resolved in the Cloaking Box. Up to four SMC can be carried on any boat at no cost to its PP capacity. All SW carried on a boat must be dm if possible.

5.2 OVERLAND MOVEMENT: All empty boats can be carried overland by Infantry using the Manhandling system (C10.3) during its MPh (only). Unlike Gun Manhandling, these Infantry are not TI and may still carry up to their normal IPC. The Manhandling Infantry must amount to at least ⅓ of the boat’s PP capacity to attempt Manhandling, and only men in excess of that minimum qualify for the Manhandling DRM for additional men. A Large Raft may not be Manhandled via Infantry Bypass or into/out of a building [EXC: Factory Stairwell Location; B23.742]. Other boats may be Manhandled using Bypass. Up to four assault boats may be towed overland as if they were a single Gun with a Manhandling number of 10. Q&A

5.21 MPh/LOADlNG: Once Beached or in the water, a boat is considered a vehicle - which limits its Passengers to four MF during any MPh in which they mount, ride, or dismount (A4.11). An Infantry unit loads onto a boat that is Beached in its Location at a cost of one MF plus any MF required for crossing that hexside (including any wall, hedge, Abrupt Elevation Change, Weather effects, etc); however, there is no cost to "enter" the Water Obstacle itself. Each remaining MF can then be used to power ¼ of the boat's water MP allotment (FRD).

5.22 APh: A boat may not be Manhandled during the APh. However, if already Beached (5.23), it may be loaded onto [EXC: Guns] and placed in that water hex.

5.23 BEACHING: Beaching can occur freely during the boat's MPh/APh if it is declared as it enters any land/water hex containing any non-cliff shore hexside/pontoon (B6.41-.45) bridge, and is symbolized by placing the boat counter so that it straddles the water-land hexside on which it is Beached. If Beaching is not declared upon entry of such a hex, it requires further expenditure of another MF if on land, or another MP if in the water. Otherwise, there is no cost to Beach a boat. A Passenger must Beach a boat before it exits the boat. Personnel can load onto (or unload from) a boat only if it is Beached, and can do so only across the hexside on which it is Beached during their MPh/APh. A Beached boat can be freely unBeached anytime during the MPh/APh at the option of the possessing Infantry/Passenger unit by moving it from its straddling position on the bank to the middle of that same Water Obstacle hex. Drift does not affect a boat during the Player Turn it is un-Beached (B21.121). A Beached boat and its Passengers are at the elevation level of the water, but are not in the water. Nevertheless, if attacked, a Beached boat must be attacked in the water hex by tracing a LOS to that Water Obstacle's hex center dot [EXC: OVR]. An abandoned drifting boat becomes Beached only if it makes a dr of 1 on an obligatory dr when it drifts into a possible Beaching hex. If there is more than one hexside through which a drifting boat can be Beached, the Beaching hexside is decided by making a Random Direction dr and using the applicable hexside closest to that Random Direction.

EX: A German Assault Boat is Beached on the 8I9-I10 hexside. The 4-6-7 and 8-1 in H10 use one MF to enter I10 and another MF to load into the boat. The Infantry un-Beaches the boat and uses its remaining two MF to expend half of the boat's four MP, so the boat moves into I8 and I7. If the boat counter had been a squad-sized Small Raft counter, it would have had only one MP remaining (half of its two MP allotment) after being un-Beached. Now assume a Small Raft counter is Beached on the I9-H9 hexside and the Infantry are in G10. The Infantry must expend one MF to enter H9 (Bypass) and two MF to load into the boat (one extra MF to descend across each Abrupt Elevation Change intermediate level; B10.51), leaving them with only one MF. The Small Raft counter will be unable to move (aside from being un-Beached) during this MPh because ¼ of 2 = ½ (FRD) = 0 MP.

