Page 91: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1998)

by a pair of Caterpillar 3126 turbo- charged diesel engines. The engines each provide 470 hp, for a combined 940 hp per vessel. The tremendous amount of power for this size of boat may seem exces- sive, but in view of its mission — to carry 11 people and 3,200 lbs. of cargo at a top speed of more than 45 knots — the outfitting is under- standable.

The engines are coupled to

Kamewa FF280 water jets through

ZF reduction gears. The boat's navigation suite consists of Furuno radar, GPS and depthfinder, ICOM

VHF and a Ritchie compass.

Using the Cat 3126 to start, there were a series of fuel systems and timing adjustments to meet the performance specifications in terms of speed, acceleration range and reliability requirements. This was all accomplished using

Caterpillar off-the-shelf parts, a key factor in ensuring that the engines could be supported by

Caterpillar's worldwide dealer net- work.

One of the key suppliers which helped garner United States

Marine the contract to build the

NSW RIB project was the hull's tubes, supplied by Demaree

Inflatable Boats (DIB).

DIB was founded by owner

Dave Demaree more than 15 years ago, and including related work, Demaree has been in the inflatables business since 1973.

DIB is supplying 11 sets of tubes for every six boats, which includes spares. DIB's unique tube attach- ment system allows the tubes to be changed out from the front and back, in just 20 minutes.

Prior to this contract, DIB had earned some military work, but the brunt of its business in the produc- tion of whitewater business.

The NSW RIB boats have not simply caught the eye of United

States Special Operation

Command (USSOCOM) and indus- try trade publications. United

States Marine and all sub-suppli- ers in the project were recently honored at the Pentagon for work on the NSW RIB, as it was the recipient of the 1998 David

Packard Excellence in Acquisition

Award in the category of Test and

Evaluation. "It is an honor to share with the

NSW RIB Program Office being chosen to receive the Packard

Award," said Larry Ellis, presi- dent of United States Marine Inc.

The ceremony took place in early

May in the Pentagon Courtyard.

The award was named in honor of the late David Packard, a for- mer deputy secretary of defense during the Nixon administration.

Packard was the founder and chairman of Hewlett-Packard Co., and chairman of the Presidential

Commission on Defense

Management.

The NSW RIB program encom- passes an order for 72 boats, 12 of which have been delivered. The entire program — as currently pro- cured — is slated for completion in 2001.

For more information from the following companies referenced in this story, please circle the appropriate number on the

Reader Service Card in this edition:

Caterpillar 27

Demaree Inflatable Boats 28

Kamewa 29

United States Marine 30

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June, 1998 Circle 237 on Reader Service Card 93