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slowly being supplanted by smaller, more agile vessels. In this case, the Coast Guard has done its homework. Taking into consideration what the Coast Guard calls ?total ownership costs,? metrics such as maintenance costs (standardization can reduce the cost of stockpiling parts), safety (standardization makes crew familiarization an easier task), and interoperability (tying all assets together as one through better communications and electronics), the DHS small craft acquisition strategy has reached a new level of sophistication. The changes do not come cheaply, but by amortizing the replacement costs up front, the Coast Guard hopes to save signi cantly more money over time. Also looming over the entire effort is the state of the federal budget mess, where the ?S? word ? sequestration ? is on everyone?s mind, but rarely spoken in the boatyards. That?s because unless a budget deal is reached soon, sequestration could reduce FY-13 expenditures even further. Privately, one contractor told MarineNews in October, ?We may get all of the intended contracts for 2013, or we might get just one. We just don?t know, and neither does the Coast Guard.? In the meantime, DHS and its homeland security arm, the U.S. Coast Guard, need these new assets desperately. For their part, the boatyards hedge their bets by delivering an increasing number of hulls to foreign buyers, proof that U.S. builders can compete ? in the right global market. For now, however, the biggest prize awaits here at home. LOA: 28' 6"Beam: 8? 6? Draft: 1' 8"Fuel Capacity: 110 gallons Dry Weight: 9,800 lbsMax HP: 450 hp RBS-II SpeciÞ cations MN 59www.marinelink.com MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 59MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 5911/7/2012 1:38:27 PM11/7/2012 1:38:27 PM
