SoundWaters, a Stamford, Connecticut–based non-profit dedicated to environmental education, has selected Derecktor Shipyards of Mamaroneck, New York, for the construction of a new educational research vessel.
Designed in collaboration with UK-based naval architecture firm Chartwell Marine, the new purpose-built research and education platform will expand SoundWaters’ hands-on marine science programming to greater numbers of students across the Long Island Sound region.
The aluminium catamaran vessel will be named Brewer. Upon completion, she will have a length of 50 feet ( metres), a beam of 23 feet ( metres), space for two crewmembers and up to 35 passengers, and a Volvo Penta D8-700 IPS with secondary docking and control stations.
The onboard equipment will include an A-frame with trawl winches; a winch for buoy and mooring deployment and retrieval; a davit for grab sampling and CTD tests; and wet and dry laboratories.
Garmin will supply the navigation electronics as part of an integrated package.