Daggett County launches new hovercraft

A vehicle loaded with “cool factor” is expected to be a valuable winter tool for the Daggett County Sheriff’s Office. On Saturday, the department’s newest vehicle, an eight-passenger turbo diesel powered hovercraft, glided more than 16 inches above cracked ice, patches of open water and Flaming Gorge shoreline in demonstrations and rides for the public.
The vehicle, manufactured by Amphibious Marine Inc. of Shelton, Wash., actually arrived in Manila on Friday, Feb. 1. Coming along with the machine was Bryan Phillips, whose small company manufactures four or five such vehicles a year.
He spent Friday afternoon with members of the Sheriff Department’s Search and Rescue Team, providing instruction on the finer points of operating a hovercraft. “It’s somewhat like a hockey puck on ice,” Phillips quipped.