Response Boat – Medium

Response Boat – Medium

A US Coast Guard RB-M underway off Yorktown, Virginia

File:USCG Response Boat Medium (RBM).jpg

The USCG Response Boat Medium (RBM) has replaced a fleet of 41-foot utility boats (UTBs) that averaged over 30-years of service

The Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) is a utility boat used by the United States Coast Guard. It is a replacement for the Coast Guard's retired fleet of utility boats (UTB), which had been in use by the Coast Guard since the 1970s. On June 21, 2006 the USCG awarded the RB-M contract to Marinette Marine of Marinette, Wisconsin and Kvichak Marine Industries of Seattle, Washington. The RB-M was designed by Camarc Design in the UK. Between June of 2006 and March of 2015 Marinette, in Green Bay Wisconsin and Kvichak in Kent, Washington partnered to build and deliver 174 RB-Ms to the USCG. Kvichak developed and delivered several police boat variants to several cities including Seattle and New York.

In the summer of 2017, the Canadian Coast Guard purchased a used 45 RBM from the United States Coast Guard. It is based in Vancouver British Columbia under the name CCGS Laredo Sound.

According to the US Coast Guard, "While primarily a search and rescue asset when the 41' UTB was first fielded, the evolution of missions has increased the requirement to perform many missions including recreational boating safety, marine environmental protection, enforcement of laws and treaties, ports, waterways, and coastal security, and defense operations, including those traditional missions associated with Homeland Security."

On March 17, 2015, the U.S. Coast Guard received the 174th and final RB-M into service.

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

(Sources:)

Electronics

• FLIR navigator thermal imager
• Furuno scalable integrated navigation system
• 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

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.

Boats

File:USCG RBM-45602.jpg

USCG 45602 underway at Cape Disappointment, Washington. August 7, 2008

File:RB-M 45604.jpg

USCG RB-M 45604 patrolling Lake Michigan at Gary, Indiana, during an airshow

File:United States Coast Guard Response Boat – Medium (cropped).jpg

Birds-eye view of a RB-M

Boat	Station	Delivery date
45601	Little Creek, Virginia	Template:Dts
45602	Cape Disappointment, Washington	Template:Dts
45603	Key West, Florida	Template:Dts
45604	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Template:Dts
45605	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45606	Port Aransas, Texas	Template:Dts
45607	Yorktown, Virginia	Template:Dts
45608	Boston, Massachusetts	Template:Dts
45609	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Template:Dts
45610	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45611	Port Aransas, Texas	Template:Dts
45612	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45613	Maui, Hawaii	Template:Dts
45614	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45615	Little Creek, Virginia	Template:Dts
45616	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45617	Cortez, Florida	Template:Dts
45618	Galveston, Texas	Template:Dts
45619	Honolulu, Hawaii	Template:Dts
45620	Castle Hill, Rhode Island	Template:Dts
45621	Panama City, Florida	Template:Dts
45622	Staten Island, New York	Template:Dts
45623	St. Petersburg, Florida	Template:Dts
45624	Cleveland Harbor, Ohio	Template:Dts
45625	Lake Worth Inlet, Florida	Template:Dts
45626	Belle Isle, Michigan	Template:Dts
45627	Honolulu, Hawaii	Template:Dts
45628	Duluth, Minnesota	Template:Dts
45629	Castle Hill, Rhode Island	Template:Dts
45630	Galveston, Texas	Template:Dts
45631	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Template:Dts
45632	Belle Isle, Michigan	Template:Dts
45633	Panama City, Florida	Template:Dts
45634	Fort Pierce, Florida	Template:Dts
45635	Calumet Harbor, Illinois	Template:Dts
45636	New Orleans, Louisiana	Template:Dts
45640	Annapolis, Maryland	Template:Dts
45641	Curtis Bay, Maryland	Template:Dts
45643	Los Angeles/Long Beach, California	Template:Dts
45645	Seattle, Washington	January 2010
45651	Los Angeles/Long Beach, California	Template:Dts
45652	Los Angeles/Long Beach, California	Template:Dts
45664	Seattle, Washington	June 2011
45658	Seattle, Washington	August 2011
45690	Buffalo, New York	May 2012
45703	Essexville, Michigan	Template:Dts
45723	Youngstown, New York	Template:Dts
45744	Hobucken, North Carolina	Template:Dts
45745	Hudgins, Virginia	Template:Dts
45742	Crisfield, Maryland
45749	Port Angeles, Washington
45754	St. Joseph, Michigan	Template:Dts
45771	Destin, Florida	Template:Dts
45772	Charleston, South Carolina	Template:Dts
45773	New Orleans, Louisiana	Template:Dts
45774	St. Petersburg, Florida	Template:Dts

Sources:

Media

RB-M 45771 at Station Destin, Florida was featured at Smarter Every Day channel

See also

• Equipment of the United States Coast Guard