RV Bowditch at sea

R/V Bowditch Reservation Center

The Research Vessel Bowditch

workers on the deck of the RV Bowditch attending to a remote sensing buoy R/V Bowditch is Bigelow’s 48-foot research vessel. She is a twin screw aluminum catamaran with an 18 knot cruising speed. The vessel was built by All American Marine in Bellingham, WA for Middlebury College in 2012 and served mostly in Lake Champlain (as the R/V David Folger) up until the fall of 2022 when she was transferred to Bigelow. Bowditch is operated by a Coast Guard licensed captain and certified to carry 24 passengers up to 20 miles offshore and 18 passengers from 20-100 miles. Range is limited by fuel to ~150 miles but can be extended with a portable tank if needed. A large open deck allows for a variety of equipment to be deployed/recovered using either the 2000 lb capacity A-Frame and winch or deck crane. Standard operations often utilize our six bottle CTD Rosette, and also include net tows, buoy deployment or recovery, and/or sediment collection.

VESSEL SPECS

  • Dimensions: 48’ LOA, 17’ beam, 5’6” draft
  • Gross registered tonnage: 17
  • Propulsion: 2x Yanmar 6-cylinder diesel engines (366 BHP each) turning 25” 5-blade propellers
  • Cruising speed 18 knots, top speed: ~22 knots
  • Northern Lights 16-KW diesel generator
  • Fuel capacity: 300 Gallons
  • Potable water: 50 Gallons

SCIENCE EQUIPMENT

workers on the deck of the RV Bowditch with rosette

  • Seabird 55 rosette with 6x 4L bottles, SBE 25plus CTD, and 500m conducting wire allowing real-time water sampling and data acquisition including:
    • Temperature
    • Salinity
    • Chlorophyll fluorescence
    • Turbidity
    • Dissolved oxygen
    • pH
    • Surface and in-situ PAR (Photosynthetically Available Radiation)

  • 2000-lb A-frame with ¼" SS wire rope on Pullmaster winch and metered ¼” Aracom synthetic line for deep towing or sediment sampling
  • 3300-lb Morgan deck crane for mobilizing heavy equipment on/off vessel
  • Deployable boom for towing Neuston or other nets alongside
  • Wet/dry lab space for processing samples and additionalscience gear

Questions: Contact Bigelow Marine Ops Coordinator, David Drapeau: ddrapeau@bigelow.org for questions. For scheduling and to initiate a reservation please use the calendar below. For changes to the schedule please contact the Marine Ops coordinator, David Drapeau or click the "Edit Submission" link in your Reservation Confirmation email.

Project Rates by Zone:

Reservation Calendar: Please confirm availability on the calendar and use the form below to request a booking.

Requirements:

Safety: Please read Bigelow's Boating Safety and Operating Policy before completing your reservation.

Captain and Crew: Every voyage must have at least 3 competent adults onboard. 2 of which need to be a Bigelow certified Captain and 1 deckhand that is signed off by the Bigelow Marine Ops Coordinator. The third has to be at least 25 years of age and will be considered a passenger but must be willing to take direction from the Captain of the boat when necessary. The Captain of the vessel is in charge of every cruise and is the authority. The Captain is responsible for the ship, crew, equipment and passengers.

Documents:

Reservation Calendar: Please confirm availability on the calendar and use the form below to request a booking.


Fill out the form below to reserve your research cruise dates:

Photo 1: Aerial view. of RV Bowditch (Courtesy of WGBH Educational Foundation, image captured by Chun-Wei Yi)
Photo 2: Deck views of RV Bowditch (Courtesy of David Drapeau)

R/V Bowditch