SENATOR COLLINS ANNOUNCES THREE MILLION FOR JOINT HODGDON YACHTS-UMAINE PROJECT

Washington, DC - Senator Susan Collins today announced the details of a three million dollar project that will be coordinated by Hodgdon Yachts of East Boothbay and The AEWC Center at the University of Maine in Orono. The Maine-based design and manufacturing team will develop a prototype composite MARK V (Mk V) craft for the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Funding for this project was requested by Senator Collins and approved by the U.S. Senate as part of the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill. The bill must now be approved by the full Congress.

"This is a significant project to be done by Hodgdon Yachts and the University of Maine. It opens the door to long-term contracts for this team to manufacture composite boats for the defense industry and to keep Maine boat-building at the cutting edge of maritime technology," said Senator Collins. "The construction of this prototype will help establish Hodgdon Yachts and the Maine-based manufacturing team as the potential supplier for the new fleet of vessels."

SOCOM recently expressed very serious concerns regarding the extremely rough ride of its current fleet of Mk V Patrol Boats. The Hodgon Yacht and UMaine team aims to refine and improve the design of the Mk V by using composite construction, shock mitigation techniques, and an improved hull design.

Mk V Special Operations Craft are 25-meter high-speed patrol boats that are used to carry Special Operations Forces, primarily SEAL combat swimmers, into and out of operations where the threat to these forces is considered to be low to medium. They also support limited coastal patrol and interruption of enemy activities. The Mk V is the newest, versatile, high performance combatant craft introduced into the Naval Special Warfare Special Boat Squadron inventory to improve maritime special operations capabilities.

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