The launching and hauling of vessels has mostly been done on a set of greased ways with the boat sliding into the sea in a cradle. It isn’t foolproof, especially when the cradle breaks, sending the vessel off the ways and onto its side, its guests tossed into the scuppers and maybe over the side.
Cranes have been used to launch vessels but they too have had their problems, primarily when the crane’s boom snapped while the boat was hoisted out over the water.
The reverse of that, hauling a vessel...