Bitt, 1966 (WYTL 65613)

Nov. 9, 2020
PRINT | E-MAIL

Bitt, 1966

WYTL 65613


Bitt: A vertical post set on the deck of a ship for securing cables.


Builder: Western Boatbuilding, Tacoma, Washington

Length: 64' 11"

Beam: 19' 1"

Draft: 9'

Displacement: 74 tons

Cost: $158,366

Commissioned: 27 May 1966

Decommissioned: 4 October 1982

Disposition: Sold

Machinery: 1 diesel engine; 400 BHP; single propeller

Performance & Endurance:

        Max: 10.6 knots; 1,130 mile range
        Cruising: 7.0 knots; 3,690 mile range

Complement: 5

Armament: None

Electronics: SPN-11 detection radar


Tender History:

The steel-hulled harbor tug Bitt entered service on 27 May 1966.  She was first stationed at Bellingham, Washington, and was used for law enforcement and search and rescue operations.  On 5 January 1969 she assisted in the evacuation of a stranded person near Nooksack River when a dike broke.  On 29 July 1969 she towed the disabled fishing vessel Jet Stream to safety from Admiralty Inlet.  On 20 October 1975 she rescued two persons from a capsized sailboat.  She transferred to Valdez, Alaska in 1978.  She was decommissioned in 1982.


Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946 - 1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.