Contributing writer
Captain Jim Kalvin
I was asked a few weeks ago what had been my "coolest assignment ever" as a boat Captain. I thought for a few minutes and had that answer settled pretty quickly.
Once upon a time - around 2009 or 2010, I was approached by a man who had government contracts to run vessel training operations here in Southwest Florida and in Haulover Inlet and Biscayne Bay on the east coast. I had been referred to the owner of this particular company as someone who could re-hab second-hand military surplus vessels and make them runnable, safe, and legal for said operations.
I accepted the job of bringing the vessels back to life, but I wasn't too interested, at the time, in finding out what the parameters of these training operations might be. I needed the income and it was a good chunk of work. Sad to say, I was old enough that I didn't have to do much research to work with this "obsolete technology".
The project started with two U.S. Coast Guard rigid inflatables with Yanmar diesels and inboard-outboard drives. May have been Kiekefer drives - can't remember exactly - because they were the only parts of the vessels that didn't need any work done. So I didn't spend any time on them. The rest of the vessel components, however, were a mess. Fuel tanks were contaminated with algae and water, battery systems and primary wiring had been stripped, the inflatable tubes had to be replaced, and the engines needed full service including running valve-lash adjustments.
All of the hoses… ALL OF THE HOSES... on the boat had to be replaced. Fuel fill hoses, fuel vent hoses, fuel pick up and return hoses, engine cooling hoses, exhaust hosts, bilge pump hoses…
Anything made of rubber had deteriorated. And these hoses had been installed to military spec with no consideration for access for repair.
The starters had to be rebuilt, and I had to fish parts of the water pump impellers out of the heat exchangers. I found out halfway through the rehab that these boats had been bought out of a scrap yard (literally - just a field somewhere) after they had been stripped of the easy pickin's. Halfway through this rehab process I started receiving the electronics packages, special lighting, ignition panels, and reflective decals that were to be installed per instructions to be given at a later date.
The work on both vessels was completed after a spell. Invoices and compensation were exchanged, and I received the next vessel.
This one was a Navy surplus Willard rigid inflatable with a Cummins diesel and a direct drive shaft connected to the same style outdrive that the USCG Ribs had. This boat wasn't in as bad of shape as the first two, but full maintenance was in order. And the fuel tanks had to be flushed and cleaned. New GPS, new radio, new flashing lights. That "project" only took a week.
All three of the Ribs came with trailers that had barely been able to make it over the road to our shop. Once the boats were done, we started on the trailers. New bearings, springs, tires and wheels, bunks and carpet, new winch cables, lighting...
Next up was a Navy Surplus 40' UTB Troop transport. It had a Detroit diesel under a center engine hatch with a straight inboard drive system. There was a port side steering / control console and wrap-around bench seating that would carry 30 sailors. This boat had structural repairs to be done, and the engine was "seized".
I started on the engine first - because if I couldn't get that sorted out, nothing else mattered. Luckily it was the starter that was locked-up and not the engine. It was running in a few days, and we started on the fiberglass and paint work.
This included cleaning, priming, and painting the bottom with anti-fouling paint, and repainting the hull and topsides with the traditional Sherwin-Williams Navy Gray enamel.
As this rehab progressed, I was provided an enclosed pilot-house to mount over the console. This was fully enclosed with a hard top, vents, radar base, tinted windows, and a lockable hard weatherproof aft door. Then the electronics showed up. State-of the art GPS / radar, VHF radio, and helmets with visors, ear pieces, and hands-free microphones that plugged into the console.
Now I was getting curious. What was this all for? And why in Naples? I knew what the rehab work was costing - with our labor, shop time, parts, equipment, sub-contractor and boatyard costs. And I had an idea what the cost of the electronics gear was that was streaming into my shop. This was not somebody's hobby. This had to have a significant purpose and an end-game goal of some kind.
"Are we done yet?" I asked Adam when the UTB was ready to go.
"Almost!" He smiled. "Got one more RIB coming in from USGS later this week - but it's pretty much water-ready. Just an oil and filter change most likely."
I was ready to be done with this project even though the cash flow was significant. But I asked him, "so what is this for? What kind of training is going on here?"
"I honestly can't tell you." He replied. "I'm under a 'Non Disclosure Agreement' as a part of my contract."
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Seriously!" he answered.
So the last boat came in and we made it water ready. All vessels were sea-trialed successfully, and all rigid inflatable boats were loaded on to their trailers and brought to a storage yard. The UTB was shipped over to the east coast and stationed at a marina in Haulover Inlet.
And that, as they say, was "that". After two months straight of working on these military surplus vessels - spending gobs of money and time - I was no closer to knowing what was going on than I was the day I first met Adam. We parted ways and that was the end of our relationship.
Until I got a phone call a few weeks later...
Turns out that the two Captains he had lined up to run this project had fallen through - "other plans" had come up. He called me and asked, "Are you interested in working with some of our active duty Special Forces?"
I replied, "well, the short answer is yes - but what is it, where is it, and what am I expected to do?"
"At this moment, you are expected to submit to a drug test and a background check. Then I can talk to you about mission parameters."
I passed the drug test, passed the background check, and qualified for the training mission, which was several months long. Most of what was expected of me was local knowledge of the waters and a working technical knowledge of the vessels we were running. So - I signed up. Space this month prohibits me from going into any specifics of the many "adventures" I had. But there are plenty of them. I will highlight some of the most interesting tales in upcoming issues, but I wanted to get the background out this month. Enough time has passed that I am allowed to say that I got to work with active duty personnel from the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. We had ample opportunity to network - sometimes inadvertently - with local law enforcement in the Gulf and the Atlantic. And I got to play with some really nice toys that were not available to the general public back then. Of course most of them are now.
So - stay tuned! It is amazing what can go on around our area without folks noticing.
Best regards,
Capt. Jim Kalvin
Bon Voyage!
Capt. Jim Kalvin
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Captain Jim Kalvin is a retired Marine Contractor and Marina Manager, and a fully insured current USCG Licensed 100 Ton Master. He specializes in Eastern Seaboard deliveries from the Keys to Nantuckett, and the Gulf Coast from Everglades City to Corpus Christi. He can be reached at 239-427-6344, or at james.kalvin61@gmail.com.
