PHOTOS: Vigor Delivers New Research Vessel to State of California

Photo: Vigor Industrial

Incat Crowther and Vigor have announced the delivery of Sentinel, a 60 foot Catamaran Research Vessel, to the California Department of Water Resources.

Vigor describes the Sentinel as a rugged and utilitarian vessel with an efficient design optimizing the use of the catamaran platform. It was built at Vigor’s specialized aluminum fabrication facility in Seattle, Washington. The vessel’s primary role will be the monitoring of water quality, phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthic macro-invertebrates within the San Francisco bay area and close proximity coastline.

“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,” said Tim Kolb, Vigor General Manager – Ballard (formerly Kvichak).

In keeping all accommodation on the main deck, Sentinel features a relatively wide beam which is used to create a layout conducive to research and water sampling activity. The vessel also 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 aft control station as well as a rescue boat and dedicated launch and retrieval crane.

The vessel has a service speed of 18 knots with two Cummins QSB 6.7 main engines producing 260kW each.