The US Coast Guard goes out in all weather conditions in all kinds of boats. Its fleet includes about 250 coastal and ocean-going cutters and between 1,600 and 2,000 smaller boats in service.
Cutters are longer than 65 feet and include icebreakers, buoy tenders and patrol ships. Boats include 47- and 52-foot motor lifeboats specialized for heavy weather and surf rescue. Vessels that place and maintain Aids to Navigation range between 16 and 64 feet in length overall. “Cutter boats” are carried aboard cutters and deployed with cranes. Response boats typically operate from Coast Guard stations. And there’s more.
Here’s a closer look at some of the most unique boats in the US Coast Guard fleet.
47′ Motor Lifeboat
- LOA: 48’11”
- Beam: 15’0″
- Displacement: 40,000 lb.
- Power: 2 x 435 hp MTU
- Towing Capacity: 150 displacement tons
- Top Speed: 51 mph
One of the best-known Response Boats in the Coast Guard fleet because of all the videos we’ve seen of one rolling over and righting itself, the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) is the vessel used more than any other for rescue missions. In service since 1997, it’s designed to be the primary resource for high seas and heavy weather, and it can self-right in less than 30 seconds. The boat features electronically controlled engines, fuel-management systems and an integrated electronics suite with four coxswain control stations. The 47-foot Motor Lifeboat is assigned in districts one, five, nine, eleven and thirteen. An ongoing refurbishment program is expected to increase the MLB’s useful life by an additional 20 years with upgrades to the propulsion and ancillary systems of 107 boats.
Legend Class Cutter
- LOA: 418’0″
- Beam: 54’0″
- Displacement: 4,500 long tons full load
- Power: 2 x 9,655 hp MTU diesels; 1 30565 SHP GE LM2500 gas turbine
- Top Speed: 32 mph
- Armament: 57 mm main gun; 20 mm close in weapon systems; .50 caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns
The Legend Class cutter, with a range of 12,000 nautical miles, and a crew of between 120 and 148, is designed to serve as a floating command center for multiagency operations including search and rescue, research and aircraft/spacecraft recovery. It can launch and recover long- and short-range prosecutor and long-range interceptor rigid-hull inflatable boats. The cutter carries advanced equipment for command, control communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It also has nuclear, biological and chemical defense systems. Missions for the cutter include theater security, port protection, ship escort, anti-piracy and intercept operations. The first Legend Class cutter, Bertholf, has been in service since 2008 and there are currently 10 operating.
Icebreaking Cutter—Healy Class
- Length: 420’0″
- Beam: 82’0″
- Displacement: 16,000 tons
- Power: 4 x 7,500 hp diesel engines turning two inboard shafts
- Top Speed: 19 mph
- Icebreaking capability: 4.5′ continuous
The Coast Guard’s largest ship, CGC Healy, was launched in 1997 and commissioned in 2000, joining two polar-class icebreakers in Seattle, Washington. In addition to breaking ice, Healy was designed to conduct research activities. The vessel has more than 4,200 square feet of laboratory space, electronic sensor systems, oceanographic winches and accommodations for up to 50 scientists. The vessel can support other missions in the area and can accommodate two H65 helicopters or one Dolphin and one H-60 Jayhawk helicopter. Typically, an icebreaker carries between 15 to 18 officers, 127 enlisted crew, and scientists. It is designed for missions that last up to six months, but the total time away from home port can extend beyond that.
Utility Boat Medium
- Length: 27’0″
- Beam: 10’0″
- Displacement: 8,400 lb.
- Power: 2 x 250 hp Honda outboards
- Top Speed: 57 mph
- Max Range: 200 nautical miles
The 27-foot Utility Boat Medium in service is a trailerable, multimission boat providing mission response for multiple assignments. Built by Safe Boat International in 2005, it operates as a bridging strategy until a new station location is constructed. It can tow up to 10 tons, and can operate offshore with a rating for 6-foot seas and 28-mph winds. This versatile RIB with a cabin can serve in shallow water as needed too. The 27-foot Utility Boat Medium typically carries a crew of three to four in its enclosed pilothouse.
