USCG 65' Small harbor tug

The USCG 65' small harbor tug is a class of fifteen tugs used by the United States Coast Guard for search and rescue, law enforcement, aids-to-navigation work and light icebreaking. The tugs are capable of breaking 18 in (0.46 m) of ice with propulsion ahead and 21 in (0.53 m) of ice backing and ramming.[2] They were designed with steel hulls to replace the 64 ft (20 m) wooden-hulled tugs that had been in service since the 1940s and were built by Gibbs Gas Engine Company, Jacksonville, Florida;[3] Barbour Boat Works of New Bern, North Carolina;[4] and Western Boat Builders Corporation, Tacoma, Washington[5] from 1961 to 1967. They were originally powered by a single 400 horsepower diesel engine, however several have been re-powered with 500 horsepower main drive engines since they were constructed.[1]

USCGC Bollard breaking light ice.
Class overview
Builders:	Gibbs Gas Engine, 1961–62 Barbour Boat Works, 1962–1963 Western Boat Builders, 1966–1967
Operators:	United States Coast Guard
Preceded by:	64 foot harbor tug
Built:	1961–1967
In commission:	1961–
Completed:	15
Active:	11
Retired:	4
General characteristics (1961)
Type:	Small harbor tug (WYTL)[1]
Displacement:	74 tons
Length:	64 ft 11 in (19.79 m)
Beam:	19 ft 1 in (5.82 m) max
Draft:	9 ft (2.7 m) max
Propulsion:	(1) 400 hp diesel, single screw
Speed:	10.6 knots max (1964)
Range:	1,130 miles at maximum sustained speed of 10.6 knots 3,690 miles at 7.0 knots economic speed (1964)
Complement:	5 men
Sensors and processing systems:	SPN-11 (1964)
Armament:	none

Ships

Name and hull number	Builder[6]	Commissioned[6]	Disposition or homeport
USCGC Capstan (WYTL-65601)	Gibbs	19 July 1961	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
USCGC Chock (WYTL-65602)	Gibbs	12 September 1962	Baltimore, Maryland [2]
USCGC Swivel (WYTL-65603)	Gibbs	27 October 1961	Decomm 14 April 1995[Note 1]
USCGC Tackle (WYTL-65604)	Gibbs	1962	Rockland, Maine[1]
USCGC Towline (WYTL-65605)	Gibbs	27 March 1962	Decomm 1995[Note 2]
USCGC Catenary (WYTL-65606)	Gibbs	April 1962	Decomm 1 May 1995 [Note 3]
USCGC Bridle (WYTL-65607)	Barbour	3 April 1963	Southwest Harbor, Maine[1]
USCGC Pendant (WYTL-65608)	Barbour	August 1963	Boston, Massachusetts[1]
USCGC Shackle (WYTL-65609)	Barbour	7 May 1963	South Portland, Maine[1]
USCGC Hawser (WYTL-65610)	Barbour	17 January 1963	Bayonne, New Jersey[1]
USCGC Line (WYTL-65611)	Barbour	21 February 1963	Bayonne, New Jersey[1]
USCGC Wire (WYTL-65612)	Barbour	19 March 1963	Saugerties, New York[1]
USCGC Bitt (WYTL-65613)	Western	27 May 1963	Decomm 4 October 1982[Note 4]
USCGC Bollard (WYTL-65614)	Western	10 April 1967	New Haven, Connecticut[1]
USCGC Cleat (WYTL-65615)	Western	10 May 1967	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]

Notes

Footnotes

1. Currently is M/V Swivel owned and operated by Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), Governors Island, New York[7]
2. Currently Training Vessel Towline owned and operated by Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts[8]
3. Currently is Training Vessel Growler owned and operated by U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York[9]
4. Currently is Research Vessel Clifford A. Barnes owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by the University of Washington, School of Oceanography [10]

Citations

1. "65-foot Small Harbor Tug (WYTL)", Assets: Aircraft, Boats, and Cutters, U.S. Coast Guard
2. USCGC Chock (WYTL-65602), Data Sheet (26 SEP 2012), U.S. Coast Guard
3. "Gibbs Gas Engine Company"' Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List, Shipbuilding History.com
4. "Barbour Boat Works", Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List, Shipbuilding History.com
5. "Western Boat Builders Corp.", Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List, Shipbuilding History.com
6. Scheina, pp 105-106
7. "Governors Island Alternative Transportation Study", (2012), p 16, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
8. "Marine Facilities", Our Campus, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
9. T/V Growler, About USMMA/Our fleet, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
10. "R/V Barnes", School of Oceanography website, University of Washington

References cited

• "65-foot Small Harbor Tug (WYTL)" (asp). Assets: Aircraft, Boats, and Cutters. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
• "Barbour Boat Works". Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List. Shipbuilding History.com. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "Gibbs Gas Engine Company". Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List. Shipbuilding History.com. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "Governors Island Alternative Transportation Study" (PDF). John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "Marine Facilities". Our Campus. Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "R/V Barnes". School of Oceanography website. University of Washington. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
• "T/V Growler". About USMMA/Our fleet. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "USCGC CHOCK (WYTL-65602)" (PDF). Data Sheet (26 SEP 2012). U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• "Western Boat Builders Corp". Small Shipbuilders and Boatbuilders List. Shipbuilding History.com. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
• Scheina, Robert L. (1990). U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946–1990. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-719-7.