R Cutter

[Hadda Condino]

Use of the laser cutter and engraver is free. If you bring your own material to cut or engrave you must provide a receipt or tag that states what the item is made of. Material approval is up to the discretion of the MakerSpace staff. It is highly recommended that you bring extra material for testing. We have acrylic and wood plaques available for purchase. A staff member is required to prepare the machine for you.

The Coast Guard released a request for information (RFI) on April 18, 2024 to identify potential sources for the procurement of three inland buoy tenders (WLIs), gauge the level of small business interest and capability and obtain industry feedback on planned technical drawings and requirements.

The Coast Guard awarded Birdon America, Inc. of Denver, on Oct. 5, 2022, an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm fixed price contract with economic price adjustments for the detail design and construction of its river buoy and inland construction tenders.

The inland tenders can also perform missions such as search and rescue; ports, waterways and coastal security; marine safety; and marine environmental protection, enabling them to quickly and effectively respond to emergencies such as environmental incidents and severe weather events.

The MTS accounts for more than $5.4 trillion annually in U.S. economic activity, and inland ports and waterways are critical MTS components. The inland tender fleet possesses the unique capability to establish and maintain inland ATON to support the safe and efficient flow of economic activity along U.S. rivers, lakes, intracoastal waterways, and harbors. However, the current fleet of inland tenders has been in operation for an average of more than 57 years. The fleet is approaching obsolescence: its maintenance costs are rising, and the vast majority of the inland tenders do not support mixed-gender berthing. To address these concerns, the Coast Guard is taking steps to ensure continuity of its inland maritime mission capability.

The Coast Guard established the Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program to replace the capability provided by the inland tender fleet. The program partnered with the Naval Sea Systems Command to conduct an independent alternatives analysis to evaluate materiel and non-materiel solutions to meet mission needs within cost and schedule constraints. Additionally, the WCC Program released 11 requests for information to conduct market research and conducted engineering trade studies and design analysis, including development of indicative designs.

Based on this analysis, the program determined that three WCC variants will best meet mission needs. All three variants will be monohull ships, meaning self-propelled cutters instead of tug and barge configurations. The River Buoy Tender and Inland Construction Tender variants will be acquired on one contract; these variants will maximize commonality with notable exceptions for hull length, working deck layout, and deck equipment, including the crane.

The Inland Buoy Tender will be acquired separately from the other two variants. In June 2021, the WCC Program began partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Marine Design Center, which has experience with similar acquisitions, to develop a Government-led design for the Inland Buoy Tender variant. The Inland Buoy Tender will be contractor-built.

The Coast Guard plans to acquire 16 River Buoy Tenders, 11 Inland Construction Tenders and three Inland Buoy Tenders. The new tenders will have greater endurance, speed, and deck load capacity than their predecessors. The ships will also feature improved habitability and will accommodate mixed-gender crews.

The WCCs primarily service aids to navigation in federal inland waterways, but they can also perform missions such as search and rescue; ports, waterways and coastal security; marine safety; and marine environmental protection.

There are three WCC variants, one per mission set: River Buoy Tenders (WLRs), Inland Construction Tenders (WLICs), and Inland Buoy Tenders (WLIs). The Coast Guard is acquiring the WLRs and WLICs on one contract, and the WLIs will be procured via a separate contracting action.

RFI 7, September 2019: Gather information regarding the analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation of crew training and performance support solutions. [Reference ID RFQ1396764]

RFI 8, January 2020: Gather information regarding the ability of commercial vessels to meet inland buoy tender requirements, either as found in an existing design or with minor modifications.
SAM.gov

The operational polar fleet currently includes one 399-foot heavy icebreaker (Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, commissioned in 1976) and one 420-foot medium icebreaker (Coast Guard Cutter Healy, commissioned in 2000). These cutters are designed for open-water icebreaking and feature reinforced hulls and specially angled bows.

The Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, through an integrated program office, on April 23, 2019, awarded VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a fixed price incentive (firm) contract for the detail, design and construction of the lead PSC. Construction on the first PSC is planned to begin in 2022 with contract delivery planned for 2025. The contract includes financial incentives for earlier delivery.

A cutter is a name for various types of watercraft. It can apply to the rig (sail plan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or border force cutter), to a type of ship's boat which can be used under sail or oars, or, historically, to a type of fast-sailing vessel introduced in the 18th century, some of which were used as small warships.

Government agencies use the term "cutter" for vessels employed in patrolling their territorial waters and other enforcement activities. This terminology is derived from the sailing cutters which had this sort of role from the 18th century to the end of the 19th century. (See below.) Whilst the details vary from country to country, generally these are small ships that can remain at sea for extended periods and in all usual weather conditions. Many, but not all, are armed. Uses include control of a country's borders and preventing smuggling.

The watermen of London used similar boats in the 18th century often decorated as depicted in historical prints and pictures of the River Thames in the 17th and 18th centuries. The modern waterman's cutter is based on drawings of these boats. They are 34 feet (10 m) long with a beam of 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m). They can have up to six oarsmen either rowing or sculling and can carry a cox and passengers. The organisers of the Great River Race developed the modern version in the 1980s and now many of the fleet of 24 compete annually in this "Marathon of the River". Watermen's cutters also compete annually in the Port of London Challenge, and the Port Admirals' Challenge. Cutter races are also to be found at various town rowing and skiffing regattas. In addition the cutters perform the role of ceremonial Livery Barges with the canopies and armorial flags flying on special occasions.[10]

Cutters have been used for record-breaking attempts and crews have achieved record times for sculling the English Channel (2 h 42 min) in 1996 and for sculling non-stop from London to Paris (4 days 15 min) in 1999.[11]

As most early pilots were local fisherman who undertook both jobs, although licensed by the harbour to operate within their jurisdiction, pilots were generally self-employed, and the quickest transport meant greater income. As their fishing boats were heavy working boats, and filled with fishing equipment, they needed a new type of boat; early boats were developed from single masted fishing cutter designs and twin masted yawls, and latterly into the specialist pilot cutter.

The natural dangers of the Bristol Channel brought about over many years the development of the specialist Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter. According to records from Pill, Somerset now housed in the Bristol Museum, the first official Bristol Channel pilot was barge master George James Ray, appointed by the Corporation of Bristol in May 1497 to pilot John Cabot's Matthew from Bristol harbour to the open sea beyond. In 1837 Pilot George Ray guided Brunel's SS Great Western, and in 1844 William Ray piloted the larger SS Great Britain on her maiden voyage.[12]

The term cutter is also used for any seaworthy vessel used in the law enforcement duties of the United Kingdom's Border Force, the United States Coast Guard (because of its descent from the Revenue Cutter Service) or the customs services of other countries.

In the United States, the early Revenue Cutter Service operated customs cutters that were commonly schooners or brigs. In Britain, they were usually rigged as defined under Sailing (above). The British Board of Customs also used other vessels as hulks, which were moored in places such as tidal creeks. Customs officers worked from the hulks in smaller boats.

In the UK, the Border Force (successor to the UK Border Agency and HM Customs and Excise) currently operates a fleet of 42 m corvette-type vessels throughout UK territorial waters as border cutters, inspecting vessels for illicit cargoes.

As a Coast Guard cutter, Healy is also a capable platform for supporting other missions in the polar regions, including logistics, search and rescue, ship escort, environmental protection, and enforcement of laws and treaties.

The U.S Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) 37 is one of the famed Secretary of the Treasury Class Coast Guard cutters built in the mid-1930's. Commissioned in 1936 as USCGC TANEY, Cutter 37 was designed for law enforcement missions, search and rescue, and maritime patrol. She was decommissioned in 1986 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1988 after contributing to more than 50 years of continuous service.

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