Name 47' MLB Cost US $1,214,300 Planned 36 | Operators Canadian Coast Guard In service 1997–Present | |
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Builders Textron Marine and Victoria Shipyards | ||
The Canadian Coast Guard maintains a fleet of 14.6 m (47 ft 11 in) Cape-class motor lifeboats , based on a motor lifeboat design used by the United States Coast Guard. In September 2009 the CCG announced plans to add five new lifeboats, bringing the total number of Cape-class lifeboats to 36.
The vessels are staffed by a crew of four, two of whom are rescue specialists. In spite of its name, the CCGS Cape Roger is a larger patrol vessel, not a Cape-class lifeboat. The CCG also maintains some larger motor lifeboats based on Arun-class lifeboats designed in the United Kingdom.
Design
Cape-class motor lifeboats have displacements of 20 short tons (18 t) and total lengths of 47 feet 11 inches (14.61 m) and beam lengths of 14 feet (4.3 m). Constructed from marine-grade aluminium, ships have draught lengths of 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m). They contains two Caterpillar 3196 diesel engines providing a combined 900 shaft horsepower. They have two 28 by 36 inches (710 mm × 910 mm) four-blade propellers, and each ship's complement is four crew members and five passengers.
The lifeboats have maximum speeds of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and cruising speeds of 22 knots (25 mph). Cape-class lifeboats have fuel capacities of 400 US gallons (1,500 l; 330 imp gal) and ranges of 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) when cruising. They are capable of operating at wind speeds of 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) and wave heights of 30 feet (9.1 m). They can tow ships with displacements of up to 150 tonnes (170 short tons) and can withstand 60 knots (110 km/h; 69 mph) winds and 20 feet (6.1 m)-high breaking waves.
Communication options include Raytheon 152 HF-SSB and Motorola Spectra 9000 VHF50W radios, and a Raytheon RAY 430 loudhailer system. The lifeboats also support the Simrad TD-L1550 VHF-FM radio direction finder. Raytheon provides a number of other electronic systems for the lifeboats, including the RAYCHART 620, the ST 30 heading indicator and ST 50 depth indicator, the NAV 398 global positioning system, a RAYPILOT 650 autopilot system, and either the R41X AN or SPS-69 radar systems.