The 30 foot surf rescue boat is a lifeboat that the United States Coast Guard has used in recent years. The 30' long boat is designated the surf rescue boat (SRB) and was introduced in 1983. Design The 30' SRB was self-righting and self baling and designed with marked differences from the typical lifeboats used by the Coast Guard up until the early 1980s. The 30' SRB is not considered to be a Motor Lifeboat (MLB), but was generally used in a similar capacity. Designed to perform search and rescue in adverse weather and surf the first 30' SRB was built by the Willard Boat Company in Fountain Valley, California. Much of the 30 footer's design centered on speed. The sides of the hull are made of 5/8" Airex foam cored fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP), and the bottom of the hull is constructed of solid FRP molded in one piece. The boat is 30' 4" in length with a 9' 4" beam, and weighs a total of when fully loaded with gear and engine. The 30 footer has a single Detroit Diesel 6V92TI engine, configured by Johnson Towers rated at . The throttles are manually controlled, and the boat has a single screw and rudder. The 30' SRB's were rated for a top speed of although most of the hulls fell prey to minor water intrusion into the FRP, which slowed most of the boats to around at max RPM. The 30 footer has a range of , and most standard operating procedures dictate that the boat not go more than offshore without a waiver granted from higher level commands. The fuel capacity is 78 gallons at 100%, and the vessel is generally operated with a crew of two, a surfman and an engineer. The crew both stand on the coxswain flat, protected by the superstructure on the bow and stern. The boat's appearance has caused many to comment that it looks like a "Nike Tennis Shoe". Uses The intent for the boat is that it be used for quick response. It is able to get on scene quickly, get into a surf zone and extract any persons in the water, or to stabilize a situation until the slower and larger motor lifeboat can get on scene. Since 1997 and the introduction of the faster 47' MLB and the phasing out of the 44' MLBs the need for a quick