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mounted gunner?s platform provides 180-degree  ring capability while a pass-through hatch leads to the cabin for easy access in any conditions.According to Metal Sharks? Greg Lambrecht, a deciding factor in the Coast Guard?s decision to choose the Metal Shark entry had to do with the superior visibility of their convertible cabin arrangement. Lambrecht explained, ?The cabin provides innovative protection, but is able to be opened up for safety. With this arrangement, the Coast Guard will be able to operate the RB-S II in signi cant sea states, from Key West August as well as Minnesota in December.? Lambrecht added that the Coast Guard looked hard at ?total ownership? cost when they chose the Metal Shark entry. For example, he said, the RB-S II gets good fuel economy in comparison to other hulls of the same size. Metal Shark has fully ramped up to produce the boat in volume, bee ng up their workforce by 30% to at the current level of about 130 employees, in order to produce about one boat weekly. To better manage the increased workload, Metal Shark is also expanding its 65,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Jeanerette. MARINETTE MARINE CORPORATION ?S RESPONSE BOATS -MEDIUM (RB-M)A total of 81 RB-Ms have been delivered to Coast Guard stations around the country since March of 2008. Today, the RB-M has entered full-rate production, with at least 30 boats per year being delivered, or more than one boat every two weeks. Designed to meet Coast Guard multi-mission requirements for search and rescue; ports, waterways and coastal security; drug interdiction; and migrant interdiction, the RB-M replaces the Coast Guard?s aging class of 41-foot Utility Boats and other large nonstandard boats with standardized assets more capable of meeting the Coast Guard?s requirements. The new, slightly larger 45-foot Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) boasts new ergonomics, enhanced safety features, and is part of the Coast Guard?s plan to standardize and revitalize its shore- based boat  eet.The Coast Guard further hopes to improve its safety record by standardizing across the entire  eet to give operators one platform of this type to accomplish their mission set; not  ve or six. In a nutshell, the RB-M project delivered a new boat with signi cantly increased speed and performance, improving response MN 57www.marinelink.com MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 57MNNov2012 Layout 50-65.indd 5711/7/2012 1:38:06 PM11/7/2012 1:38:06 PM