They're the Ferrari's of the Fleet. What else do you want to know?

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

And there you have it, no need for further review!

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what a let down after cooch's very descriptive summary of life aboard a 378'

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Let down? I was being concise!

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

Do they come in red?

A very nice red stripe! :)

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oh plz!!!

they are both just pontiacs!!!

lol

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I'm not going to bore anyone with a lengthy description. Hit me with questions, and I'll do my best to answer 'em.

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

eeww!!!

someone lost their sense of humor this evening!!
just yanking your chain gears!

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Lost my sense of humor? Me? Never. If there is someone on this board who does not have a sense of humor he is aware of it's Cooch. ;)

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

You spelled Chuck's name wrong.

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I can tell you anything about the EVAC toilet or the A/C raw water system!

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The EVAC toilet? What a nightmare. Have you ever pressurized the system?

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

of course... the only way to learn quick is to have someone elses pee shot all over you.

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ugh... that sounded much worse than it was supposed to.

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I guess I'll just settle for being a slow learner...

One of the greatest pranks of all time is to pressurize the EVAC toilet... and wait.

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

Oh no- is this life on a ship?? Lovely!

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Proud Mom of SR Mackey
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According to the apostle John, the more we understand the shoreless ocean of God's love, the less we'll fear the choppy waters of life, for "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18).

It gets much, much worse. But, it's OH SO MUCH FUN!!

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

All I've been hearing from active/prior service is how fun the 87's and 110's are. Can't wait to see the rest of these

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Gears, Went out on the 87' Finback this weekend! I couldn't go in the engine room like you suggested because every time I would go below I felt like I would spew! (Maybe because there was a man down there spewing!) It was a great time though! Felt sick until he started going fast, then I felt fine! Very cool to see my son in action!

you should of gone down below! puking is part of the experience lol!

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Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. -John 15:13

MKCoastiemom,

That is awesome! It's good to hear the cutter came up to speed, it sounds like your son is doing a helluva job keeping her running.

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

you're evil gears...pure evil     you can also cover the toilet with clear seran (Sp?) wrap (the wrap you use to cover leftovers)

I've seen the toilet not flush after use. It was no fun for the guy who had to remove the contents. God knows, I wasn't going to do it for him. I've had all the tanks on the 87' open before. You couldn't pay me enough to crawl into any of them. That's what I had non rates for.

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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.

- Mark Twain

Just wondering what a "typical" patrol length is on an 87'. I'm waiting to go take my physical but I am trying to look ahead. My wife isn't too excited about me being gone on long patrols right away, even though i'd love to be on a bigger cutter at some point. I think an 87' would be great because I'd get some sea time as well as not having to be away from her for a couple months on end. I've also heard becuase of the smaller crew you have the oportunity to take part in many different roles aboard, is that true or is being a non-rate pretty much the same no matter the size of cutter (sanding and painting)

I'm going to stick my neck way, way out here and assert something of which I have no direct knowledge. I think the whole "sanding and painting" thing for non-rates is somewhat overstated. Yes, I expect all non-rates get their share of sanding and painting, or lawn mowing, or mess cooking, or dish washing, or whatever is required at their unit that no one else wants to do. But, to extrapolate from that that they never do anything worthwhile or satisfying is a mistake, I think.

I say this only because of my son's experiences in the Coast Guard. Yes, he did the grunt work that was asked of him and he did it well. Because he did it well, he was asked to do more. Because he did everything that was asked of him, and did it well, eventually he was asked to do important things, like boat crewman and boarding team member.

I can't emphasize this enough for anyone starting out in a new profession: You won't be given important (and fun) responsibilities until you demonstrate that you can be relied upon. The way you prove you can be relied upon is to do every job you are asked to do well, regardless of whether you like it or not.

+1 Wep... how many points is that?

87s are dynamic cutters. When I got orders a CWO, a PB Vet, told me, "A PB will either make you or break you." He wasn't kidding.

The "typical" patrol is 5-7 days depending on the mission. However, if you don't expect to be gone... reset your expectations. A 3 hour tour can quickly turn into a 5 day SAR case. You might pull into a port long enough to onload food, fuel, and water then get right back underway.

There are advantages and disadvantages to a small crew. Non rates do get more responsibility, and opportunities to become small boat Cox'n, BTM qualified, etc. The disadvantages are pretty disadvantageous. If a member of the crew is injured or gone everyone has to fill that void. Fewer people equals more watches, more work, etc. When I was on the 87' we never had a "routine" patrol.

For two years I hardly slept and barely ate. I went from getting the boat underway, to executing boardings, fixing casualties, standing watch, training, maintaining equipment, cleaning weapons, ordering supplies, counseling my people, cooking, cleaning, and being an all around bad ass MK.