Now assume a squad with a three-boat Small Raft counter is in 8H10. The squad must expend two MF to attempt to Manhandle it into I10. It will be successful on a Manhandling DR ≤ 11 (12[M# of boat] -2 [doubled MF cost of hex entered] +1 [additional pushing HS] = 11), and may Beach the boat as part of that two-MF expenditure. Provided its Final dr was not 11 (which would force it to stop), the squad could then spend a third MF to mount the boat and un-Beach it into I9. The squad's fourth MF would not be sufficient to propel the boat further.

5.3 WATER MOVEMENT: Once in the water, sufficiently-manned boats (5.11-.12) may move during the MPh a number of Water Obstacle hexes up to their MP allotment. A boat containing insufficient units to propel it (5.12) can move only by drifting or Beaching/un-Beaching [EXC: a German Assault Boat can always move in the MPh due to its Inherent Driver; 5.11]. Movement in the APh is limited to drifting in a Moderate or Heavy current (B21.121) or Beaching/un-Beaching. Boats may not move through (i.e., beneath) any type of pontoon bridge. Boats do not pay Start/Stop MP and are always considered in Motion (unless Beached). Reverse movement is not allowed. Boats do not pay for VCA changes. Enemy units in a Water Obstacle Location present no obstacle to movement and their Location can be entered/passed through as if they did not exist (A8.312 does not apply).

5.31 STACKING: Boats pay no extra MP for entering a Water Obstacle that already contains another boat counter. However, multiple boat/amphibian counters in the same Location suffer inherent defensive disadvantages (5.5-.52).

5.32 UNLOADING: Passengers may exit a boat during any MPh/APh across a Beached hexside that the Passenger has enough MF remaining to enter. There is no additional MF cost to unload. If the hex to be entered contains an enemy unit, the boat cannot be unloaded until the APh (see 5.531).

EX: The Small Raft counter in 8I6 uses one MP (and consequently two of its Passengers' four MF) to enter I5 and Beaches on the I4-I5 hexside. Its Passengers may lack the necessary three MF to both move to a higher elevation and cross the hedge. However, they may do so in the upcoming APh.

5.33 TOWING/PUSHING NA: Boats may not be towed by other boats/amphibious vehicles nor may they be moved by fording/swimming Infantry.

5.34 UNTRAINED: If a SSR specifies that the Passengers of any paddled boat are Untrained in river assaults, each attempt to paddle that boat during the MPh must be preceded by a dr (Δ). A 6 dr prevents that boat from being moved in the water during that MPh; however, it does not prevent it from being Beached, un-Beached, loaded, or unloaded, nor does it prevent it from being in Motion. A 5 dr halves the boat's usable MP during that MPh.

5.4 FIRE FROM BOAT: Only Small Arms/LMG Fire is allowed from a boat - and such fire is halved as Mounted Fire if Beached, or quartered as Mounted Fire and Bounding or Motion Fire due to the boat's Motion status if un-Beached. Firing in the AFPh is also subject to an additional halving of FP. An un-Beached boat's Passengers may not Prep/Opportunity Fire. The Passengers of separate boat counters may not combine to form a Fire Group - even if in the same hex.

5.5 NON-ORDNANCE & AREA TARGET TYPE ATTACKS vs BOATS IN WATER: All non-ordnance attacks (including OBA) and Area Target Type hits (5.52), vs non-Beached boats in Water Obstacles have their FP halved (or actually quartered due to the normal halved FP of Area Target Type hits) and are resolved on the IFT's ★ Vehicle line. Boats, like vehicles, are not subject to the DRM for FFMO/FFNAM. If the Final IFT DR is < the ★ Vehicle Kill Number, a number of such boat counters in that Location up to the highest KIA # listed in that column (A7.308) sink [EXC: Defensive First Fire can affect only the unit being moved at the time]. If the Final IFT DR equals the ★ Vehicle Kill Number, one such boat counter in that Location (unless any necessary Random Selection results in a tie dr) [EXC: a three-boat Small Raft counter; 5.121], suffers Casualty Reduction among its Passengers (with no MC/LLMC for survivors); all others are unharmed. Otherwise, boat Passengers cannot be attacked separately [EXC: Snipers; 5.54]; they share the fate of their boat instead.

