Meet The Navy's Charming Barrier Tugboats: The Boomin' Beavers
When you think of the many ships in the United States Navy's fleet, the first ones that probably spring to mind are likely the big, behemoth aircraft carriers or maybe the vaunted destroyers. It almost certainly isn't the littlest boat in their fleet. Say hello to the tiny tugboat, affectionally referred to as the Boomin' Beaver.
The diminutive Beavers are a class of security tug used to set up and operate floating underwater barriers known as Port Security Barriers – aka booms – around Navy ships, docks, and bases. It's basically a perimeter security fence that keeps the riff-raff from getting too close to the expensive merchandise.
These particular tugboats (aka boom boats) were first built back in the 1970s by Chuck's Boat and Drive, a builder in Longview, Washington, to help loggers steer freshly cut timber down rivers. The Navy needed a small but tough tug with enough power and maneuverability to open and close the boom gates.
According to Defense Department records, the Navy awarded Chuck's a contract for 13 boats in 2002 in the amount of $2,335,379. Over the next four years, the company provided millions of dollars worth of tugs to the Navy. However, the exact number supplied is unknown.
[Featured image by Grant G. Grady via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY Public Domain]
A tiny tugboat with a powerful job
At just 19 feet long and 10 feet wide, the Boomin Beaver — designated as 19BB, an amalgamation of the length and term barrier boat — is shorter than some big Ford, Dodge, or Chevy pickup trucks. They are equipped with a turbocharged 5.9-liter, in-line 6-cylinder, 260 hp Cummins 6BTA5.9 diesel engine that delivers up to 7,500 pounds of pulling power, otherwise known as bollard pull.
The engine is set deep in the steel hull, and the deck is low to the water to give it better stability. With a draft of just six feet and a molded depth of 6.5, the Beaver is highly maneuverable and capable of turning in just 1.5 times its length. The aluminum driving house can easily be removed and transported by trailer.
The Navy had 10 Beavers in service in 2020, although It is unclear how many are still operational today. One is believed to be permanently stationed near the more than two-century-old USS Constitution at the Boston National Historical Park, docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Others are in use at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, and Naval Base Kitsap located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, which is the third largest naval installation in the United States.