Posted on 10/13/2020 12:33:19 PM PDT by Red Badger
At just 19 feet long, it's used to deploy underwater fences. D'awww.
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A little baby boat is making waves on Reddit. It may be the smallest ship in the U.S. Navy. The "Boomin Beaver" is a security tug that can tow small ships and deploy underwater fences. One of these boats fetched $100,000 in an auction, which sure seems like a lot for a boat this small.
An adorable little tugboat as long as a Ford F-150 is making the rounds on social media, prompting many to call it the smallest ship in the U.S. Navy.
At just 19 feet long, the boat is actually Boomin Beaver security tug. Originally built to herd logs in waterways, the Navy boat is now an all-purpose vessel that can tow small ships and deploy floating security fences, ensuring that larger submarines, destroyers, and even aircraft carriers dont receive unwanted visitors.
The tug first popped up on Reddit earlier this week. Chuck's Boat and Drive in Longview, Washington built these boats for loggers, and at some point, the U.S. Navy purchased scores of them for various harbor duties. One Redditor identified this particular tug as operating out of Point Loma Sub Base in California, saying:
"Its a security tug. Those protective barriers surrounding the water portion of the navy base dont move themselves. Its the equivalent of opening the gate for cattle to go in and out. Unlock it, unlatch it, swing it open, and close it when the ship has passed."
Indeed, Boomin Beavers can be seen in Google Maps at the USS Constitution Museum in Boston. The Beaver at Boston Harbor can also be seen here, where it's described as operating the floating barrier that surrounds the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy. The ships are also visible at several naval bases across the U.S., including Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, and Naval Base San Diego.
The Boomin Beaver alongside the USS Constitution.
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All of the Boomin Beavers are located near floating security nets, identified in the imagery as lines of connected buoys. The nets provide a visible security cordona do not cross line that keeps local shipping away from billion dollar warships. You can catch similar tugs at Norfolk Naval Station and Kings Bay, Georgia.
One of the tiny boats was put up for government auction in 2006. The listing described the boat as 19 feet long and 10 feet wide, with a draft of 5 feet. The power plant is listed as a Cummins 6BTA5.9 diesel engine rated at 260 hp with ZF marine transmission. The highest bid for the boat was $100,025, which seems like ... a lot for a boat this small.
But then again, nothing is cheap when it comes to Navy ships.
The Boomin Beaver
No comment.
A little dinghy.
The S.S. Anthony Weiner?
The Biden.
Our newest aircraft carrier under Biden Harris
“The good news is we’re giving you command of your own ship.”
Where does the CIWS mount?
Lol!
That’s gotta really suck. Join the Navy, survive boot, go to officer school, get your boat pilot license, work the chain to get the promotions and you finally get your command and hand you the keys to a bathtub toy.
For Barbara Mikulski, no doubt.
As a kid growing up on the Washington coast, we'd often go to a sawmill pond and watch these boom boats (a connected string of floating logs surrounding rafts of logs is called a “boom”)
The operator had so much control with an almost center drive, that he could spin the boat around on it's axis.
Hey, captain’s bars are captain’s bars................
How is Quinton McHale ever supposed to fit aboard THAT?
That is so adorable. I want to drive it!
Toot toot!!!
Can the squids who drive these things legitimately put “Commanded a Naval Vessel” on their resumes?
I think I printed a few of those on my 3d printer...
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