Response Boat – Medium
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. The boats will be built by Kvichak Marine Industries of Kent, Washington and Marinette Marine Corporation of Marinette, Wisconsin.
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.” In August 2010 the US government donated three boats for drug interdiction to Albania, where they are known as the Archangel class.
General characteristics
The boat has a deep-V, double chine hull, which provides a balance of performance and stability. The vessel is self-righting if it capsizes in rough seas. Below the pilot house are six compartments:
- Lazarette
- Auxiliary machinery compartment
- Engine room
- Survivors’ Compartment
- Forepeak
- Head
| Length, overall: | 44′ 9″ (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 |
| Displacement: | 16.3 ton |
| Engines: | 2 × MTU Detroit Diesel turbocharged Series 60 engines, 825 hp (615.2 kW) each |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Rolls-Royce FF-Series waterjets |
| Top speed: | 40+ 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) |
Armament
- Two M240B general-purpose machine guns with bow tripod and aft tow bitt mounting points
- M16 rifle
- Remington 870 shotgun
- Santa Cruz Gun Lock Universal Gun Lock Systems
Electronics
- FLIR navigator thermal imager
- Furuno Scalable 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)
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. The Albanian boats are called Archangel 01, 02 and 03.
Boats
| Boat | Station | Delivery Date |
|---|---|---|
| 45601 | Little Creek, Virginia | March 2008 |
| 45602 | Cape Disappointment, Washington | August 2008 |
| 45603 | Key West, Florida | October 2008 |
| 45604 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | October 2008 |
| 45605 | Staten Island, New York | December 2008 |
| 45606 | Port Aransas, Texas | January 2009 |
| 45607 | Yorktown, Virginia | February 2009 |
| 45608 | Boston, Massachusetts | March 2009 |
| 45609 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | May 2009 |
| 45610 | Staten Island, New York | July 2009 |
| 45611 | Port Aransas, Texas | July 2009 |
| 45612 | Staten Island, New York | August 2009 |
| 45613 | Maui, Hawaii | September 2009 |
| 45614 | Staten Island, New York | August 2009 |
| 45615 | Little Creek, Virginia | November 2009 |
| 45616 | Staten Island, New York | December 2009 |
| 45617 | Port Canaveral, Florida | November 2009 |
| 45618 | Galveston, Texas | January 2010 |
| 45619 | Honolulu, Hawaii | March 2010 |
| 45620 | Castle Hill, Rhode Island | November 2009 |
| 45621 | Panama City, Florida | January 2010 |
| 45622 | Staten Island, New York | December 2009 |
| 45623 | St. Petersburg, Florida | June 2010 |
| 45624 | Cleveland Harbor, Ohio | April 2010 |
| 45625 | Lake Worth Inlet, Florida | July 2010 |
| 45626 | Belle Isle, Michigan | April 2010 |
| 45627 | Honolulu, Hawaii | August 2010 |
| 45628 | Duluth, Minnesota | May 2010 |
| 45629 | Castle Hill, Rhode Island | June 2010 |
| 45630 | Galveston, Texas | June 2010 |
| 45631 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | July 2010 |
| 45632 | Belle Isle, Michigan | August 2010 |
| 45633 | Panama City, Florida | August 2010 |
| 45634 | Fort Pierce, Florida | September 2010 |
| 45635 | Duluth, Minnesota | September 2010 |
| 45636 | New Orleans, Louisiana | September 2010 |
| 45643 | Los Angeles/Long Beach, California | December 2010 |
| 45651 | Los Angeles/Long Beach, California | March 2011 |
| 45652 | Los Angeles/Long Beach, California | March 2011 |
| 45703 | Essexville, Michigan | October 2012 |
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