Vigor has delivered the Sentinel, a 60'x24'x7'9" catamaran research vessel, to the California Department of Water Resources.
Designed by Incat Crowther to be a rugged and utilitarian vessel, optimizing the use of the catamaran platform. It was built at Vigor’s Ballard facility (formerly Kvichak) located in the greater Seattle area.
“Vigor was honored to build a vessel which will play such an important role in protecting water quality. The innovative and efficient Incat Crowther design will ensure Sentinel will be on the job for decades,” Tim Kolb, general manager of Vigor's Ballard facility said in a statement announcing the delivery.
Sentinel’s primary application is the monitoring of water quality, phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic macro-invertebrates within the San Francisco bay area and close proximity coastline. In keeping all accommodations on the main deck, Sentinel features a relatively wide beam, which is utilized to create an efficient layout conducive to research and water sampling activity.
Sentinel has a large partially covered aft deck with two deck cranes and two deck winches in addition to stair access to swim platforms port and starboard. The main deck cabin houses a large laboratory, forward of which are two twin cabins, a bathroom and galley. Forward of this is the wheelhouse with an additional fold-down berth.
A set of stairs leads from the foredeck to the roof deck, featuring an aft control station as well as a rescue boat and dedicated launch and retrieval crane. It's rear cargo deck measures 335 sq. ft.
Sporting a 3' hull draft, the new vessel has a service speed of 18 knots with two Cummins QSB 6.7 main engines producing 350 hp at 2,800 rpm each.
Other notable features of the Sentinel are the ship’s service power that comes from twin Northern Lights M864W3 gensets, accommodations for five crew and 20 passengers, and tankage that includes 900 gals. of fuel and 250 gals. fresh water. The boat, which was delivered in December 2016, is USCG certified, Subchapter T.
