Barrier Boat

The 19BB (Barrier Boat) is a type of small tugboat used by the United States Navy. They were built by Chuck's Boat and Drive of Longview, Washington, in 2002 to deploy and maintain port security booms surrounding Navy ships and installations in port. The first boat of the 13-boat order was delivered in January 2003.^[1]

19BB "Boomin Beaver" next to the USS Constitution
Class overview
Name	19BB (Barrier Boat)
Builders	Chuck's Boat and Drive
Operators	United States Navy
In service	2003–present
Planned	13
Active	10
General characteristics
Class & type	Tugboat
Displacement	22,000 lb (10,000 kg)
Length	19 ft (5.8 m)
Beam	10 ft (3.0 m)
Draught	5.5 ft (1.7 m)
Propulsion	Cummins 6BTA 5.9 L (360 in3)
Complement	3

Originally designed to raft and pull floating logs for the commercial logging industry, the Barrier Boats are affectionately known as the Boomin Beaver by the sailors who operate them.^[2]

Chuck's Boats founder Chuck Slape had decades of experience building rugged boats serving the Pacific Northwest coast booming grounds. The powerful little 12-to-16-foot-long (3.7 to 4.9 m) boats were known as "log broncs" due to the boat's action from the popular azimuth drive, which would cause the boat to rear up like a rodeo horse when the props were spun around 180 degrees.^[1]

The 19BB features a 260-horsepower (190 kW) Cummins 6BTA 5.9-litre (360 in³) pod-mounted engine paired with a ZF 4:1 reduction marine transmission powering a conventional propeller with a 36-inch (91 cm) nozzle. The L-drive configuration allows the boat to turn in 1.5 times its length, and delivers 7,000 to 7,500 pounds (3,200 to 3,400 kg) of bollard pull.^[1]

The General Services Administration auctioned one 19BB previously stationed at NSB Kings Bay in 2006, and remaining examples are still in use at the Boston Navy Yard, Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Station Norfolk, Naval Base Point Loma, and United States Fleet Activities Sasebo.^[3][4][5]