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Adm. James S. Gracey Guard is being funded reasonably well to procure equipment. His solution to these problems is: "One way we can compensate for that lack of people is to take full advantage of state-of-the-art technology—computers, electron- ics and sensors—the whole range of ways to work smarter, not harder. Fortunately, the high technological industries are rap- idly increasing in both availability and capability, while at the same time costs are going down. We have to implant that technological innovation in our ship design and operation. The COMDAC equip- ment on our 270-foot Bear Class cutters is a good example. We have probably reduced the crew of these ships by one-third through computerizing navigation, com- munications, engineering and weapons control capability." Admiral Gracey pointed out that increasing the use of technology does not necessarily increase ca- pability but it does increase effi- ciency. When you reduce crew size, he advised, every component on the ship can be reduced—evapora- tors, galley, berthing, heating—re- sulting in savings in raw mate- rials for initial construction and energy savings during operation. These savings can compensate for being "people-poor" in the future. The Coast Guard's aim, accord- ing to Admiral Gracey, is to as- sure its officers and enlisted men that they "will be operating the best equipment—the best boats and best cutters available. That means quality construction; it means people-oriented vessels that are safe and comfortable. And that is why we are looking at innova- tive hull designs such as SWATH and SES—ships that will operate at good speed, comfortably, in all kinds of weather. Not only must our ships have the legs to go the distance but our people must be able to man them at peak effi- ciency when the going gets rough. We already have two Bell-Halter SES's operating in the Caribbean and a third will be delivered later this year. Also, we are designing a mid-size cutter, somewhere be- tween our 210-foot cutters and the 82/95-foot patrol boats that will be a SWATH vessel." The speaker pointed out that the government expects the Coast Guard to keep its ships operating forever and this requires reliabil- ity and maintainability. To meet this expectation, the Admiral said: "It has to be built-in at the design stage and requires quality con- struction. We generally build for a ship life of 30 years. But experi- ence shows our cutters have to last much longer. We are currently doing a ship-life extension pro- gram on our 180-foot buoy tenders (built in the '40s) to carry them on (continued on page 10) Adm. James S. Gracey has been Comman- dant of the U.S. Coast Guard since May 27, 1982. He was nominated for this po- sition by President Reagan while serving in the dual role of Commander, Atlantic Area, and Commander, Third Coast Guard Dis- trict, in New York City. He was graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, in 1949, and received a Mas- ter of Business Administration degree from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1956. During his career with the Coast Guard he has served in in- creasingly responsible posts onboard ves- sels and shore stations on the West Coast, Great Lakes and the East Coast and at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. CHOCKTITE New POURABLE MARINE CHOCKING COMPOUND Eliminates Metal Blocks and Shims also: I Approved by: ABS, Lloyds, DnV, N.K.K. Maintains Alignment • Exact Fit • Durable • Non-Fretting • Self-extinguishing High Compressive Strength PALJV1ER PROOUCTTS, IIMC. Worcester, Pa 19490 • (800) 341-4408 TWX (TLX) 510-660-7736 Write 493 on Reader Service Card JUDGE US BY THE COMPANIES WE KEEP r BEHGEN DIESEL MaK ztftf <& GMT AKAHAKA DIESELS WARTS I LA KOBE DIESEL GOTAVERKEN GOLTENS THE DIESEL REPAIR EXPERTS. GOLTEN MARINE CO. INC. HEADQUARTERS: 160 Van Brunt St., Brooklyn, NY 11231 Phone: (212) 855-7200 Telex: 22-2916 Cable: GOLTENS BRANCHES: Wilmington, Calif. • Miami, Fla. Fairhaven, Mass. • Rotterdam, Holland • Kowloon, Hong Kong Oslo, Norway • Telemark, Norway • Singapore SAVE FUEL With Fluidyne's Helix® Fuel Oil Flowmeters Install Fluidyne's Helix Marine Fuel Consumption Measurement System Fluidyne Helix fuel flowmeters have become the standard of the marine industry for energy conservation programs because they provide: [U ±0.25% accuracy with bunker C SI Simple, low-cost installation SI Freedom from mechanical failures SI U.S. Coast Guard approval Si Real-time flow rate information SJ Temperature-compensated data Ef Remote flow rate and total data Computer-compatible data outputs Fluidyne marine fuel consumption measuring systems are the choice of Matson, Delta Lines, Exxon Marine, Texaco and many other fleet operators. For full technical data, contact: fi Pluidyne A DIVISION OF ELECTRODATA INC. P.O. BOX 11366 SANTA ROSA, CA 707-527-0410 TELEX 176713 July 15, 1983 Write 804 on Reader Service Card Write 693 on Reader Service Card 7
