Legacy of the 87

Two weeks ago the Coast Guard commissioned the last of the 87-foot Marine Protector patrol boats and by any measure this was a hugely successful product line. So I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the extremely important role this humble boat had on the state of today's Coast Guard and how it laid the foundation for successful modernization.

From the start the 87 was on-time, on-budget and, most importantly, operationally capable. Powered by two Mercedes MTU diesels, the 87s have a top speed of 25 knots. When this contract was awarded in 1996, only the 110-foot PBs were faster at 28 knots. These two classes went a long way towards ensuring the CG's habit of under-powering ended after years of being under-funded (I've heard quite a few sea stories about siphoning gas from the grey-hulls back in the "old guard.") In all seriousness, the struggle to eliminate the idea of "doing more with less" from the CG culture continues today. The procurement of the 87 was a glimpse of the future in this respect.

Among other innovations, the 87s were the first cutters to incorporate a stern-launch. This makes small boat evolutions safer than with traditional over-the-side launch and allows the RHI to be deployed in a higher sea-state. This, however, was not the main intent of the design team. With a crew of ten, someone is almost always sleeping. They hoped to reduce crew fatigue by reducing the number of people required to launch the boat down to 2. This thinking turned out to be a bit too forward as operators justifiably felt it was important to have all hands on deck in case of an MOB.

It's also important not overlook the fact that the 87 is crewed by just 10 or 11, and sometimes less. Yet these boats can perform almost every function a larger cutter can. They also had the capability for mixed berthing. Many more afloat billets were available to female coasties because of these coed boats.

One of the reasons the platform was so innovative was input from the fleet. A large group of operators, mostly from other PBs, were brought in to lend their experiences and shape the requirements for the procurement even before the contract was awarded and were an integral part of the project well through it's first sea-trials on choppy San Francisco Bay. A similar group was formed in the successful response boat-medium project.

Also, full size mock-ups were made to limit redesigns after construction had started. As a result, the spaces are intuitively laid out (they were able to coax a full 360-degree view from the bridge) and there were minimal mods once the welding had begun or after being put to sea.

Probably the largest part of the 87's success is because it was based on a proven platform. It was a Dutch design that had been adopted by the Brits and successfully used for fisheries in the English Channel. CG Acquisitions (CG-9) calls this a "parent class" design and it has become the standard for major procurements as already noted on ID.

This all bodes well for the fast response cutter going into production that just happens to be an established Dutch design and almost all of the successes of the 87 were incorporated. The parent-craft concept obviously works and probably made it easy for the GAO to uphold the decision to award the FRC contract to Bollinger (who also happened to build the 87s.)

Thankfully, RADM Blore (CG-9) is gung-ho when it comes to the parent-craft concept and has repeatedly stated his preference for an OPC parent-craft design. This project is particularly important due to the state of our large cutters (WMEC/WHEC) - more than half were built in the 60s and 70s, none built later than the 80s and we can only expect 8 or so NSCs.

Even though this situation is less than ideal, we'll be able to manage the problem with both the FRC and OPC likely to come online with minimal delay because they are being built on a foundation of success. Credit is due to CG leadership for recognizing the solution to their procurement problems was as simple as reusing designs and not falling prey to notions of sexy, first-in-class designs. Though maybe as much credit is due to the team that guided the 87 project.