Response boat-medium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The response boat-medium (RB-M) is a 45-foot (13.7m) utility boat used by the United States Coast Guard. It is intended as a replacement for the Coast Guard’s fleet of 41′ utility boats (UTB), which have been in use by the Coast Guard since the 1970s. The Coast Guard plans to acquire 180 of these RB-Ms over a 6–10 year period.[1] The boats will be built by Kvichak Marine Industries of Kent, Washington and Marinette Marine of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.[2]
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, “While primarily a Search and Rescue (SAR) asset when the 41′ UTB was first fielded, the evolution of missions has increased the requirement to perform many missions including Recreational Boating Safety (RBS), Marine Environmental Protection (MEP), Enforcement of Laws and Treaties (ELT), Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security (PWCS) and Defense Operations (DO), including those traditional missions associated with Homeland Security.”[3]
Contents |
[edit] General characteristics
The boat has a deep-V, double chine hull, which provides a balance of performance and stability. Below the pilot house are six compartments:
- Lazarette
- Auxiliary machinery compartment
- Engine room
- Survivors’ Compartment
- Forepeak
- Head
| Length, overall: | 44′ 10.5″ (13.7 m) |
| Beam, overall: | 14′ 7.75″ (4.46 m) |
| Operational draft (full load): | 3′ 4″ (1 m) |
| Navigational clearance: | 13′ 1″ (4 m) (max) lowered; 20′ 8.25″ (6.3 m) (max) raised |
| Engines: | 2 × MTU Detroit Diesel turbocharged Series 60 engines, 825 hp (615.2 kW) each |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Rolls-Royce FF-Series waterjets |
| Top speed: | 42.5 knots |
| Cruise speed: | 30 knots (calm water) |
| Fuel: | 510 gallons (1931 liters) diesel |
| Range, full load condition at 30 kts: | 250 nautical miles (with 10% fuel reserve) |
| Towing capacity: | Light displacement: 100 long tons |
| Weight in hoisting condition: | 40,000 lbs (18,143 kg) (max) |
[edit] Armament
- Two M240B light machine guns with bow tripod and aft tow bitt mounting points
- M16 rifle
- Remington 870 shotgun
- Santa Cruz Gun Lock Universal Gun Lock Systems
[edit] Electronics
- FLIR navigator thermal imager
- Furuno Scaleable Integrated Navigation System (SINS)
- Furuno radios
- Gentex LVIS digital intercom system
- Taiyo TD-L1550A VHF Direction Finder
- Motorola 5000 digital mobile radio
- Mount for KY-99 makes RB-M ready for secure communications
- L3 Communications Automatic Identification System (AIS)
[edit] Hull numbering
In keeping with standard USCG practice, boats of this size have hull numbers and are not named. This type of boat has a hull number beginning with the length of the boat (45′) and then a sequential number. In the case of the RB-M boats, the hull numbers begin with 601. Thus the first boat will be RB-M 45601.
[edit] Boats
| In Production | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hull | USCG Station | Delivery Date |
| RB-M 45601 | Little Creek, Virginia | March 2008 |
| RB-M 45602 | Cape Disappointment, Washington | June 2008 |
| Planned | ||
| RB-M 45603 | Key West, Florida | July 2008 |
| RB-M 45604 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | September 2008 |
| RB-M 45605 | New York, New York | November 2008 |
| RB-M 45606 | Port Aransas, Texas | December 2008 |
