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.