225 foot U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender MAPLE (WLB 207) homeport Sitka, Alaska. The 225' WLB is equipped with a single controllable pitch propeller, and thrusters at the bow and stern which give the cutter the maneuverability it needs to tend buoys offshore and in restricted waters. The Machinery Plant Control and Monitoring System and an Electronic Chart Display and Information System enable the 225' cutters to reduce the watch standing complement compared to the 180' cutters. A Dynamic Positioning System can hold the vessel within a 10 meter circle using the Global Positioning System allowing the crew to service and position floating aids to navigation more efficiently than before in winds to 30 knots and 8 foot seas. Ship is seen in Haines Alaska summer of 2004 . . . photo by Captain Chuck Haines . . .