Transportable Port Security Boat
- Length: 32’8″
- Beam: 8’6″
- Displacement: 8,625 lb.
- Power: 2 x 315 hp Yanmar diesels
- Top Speed: 51 mph
- Towing Capacity: 5 tons
Operated by Coast Guard Port Security Units, the second-generation aluminum-hull Transportable Port Security Boat has diesel engines linked to MerCruiser sterndrives to provide better maneuverability than inboards. Onboard equipment includes a hard-wired crew-communication system, five shock-mitigating seats, ballistic panel protection and four weapons mounts capable of carrying a pair of M2 .50 caliber and two more M240 machine guns. These boats, 58 of which are in service, often escort important larger vessels entering and leaving port. If you see one, especially with personnel behind the bow machine gun, give the boat a wide berth.
33′ Special Purpose Craft—Law Enforcement (SPC-LE)
- Length: 35’4”
- Beam: 10’0”
- Draft: 3’6”
- Displacement: 13,700 lb.
- Power: 3 x Mercury 300 hp outboards
- Top Speed: 51 mph
The 33-foot Special Purpose Craft—Law Enforcement is a trailerable, aluminum-hulled RIB designed primarily for counter-drug and migrant missions along the US maritime borders. Powered by triple 300 hp Mercury outboards, the 33 SPC-LE has the speed and agility to make it a capable intercepting vessel. The pilothouse features six shock-mitigating seats plus air conditioning and heat. The helm offers navigation electronics including radar plus engine displays. For law enforcement, the boat can carry .50 caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns. The boat was the first joint acquisition with the US Customs and Border Protection and the US Navy.
Read Next: Refitting Coast Guard Motor Lifeboats to Continue Saving Lives
22′ Special Purpose Craft—Ice Rescue Transport (SPC-IRT)
- Length: 23’6″
- Beam: 8’6″
- Draft: 10″
- Displacement: 5,000 lb.
- Power: Katech Direct 820 hp fan
- Top Speed: 34 mph (water); 17 mph (hard surface)
An aluminum airboat with an enclosed cockpit, the 22-foot Special Purpose Craft—Ice Rescue Transport (SPC-IRT) is designed for search and rescue missions and as a long-haul ice rescue response boat. It can traverse multi-terrain cold-weather environments including open and shallow water, solid, broken and thin ice and snow. The SPC-IRT can also be used for flood response. Its 8-foot-6-inch beam makes the SPC-IRT easily trailered. The enclosed crew area helps with heat retention for Coast Guardsmen commanding this boat. Mission-specific equipment includes built-in flotation, hydraulic ice brakes, high-capacity bilge pumps, LED spotlights and specialized ice rescue sleds. The boat also carries Mustang Ice Commander immersion suits, ice awls, and throw bags with 75-foot lines. The boats are assigned to Coast Guard stations in the Great Lakes.
27′ Special Purpose Craft—Shallow Water (SPC-SW II)
- Length: 27’6″
- Beam: 8’6″
- Draft: 1’2″
- Propulsion: 350 hp Yanmar diesel jet
- Top Speed: 40-plus mph
- Max Range: 150 nautical miles at 34 mph
The second-generation SPC-SW II is a trailerable, aluminum-hull boat with a diesel-powered waterjet for shallow-water operation up to 5 (think Galveston Bay, Texas, for example) miles offshore. Typical missions for the boat include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and ports, waterways and coastal security. The boat also patrols borders such as the Rio Grande River. It typically works with a coxswain and three crew members who travel in shock-mitigating seats. For a given application, the crew area can be heated or have air conditioning. Navigation equipment includes a full electronics suite and communications gear for search and rescue and law enforcement. For security, there’s a forward gunner’s station.
