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larger capacity boats in the 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15m) range. Deep-V RHIBs and hard boats still make up the lion share of procurements, however there are growing opportunities to utilize innovative small craft under 30 feet for new scenarios that present unique challenges.

Defi ning a multi-role craft is a chal- lenge for large fl eet procurements.

The U.S. Coast Guard is replacing the Response Boat-Small (RB-S) fl eet with a new vessel. The 45+ knot Met- al Shark craft, at 28 feet 6” (8.7m), with a shaped solid foam collar en- cased in urethane, offers the impact protection of a RHIB with the deck space of a hard sided craft. The pro- curement is for up to 500 RB-S II, with 20 going to US Customs & Bor- der Protection and 10 to the Navy.

The Coast Guard defi nes the craft as a multi-mission platform, used for the full range of Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, vessel boarding team deployment and law enforcement missions, port security; drug and migrant interdiction and environmental response operations.

Reaching the Mission

Trailers and towing vehicles are critical components for small craft mobility, launch and recovery. In most countries there is a strict re- quirement to be ‘road legal’ which limits length and width, as well as the ratio of weight between the towing vehicle and the combined boat with trailer load. Even when organizations have access to helicopter transport for remote insertion and extraction of personnel, they still need to consider how to move their craft. For example,

Maine-based Yale Cordage has devel- oped a range of heavy duty rope slings to handle boats that are carried under helicopters. Government Accounts

Manager, Skip Yale explained, “The

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