This Tugboat Is the Smallest Ship in the Navy
By: Kyle Mizokami (Popular Mechanics)
Boomin Beavers?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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 don't 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:
"It's a security tug. Those protective barriers surrounding the water portion of the navy base don't move themselves. It's 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.
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 cordon—a "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.
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Just for the fun of it.
If anything ever deserved the name Boaty McBoatface, it has to be this cute little guy!
I love that!
This thing soooo needs a pistol on a pivot mount! It's a Navy ship, after all! Arm her!
Lol that's funny, thanks
Size is not important, mission is.
That's what all the guys say.
Just kidding.
How cool is that.
I want to drive that.
I want one.
[delete]
So cute! My Firebird is almost as big.
There's some pretty little tugs in the Detroit River but not quite that small.
It has always amazed me how those little tug boats can pull a ship 10 times their size. Tiny but mighty.
I'm 4'11"... us short and stouts have more power than we appear to have.
If your feet touch the ground, then you aren't short.
Most of the time, my feet don't touch the ground when in a chair...
It would make a great fishing boat!
I sure wish I could be out on a boat... Those rolling waves (and there are plenty of those on our Great Lakes)... I can't keep anything down and I almost lost my glassed the last time I was on a boat on Lake Erie while puking over the side. You'd never know that my dad, his brother and my grandfather were Navy men.
What's really sad? I LOVE swimming and being IN the water. I just can't float on top of it.
I would kill to own a boat. I would stock it up and just disappear. No internet, no newspapers, just freedom.
Cute but too top heavy and rolly for me, I'd be hanging over the side feeding the fishies non-stop
Probably good for inland river or small to medium lake fishing. Not so good for coastal or open waters.
Not good for the Great Lakes either... just sayin. I've been in Caribbean and I've been in all Great Lakes except Ontario... The Great Lakes is far choppier.
According to the article, its civilian function was to move logs along in rivers. Now, it's used to move anti submarine fences across harbor mouths. Should be pretty good for setting buoys too. I agree with Drakkonis, though. If it's going to be a Navy ship of any kind, it should be armed, just in case it's attacked by something....say a somewhat large Bass. Besides, you should be able to fire a salute; you never know when an Admiral might come aboard. I can imagine the official ship's armament (pistol on a post) placing a fifteen gun salute directly over an Admiral's head. The Captain, Officer of the Deck, Ship's Armorer, Petty Officer of the Watch, and the Ship's Cook (all the same guy) would all be looking for a new job.
Have you noticed that, even though she has a crew of one, she still has a life ring. If the crew falls over the side, who's going to throw the ring over????
Freefaller, I'll bet you've never been on an LST or a Destroyer. Compared to them, this thing is as solid as a rock.
Lol you'd lose that bet, I spent 4 years on destroyers from 91-95. Enjoyed the travel, work and peoples but unless I was horizontal I was mostly feeding the fishies (I did start getting my sea legs after 5-6 days at .sea)
Dunno about that they both look as stable to me as a rubber duckie in the ocean during a hurricane
Bet you lost some weight that first week! Feeding the fish for an hour was long enough for me.
LMAO I typically would lose a lot of weight at sea (not healthy loss) but I was really good at compensating in port.
And that's why I could never have joined the Navy like my dad, uncle, or grandfather. I had looked at joining the Airforce, but my mother offered to break my foot if I signed up.
She'd have done it too.
The ''Puddle Pirates'' will love this vessel, er boat.