At just 19 feet long and 10 feet wide, the Boomin Beaver — designated as 19BB, an amalgamation of the length and term barrier boat — is shorter than some big Ford, Dodge, or Chevy pickup trucks. They are equipped with a turbocharged 5.9-liter, in-line 6-cylinder, 260 hp Cummins 6BTA5.9 diesel engine that delivers up to 7,500 pounds of pulling power, otherwise known as bollard pull.
The engine is set deep in the steel hull, and the deck is low to the water to give it better stability. With a draft of just six feet and a molded depth of 6.5, the Beaver is highly maneuverable and capable of turning in just 1.5 times its length. The aluminum driving house can easily be removed and transported by trailer.
The Navy had 10 Beavers in service in 2020, although It is unclear how many are still operational today. One is believed to be permanently stationed near the more than two-century-old USS Constitution at the Boston National Historical Park, docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. Others are in use at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, California, and Naval Base Kitsap located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, which is the third largest naval installation in the United States.
