The Duluth Fire Department was supposed to have a new emergency response boat in August, and it would have, too, if not for one minor complication — a lack of propulsion.
Lake Assault Boats in Superior completed work on the 31-foot vessel right on schedule, but it's still waiting on a pair of 300-horsepower Mercury Verado outboard motors to arrive.
Chad DuMars, vice president of operations for Lake Assault, explained that bruising back-to-back hurricane seasons damaged many boats in coastal communities, and the rush to repower disabled vessels has left large outboard motors in short supply nationwide. Given the current wait times, DuMars said he expects the backordered twin Mercs to arrive late this year or by early 2019.
The revised schedule now calls for Lake Assault to take the boat through spring sea trials shortly after ice-out this spring, dialing in navigation systems and putting the vessel through its paces before delivering it to the Duluth Fire Department.
Duluth Fire Chief Dennis Edwards said the boat will be named Marine 19 to honor the 19 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since the department's inception.
The boat is being referred to an "all-hazard response vessel," and it's expected to have a top speed of about 45 mph.