5.51 NON-ORDNANCE & AREA TARGET TYPE ATTACKS vs LANDED/BEACHED BOATS: All non-ordnance attacks and Area Target Type hits vs boats on land/Beached are resolved on the ★ Vehicle line of the IFT with full FP [EXC: hits resolved using the Area Target Type still have their FP halved] and the same IFT Effects DR as would be used for any unarmored target in that Location (see 5.53).

5.52 ORDNANCE FIRE vs BOATS: Ordnance Fire vs boats in a Water Obstacle affects only one boat counter in that Location per shot [EXC: if using the Area Target Type; C3.33], although the Vehicle Overstacking penalty (A5.132) applies. Ordnance Direct Fire To Hit attempts vs such a boat counter are resolved against a HD vehicular target [EXC: HD status does not apply if the firer is an aircraft, or if the firer's elevation advantage is > the range (D16.3)]. The +2 Case J To Hit DRM applies due to moving/Motion status, but no other subcases of J are applicable.¹⁶ If a boat is hit using the Vehicle or Infantry Target Type, it sinks (see 5.53) [EXC: a three-boat Small Raft counter is Reduced to a two-boat Small Raft counter (5.121) with no MC/LLMC for survivors]. HEAT and ordnance ATR may not be fired at a boat that is Beached or in water (C8.31 applies on land). If firing with ordnance at a Beached boat or one on land the +2 Target Size (D1.75) DRM, HD, and Motion status do not apply, all boats on land/Beached are treated as average-size targets for To Hit purposes.

5.53 SINKING: Whenever a boat counter is sunk (not just Reduced), all of its Passengers are also eliminated - unless the boat is Beached or in shallow water (defined as fordable; B21.122) in which case they undergo IFT attack using the same DR that sank the boat modified by the Hazardous Movement DRM. All SW/Guns of a sunk boat are lost even if Beached or in fordable water.

5.531 WATER LINE: The former Passengers of a Beached boat that is sunk remain in that Water Obstacle hex but are treated as if they were Infantry in a level-1 Open Ground land (not Water Obstacle) hex in every respect except that they are subject to the Hazardous Movement DRM as long as they remain Infantry in that hex. This "Water Line" existence occurs only to the former Passengers of a sunk, Beached boat, or to those who have left a boat during the MPh and directly entered a concealed enemy Location (A12.15) and are thereby returned to their Water Obstacle hex as Infantry (not to their boat as Passengers). Once these units successfully exit their Water Line position, they may not re-enter it.

5.532 SHALLOW WATER: The Passengers of a boat sunk in Shallow Water immediately become Fording Infantry (B21.41-.43) in that Water Obstacle Location.

5.54 BROKEN/BERSERK UNITS: A broken/berserk unit may not enter a boat. A boat Passenger never takes a MC/TC for any reason. Vs a boat Passenger, a Sniper attack that would ordinarily break an MMC is treated as Casualty Reduction, and pin results are ignored.

5.6 CC: When a boat/amphibious vehicle occupies the same Water Obstacle Location with an enemy unit during the CCPh, its Passengers are subject to CC - whether the enemy unit is in a boat, amphibious vehicle, on a pontoon bridge, or actually in the water (swimming/fording). Boats are not required to remain in Melee, and may move normally in their MPh/APh (i.e., drift) despite the presence of enemy units. Boat Passengers are subject to a +2 DRM when attacking in CC and a -2 DRM when defending in CC in the same manner as truck Passengers. The boat itself cannot be attacked by CC and is destroyed only if all its Passengers are eliminated. A manned boat can be captured only if its Passengers are captured (A11.52), although once captured the prisoners can be rejected (A20.3) without harming the boat.