Welcome to United States Marine, Inc.

Puckett's vice president and co-owner, Ben Puckett. "Our big objective was to give U.S. Marine the power they needed with- out materially changing the engine, because what we did not want is a one-source engine. All the internals are off-the-shelf parts that you can get anywhere in the world."

Puckett said the joint effort by his company and Cat's Defense and Special Products division may have played a big part in U.S. Marine winning the contract. "The competing builders were using standard engines and adapting their boats to the engines. We adapted our engines in a way that was most beneficial for the boat," he said.

The engines also are interchangeable from starboard to port. "U.S. Marine required that from us so the engines could be installed with as little effort as possible," said Puckett. "That means the spare engine is complete and ready to go.

There is no adaptation or change needed." Puckett Machinery's end of the deal includes supplying one spare engine for every two boats.

The Navy also graded the boats on ease of maintenance and repairability. USMI worked with the engine supplier to assure that all routine maintenance could be done from the top. (The engines sit beneath two deck hatches, located amidships.)

Puckett said, "U.S. Marine knew exactly what they want- ed. They told us we need to go this fast and weigh this much. It wasn't a lot of guesswork. Maintenance and repair concerns contributed to the selection of Demaree's tubes, too. They're manufactured from a 30-oz. fabric coated with vulcanized neoprene. Each RIB has two tubes, which connect at the bow. Each tube has five air compartments and five valves.

Demaree Inflatable's owner, Dave Demaree, said that the dual-tube arrangement speeds installment and replacement. He estimated that it takes about 20 minutes to change out a set. He also said that using twin tubes eliminates having to replace the entire collar if just a portion of it gets damaged.

Neoprene collars are less likely to suffer damage than urethane ones, added Demaree. "They have about twice the life of urethane, and the coating doesn't bleed out of them."

And, neoprene tubes can be rolled up more compactly than urethane collars, he said. Each tube fits into a 3'x2'x2' box.

PROJECT TEAM WINS AWARD Winning the 70-boat contract and delivering the first hull took about three years. U.S. Marine, its suppliers and the Navy say every step was a concerted effort.

Early on, USMI convinced suppliers to contribute equipment for the prototype, a tactic the company has employed for three